First, the FULLBOOKS .com site has online books available for you to read right in your browser.

This site boasts THOUSANDS of books for you to read for free. You read these in your browser. Because of this, some users may find the format a little tedious, but nonetheless, this site is offering to let you read thousands of texts free of charge.

For instance, I was interested in reading "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and found this Samuel Clements (Mark Twain) piece available in 6 links, with the book organized into 7 sections. For me, this was an excellent way for me to read in stages, but The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is also available in a 'complete' format.

Some books will NOT be available in their complete format, so if having to read in total linear fashion is for you, then admittedly, this site may NOT be for you.

All in all, this site has helped me to do some extra reading for my University studies - without having to trek over to the public and school libraries, deal with 'holds' and locating books in the libraries, etc. Best of all, I didn't have to purchase the books and am able to build upon my literary knowledge and experience for free.

I will often use this site, combined with other sites online so that I can gain perspective on the materials I read. If I simply read from my own perspective, I don't always get the most out of a specific text, so being flexible and willing to search for study guides, commentary and perspective about things I find online (of offline) is really helpful to me as a student.

The FullBooks .com website looks pretty plain and isn't all that pretty, however, don't let the looks fool you. It contains a TON of texts! Just browse around - or, if you know the specific name of the book you're looking for, select the alphabet letter the book starts with and you'll open a list of texts that FullBooks has online.

I hope you will enjoy using the FullBooks site.

FullBooks .com (link will open in new window)

Sparknotes .com is a site designed for students, so if you're a student, you'll find the summaries and perspectives helpful. If you're not a student, reading some of the summaries might help you select better, the items you wish to read.

There are even study questions for students - or for anyone who just wants to learn the texts in more depth.

The nice thing about Spark Notes is that, for free, students and general readers can find some texts that are often hard to obtain without purchase. Because the site is designed for study, there are many older texts available that you might have trouble locating at book stores, anyway, or in large libraries - even though larger libraries often make sure to have a special collections department.

The nice thing about the Spark Notes site is that texts are arranged in different search categories. If you're looking for 'similar' books or stories, you can find these easily with the way that Spark Notes is designed. You can search for a specific text or search on topics and have multiple results turn up that might help you find 'related' texts that you'll be interested in. There are also basic learning tips available, according to different academic disciplines, and these are available to anyone who browses the site. It doesn't matter if you're a serious student or not.

There are, of course, some "Pay For" elements on this site, but really, I haven't found that I've had to pay for anything yet. Sometimes there are specific 'formats' available only in the 'pay for' material section but the average browser should not have to pay anything for texts unless they are looking into extremely specific or intricate topics.

I even found an entire text on Mythology, all available for free. Every chapter, summaries, 'mythology character qualities,' 'placenames' and 'events' and even 'perspective' on the context were freely available. If I wanted some reader, expert and 'peer reviewed' documents to accompany what is available on-site, I could choose to purchase these extra documents, too - but with the entire text online, including summaries, etc already, I found a very useful textbook at Spark Notes!

I really hope that you'll check out and bookmark this site. No ref or 'affiliate' linking here - I'm just excited to make this site link available to anyone who loves to read, loves to learn and who wants to have a really well-rounded online source for books and reading material .

Spark Notes .com (opens in new window)

Learn Out Loud .com

This is one of my very favorite resources for online reading, learning and audio material. I've had access to original texts put into spoken format and also recordings of very famous speeches through this site. There are also links available on-site for the text-based materials that the audios present.

From the Analects of Confucius to commentary and perspectives on Zarathustra (founder of Zoroastrianism), right down to readings of and commentary on Friedrich Neitzsche's "Thus Spake Zarathustra," the Learn Out Loud site is quite a terrific resource for literature lovers as well as people interested in other disciplines and topics, including religion and spirituality.

This site has different formats available and many downloadable files, so you can put eBooks on your iPod and MP3 players. Some of the formats are in-browser, so you can just open an audiofile or text in your browser window and either turn your speakers up or start reading right from your home computer. Not all formats, of course, are available with each file on this site, but the sheer number of materials offered on this site is amazing!

If you're busy and you want to LISTEN to classics and books - or if you're a student who would like to experience study materials in a different way, through audio, then this site will become a staple in your bookmark files. Some learners will benefit greatly from having read particular texts on-page and then also receiving the information a second time through audio means. This site is a great one for many different needs and preferences.

Browse around - enjoy!

Learn Out Loud .com