Bookworms, Attention!

The relaxing summer afternoons are once again here to lure us to a comfortable couch with a good book—preferably a cool, refreshing read in accordance with the hot season!

For some of us, reading means lounging in our bed or that comfortable sofa with a paperback or hardcover and of course, something to munch on or to sip along with it.

But for others, the scene remains the same, only the book is replaced by their phones, or tablets, or Kindles.

Yep, I’m talking about e-reading!

And that too, FREE online reading.

With many books now on these handy devices, you can go anywhere and still be able to read your favourite story. Plus, you don’t have to carry your heavy hardcovers along all the time, so reduced baggage weight for the vacationing diehard bookworms!

Sure, online reading too has its pros and cons, but which side outweighs the other, that’s for us to decide. Meanwhile, here are some apps and websites that will surely interest even the staunch, traditional paperback fans!

1. Wattpad

Image credit: wattpad.com

A company headquartered in Toronto, Canada, it runs a website as well as an app.
Launched initially in 2007 as an accessible reading forum, it later went on to become a completely free, worldwide platform for both readers and writers alike. The most interesting part? It houses the most unique stories that haven’t made their way into the print or digital media yet, but are really too good to skip.

Wattpad abounds with amazing, talented yet undiscovered writers who are always ready to interact with their equally eager readers through comments and personal messaging features available there. This direct connection helps writers to develop a strong reader’s base and there is also a feature to track where your audience is from, and people in mostly which age group are reading your stories.

Readers too can easily follow their favourite authors with frequent updates and useful newsfeed and notifications. Books from all genres can be found here, from werewolf to chick-lit to poems on spirituality!

No matter what age group you belong to or what genre you are a fan of—Wattpad has it all covered for you!

2. Tap

Image credit: itunes.apple.com

This is a mobile app by Wattpad and consists of an out of the box format of storytelling—text stories!

The stories move forward in a conversational style and you feel as if you’re peeking into someone’s private conversation with another person, or maybe a group of other people, ghosts, and even eerily human-like artificial intelligence!

Just keep on tapping and the new messages from different characters keep appearing on the screen one after the other, at the speed you please.

When Wattpad says it loves innovation and creative stories, you don’t need any proof beyond this!
3.Open Library

Image credit: openlibrary.org

If you’re hoping to brush up on your classical literature knowledge in these holidays, head over to this website, whose vision is to “make all the published works of humankind available to everyone in the world”.

Although you may not find your newly published books here in the public domain, you will easily be able to access the oldest of classical English literature here, as well as some recent books on various topics ranging from art to history to fantasy.

Just create an account with your email ID and you’re good to go!
4. ManyBooks

Image credit: manybooks.net

Download your favourite books—from classics to contemporaries—in any format you like or read simply on the website.

The genre categorization here is endless (i.e. very detailed!), so choose exactly what you want to read. With more than 50,000 books up here, there would surely be no time when you could say that you’re left with no book to read!

5. Bookboon

Image credit: bookboon.com

Not into literature that much? Or are you looking for a textbook on a subject like Engineering or Business? Fret not, because what this site has to offer is all you will need.

The website allows you to download books—and mind you, all of them are free—not only in English, but also in German, French, Dutch and a number of other European languages.

If you just want to educate yourself more, look no further!
Of the above sites, I’ve had a great experience with the first two, and I’m definitely going to be trying more of the rest! Do let me know if you find another useful website or app for eternal bookworms like me!

Thumbnail Image credit: 123rf.com