Top 5 Free Kindle Books Right Now

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I know Dickens can be wordy, but I like several of his books. This is one of my favorites. It’s listed in Year 9 free reading at Ambleside Online.

Best Quote: “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. This has been one of my favorites since I visited Guernsey in the Channel Islands where Victor Hugo wrote. Ambleside recommends Les Miserables for Year 10.

Fun quote: “M. Myriel had to undergo the fate of every newcomer in a little town, where there are many mouths which talk, and very few heads which think.”

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde. I love Wilde’s sense of humor. The Importance of Being Earnest is on the free reading list for Year 10 in Ambleside, and it’s a much better choice if you can only read/watch one. But I enjoy this story also.

“I am not young enough to know everything.”

― Oscar Wilde (not from this book)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Fantastic book. It’s on Ambleside’s Year 11 list. Note, of course, the book has thematic elements which aren’t appropriate for younger readers.

A Favorite quote: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

Ann of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I actually never read this when I was a kid. I “read” the audiobook for the first time on a family car trip. The whole family enjoyed the story. I went on to read the entire series in my 40’s! Highly recommended as a family read-aloud.

“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”

― Lucy Maud Montgomery

The Secret Garden is a beautiful book. One of my all time favorite read-alouds.

A quote: “And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles.”

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Call of the Wild by Jack London. The hero of the story is Buck, a St. Bernard/Shepherd dog who is kidnapped and sold to be a sled dog in the Yukon. First published in 1903, but it is still a classic adventure.

Quote: “And not only did he learn by experience, but instincts long dead became alive again.”

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. What can I say? It’s such a favorite, I think I’ll have to put it on my re-read list.

“I’d rather take coffee than compliments just now.”

― Louisa May Alcott

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. Another Year 10 free reading from Ambleside. I read this when I was 12, and all I remember is lots of people and some war and some peace. It’s probably better to read when a bit older.

“If no one fought except on his own conviction, there would be no wars…”

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. I grew up in NY, so this was required reading! It’s a short story that sticks with you. Personally, I prefer Rip Van Winkle! It’s also on the Year 4 Booklist at Ambleside Online.

Thoughtful quote: “If ever I should wish for a retreat whither I might steal from the world and its distractions, and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than this little valley.”

1984 by George Orwell is such a timely classic! Now more than ever. As JP Sears says, “Let’s make 1984 fiction again.”

So many great quotes, but here’s one: “Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”

George Orwell, 1984

The Invisible Man by H.G Wells. I enjoy science fiction as a genre and H.G. Wells certainly paved the way. The Time Machine is another classic, and War of the Worlds is on the Ambleside Online Year 10 free reading.

“Great and strange ideas transcending experience often have less effect upon men and women than smaller, more tangible considerations.”

War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. This is only free at amazon kindle for a short time, so grab it while you can. It’s on the Ambleside Year 10 Free Reading list. This book is a fantastic read for science fiction lovers. Even better is listening to the Orson Welles radio broadcast after reading the book and a bit about the historical broadcast in 1938. Or listen to one of my favorite adaptations in the story set to music by Jeff Wayne.

Quote: “I was a battleground of fear and curiosity.”

Animal Farm by George Orwell is such a classic! While the superficial story can be read by any age, the symbolism is best understood by those who have studied the history of communism in the Bolshevik revolution and Stalin’s Russia.

Most known quote: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

George Orwell, Animal Farm