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Top 5 Free Kindle Books Right Now

Free Kindle Books - the Classics

Free Kindle Books: The Classics

Who doesn’t love free kindle books? I generally prefer actual physical books, but I have (for various reasons) an old kindle Paperwhite, and a Kindle Fire.

The classics can include a vast number of living books, so it’s a good source for reading books as a family if you use Charlotte Mason methods of homeschooling.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase after clicking through, SelfEducatingFamily will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

How we use our Kindle

Since I prefer books you can hold rather than electronic books, you might be wondering how and when I use the Kindle.

Good question.

Kindles excel in portability. So primary usages are traveling, field trips, and reading outside. These are times when you can’t always carry all of your books with you, so having them all in one place is a boon.

It’s also good to have a spare book in case of emergency when you just need something to read that isn’t a dentist office magazine! So I will periodically look for a few free kindle books to download, even if it isn’t on the current reading list. Just to have them in the queue, so to speak.

Plus, I have to have a Kindle because my two older sons wrote Kindle books in 9th grade.

The books

With that, let’s look at some favorite currently free Kindle books from the classics category.

tale of two cities

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.”

les miserables
canterville ghost

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)

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
animal farm
anne green gables

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 really enjoyed the story. I went on the read the whole 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

No longer free 🙁

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.”

call of the wild

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
little women
war and peace

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 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.”

invisible man

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.”

war of the worlds

FAQ

If you need more information on free kindle books (the classics) from Amazon, here are some answers to some common questions.

How can you get free kindle books from the classics via Amazon?

In Amazon, I simply type in “free kindle books classics” in the search area, but you can also use the navigation menus to get to the Kindle Books and the Free Kindle Books section.

They actually have an excellent selection of classics for free because they are old enough to be in the public domain. But some “versions” are better than others, and some can actually be unreadable due to the way that the book was made into a Kindle eBook. I recommend giving a quick check on the reviews section to see if the book has an issue.

Where else can I get classic books for free?

If a book is in the public domain, then there are usually multiple sources for getting a copy. Project Gutenburg is a favorite in my household, as is Librivox. Also, many public libraries have online eBook readers and subscriptions that you can use. We love our libraries!

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