There’s so much information in the World Wide Web information – The Information Super Highway. You can virtually find anything thing you want. But one question many have wondered is this: “Where can I read an entire book online?” Is it possible??...

Well the answer is yes and no. It all depends on which types of books you’re referring to, and if you’re talking about accessing complete books free of charge. As far as popular books go (books currently selling at the major bookstores and newsstands), there’s a slim chance that you will gain access to the complete versions of these online, unless perhaps you come across a pirated or stolen copy floating around.

And if this is the case, then it probably won’t be in circulation for too long since it clearly violates the author’s copyright. Unless an author is not at all concerned about getting paid from their work, the most that you’re likely to get are free previews of the book, maybe a few teaser chapters here & there in hopes that it will capture your interest enough to buy the complete version. Other than that it’s not likely to happen – at least not with current popular books.

eBooks and Public Domain Works

Now as far as other types of books like eBooks - and older books where the copyright may have expired (public domain), then yes, there are a few resources where you can read an entire book online. Free eBooks, you can find them just about anywhere. Just do a search for the subject matter or title you want and you just might find what you’re looking for.

Project Gutenberg is a great source to find a ton of quality ebooks that have fallen into the public domain, which again means the copyright has expired worldwide, or in a specific country. Public domain works are customarilyare free-of-charge and grants you freedom-of-use.

Anther place where you can read older books that have fallen into public domain is Authorama. These are actual complete books that have been formatted for internet reading.

Educational Books

As far as educational books, there is only one website that I discovered online that has a great open source for this; it’s a site called Questia. In their own words they state: “Questia is the first online library that provides 24/7 access to the world's largest online collection of books and journal articles in the humanities and social sciences, plus magazine and newspaper articles.”

This resource was not easy to find so they really must be the first of its kind. I sure haven’t seen any other resource like this, not one that allows you to read an entire book online like they do. This is an invaluable resource if you're a student, educator or just someone interested in gaining knowledge on a particular subject matter.

Other Places Where You Can Read An Entire Book Online

If you’re willing to pay, then http://www.ebooks.com/ is a great place to purchase access to entire books that you can read online. They carry popular books in basically every category, and you can access them in different digital formats like PDF, Mobipocket Reader and Microsoft Reader.

Also if you get tired of reading, and want to just sit back and have a book read to you once in a while – you might want to consider audio books as well - http://www.audiobookscorner.com/ is a great resource for this.

Well that's about it, hope this hub helps you find online books you're interested in. If you come across any other places that you can read entire books of line (particularly for free!), please add it along with any other feedback via the comment section below, Thanks.

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