Libraries
May contain libraries which are limited to specific regions.
Brookly PL Books Unbanned
"We invite individuals ages 13-21 to apply for a free BPL eCard, providing access to our full eBook/audiobook collection as well as our learning databases. "
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United States
Hoopla Digital
Provides five free digital media borrows per month after the user logs in with a library for which they already have access (generally through a library card).
Has a Mobile App
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Japan Foundation Los Angeles
"The Japan Foundation Los Angeles, in partnership with our New York and Toronto offices, now offers public access to our digital library system via Libby."
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LA County Library Books Unbanned
"Your freedom to read is a fundamental right. To help support teenagers ages 13-18 years old in California, LA County Library’s Books Unbanned initiative offers free and unrestricted access to the Library’s entire digital eBook and audiobook collection on Libby, by OverDrive, which includes many frequently-banned titles. The Books Unbanned card allows 5 check outs at a time and is valid for one year."
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United States
Libby
"The library reading app... Borrow ebooks, audiobooks, magazines and more from your local library for free! Libby is the newer library reading app by OverDrive, loved by millions of readers worldwide."
Has a Mobile App
Does Not Have Ads
Project Gutenberg
"Project Gutenberg is a library of over 75,000 free eBooks. Choose among free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online. You will find the world’s great literature here, with focus on older works for which U.S. copyright has expired. Thousands of volunteers digitized and diligently proofread the eBooks, for you to enjoy."
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Queer Liberation Library
"Queer Liberation Library (QLL) is fighting to build a vibrant, flourishing queer future by connecting LGBTQ+ people with literature, information, and resources that celebrate the unique and empowering diversity of our community... a queer digital library that makes queer literature, information, and resources available to our library members across the United States... A queer library is a special library that focuses on supporting and representing the LGBTQ2IA+ community. This means our holdings, resources, and programming will be titles written for, created by, and/or of interest to people in the LGBTQ2IA+ community."
Requires Login For Some Features
Does Not Have Ads
Seattle Public Library Books Unbanned
"Teens and young adults ages 13 to 26 living anywhere in the U.S. can access our entire collection of e-books and audiobooks. We believe in your right to read what you want, discover yourself and form your own opinions."
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United States
The Anarchist Library
"theanarchistlibrary.org is (despite its name) an archive focusing on anarchism and anarchist texts. Within the scope of our use of the term "anarchism" we have been quite broad, but broad does not mean infinite, and basically shrinks down to a set of ideas against the State and capital. This immediately rules out the so-called "anarcho-capitalism", "anarcho-nationalism" and similar crap. "
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Miscellaneous
Other sites related to reading.
Book Series in Order
"The goal of this website is simple: to list the series of every book in order."
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Fantastic Fiction
"With over 200,000 members and nearly 25 million pageviews a month, we’re one of the world’s most popular book information websites. On our site you’ll find pages for over 60,000 authors, with books listed in chronological order and grouped within series. We keep every page up to date making sure we list the latest books and anything upcoming - often long before they’re announced on the author’s own website. "
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GNOD Literature Discover
"The Literature-Map is part of Gnod, the Global Network of Discovery. It is based on Gnooks, Gnod’s literature recommendation system. The more people like an author and another author, the closer together these two authors will move on the Literature-Map." Does not contain actual books nor literature.
(Note from Robin: I emailed the creator, Marek, to confirm that the various Gnod sites do not use LLMs/generative AI)
Does Not Have Ads
GNOD Literature Map
"The Literature-Map is part of Gnod, the Global Network of Discovery. It is based on Gnooks, Gnod’s literature recommendation system. The more people like an author and another author, the closer together these two authors will move on the Literature-Map." Does not contain actual books nor literature.
(Note from Robin: I emailed the creator, Marek, to confirm that the various Gnod sites do not use LLMs/generative AI)
Does Not Have Ads
Indie Story Geek
"Indie Story Geek is a place to highlight amazing indie books, whether they are self-published, web serials, or published by small presses."
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Itch.io
"itch.io is an open marketplace for independent digital creators with a focus on independent video games. It’s a platform that enables anyone to sell the content they’ve created. As a seller you’re in charge of how it’s done: you set the price, you run sales, and you design your pages. It’s never necessary to get votes, likes, or follows to get your content approved, and you can make changes to how you distribute your work as frequently as you like."
"itch.io is also a collection of some of the most unique, interesting, and independent creations you’ll find on the web. We’re not your typical digital storefront, with a wide range of both paid and free content, we encourage you to look around and see what you find." Open revenue sharing model - no mandatory fees, creators can opt in to support itch.io with any chosen percentage of their sales.
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LibriVox
"Free public domain audiobooks... Read by volunteers from around the world."
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Loyal Books
"Free Public Domain Audiobooks & eBook Downloads"
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Pretty Bookshelf
"Discover indie books you’ll love. Support the "little guy" while finding great stories to escape into."
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Project Gutenberg Self-Publishing Press
"Contemporary Books and Poetry for the Independent Reader". Allows people to list their own work and for others to read it for free. Does not cost to read, does not have a way to make money from putting work on the site.
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Radical Black Women
"This study and discussion circle taking place on March 21, 2015 is focused on the contributions of Black radical women activists and theorists from the early 20th century through the Cold War era. Most of these women were affiliated with the U.S. Communist Party (CPUSA) and others were part of various socialist organizations."
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SparkNotes
"Sometimes you don’t understand your teacher, your textbooks make no sense, and you have to read sixteen chapters by tomorrow. SparkNotes is a resource you can turn to when you’re confuzzled. We help you understand books, write papers, and study for tests. We’re clear and concise, but we never leave out important info."
"As SparkNotes editors, our mission is to help you make sense of confusing schoolwork. We are well qualified to lend a hand: we’re graduates of top schools, we have advanced degrees galore, we’ve taught undergraduate and graduate classes, and we’ve edited books on Shakespeare, The Scarlet Letter, and the SAT (and that’s just the S’s!). We work with experts to create books, blogs, quizzes, and flashcards that will help you master hard material."
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Technovelgy
"Explore the inventions, technology and ideas of science fiction writers at Technovelgy (that’s tech-novel-gee!)"
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Trans Rights Readathon
"The Trans Rights Readathon is an annual call to action to readers and book lovers in support of Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) on March 31st."
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Unite Against Book Bans
"UNITE AGAINST BOOK BANS EMPOWERS PEOPLE EVERYWHERE TO STAND TOGETHER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CENSORSHIP."
Does Not Have Ads
United States
Victor J. Banis Family Foundation
"Victor J. Banis, often hailed as the "Godfather of Gay Pulp Fiction," was a prolific author who made significant contributions to LGBTQ+ literature. Born in Eaton, Ohio, Banis wrote over 200 books throughout his career, spanning genres from gay pulp fiction to gothic romances and historical novels."
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