Books for free (including about travel) – the proven, free and legal way

We have a pro tip for you on how to take advantage of a wide range of free e-books completely free of charge, not only on the go. Within this post you will learn how to download and use ebooks on your smartphones, tablets, laptops or e-readers for free.

Are the days of guided travel slowly coming to an end? People (especially young people) are increasingly looking for ideas and inspiration for trips on Instagram rather than in books. This is where they find beautiful photos and dream of going to the same place and taking a similar shot, which they can later boast about in front of family and friends.

We won’t elaborate on the impact of social media on holiday elections (we’ll leave that for another post). We ourselves often find great gems just on Instagram, but this does not determine all our choices when it comes to trips. Both when preparing and writing trip reports for you, we always try to learn as much as possible about the places we visit. Whether they are natural treasures or historical monuments, each has a story, hides interesting facts that we are eager to discover. We are not limited to just taking a picture, because you need to look at the world not only through the lens :)

Before we go somewhere we like to reach for a book that introduces us to the history or current situation of the place we are going to. It often works the other way, too: it’s the books that make us want to go to the place described (this was the case, for example, with our trip to the Faroe Islands). And by no means do we consider ourselves bookworms, with detective stories still winning in reading choices over guidebooks and reportage….

Well, and let’s not forget that we are authors of a travel blog, so we will not pull the wool over your eyes that only guidebooks and only reports will adequately prepare you for the trip. Absolutely not! There are some really good travel blogs on the Internet, whose authors have a light pen, describe places beautifully, or provide more practical information than guidebooks (take a peek at our ranking of travel blogs, for example). Anyway, the pros and cons of looking for descriptions of places on websites and blogs are many, and this is another topic that we shelve, for later.

So let’s focus on the topic for which we are here :) Well, we have discovered and tested a way to read for free that is completely legal! And this is absolutely not a sponsored post! ;) There are also a few limitations and drawbacks here that you need to be aware of, and we honestly write about them below.

Here’s how to get free reading, step by step:

Table of contents

How does it work?

Create an account with Legimi – this is a service where you can buy ebooks, audiobooks or pay for access to books monthly. Note that the first 14 days are free.
Install the Legimi app on the device of your choice (at the time of writing this post, the option we describe below can be used on two devices) – this can be a smartphone, tablet, laptop, e-reader (note, the following method will not work with the popular Kindle).
Go to the library. Yes! You read it right: GO :-)
Sign up for a card at the library if you don’t already have one
Ask for free access to Legimi – SHOCK, no? ;-)
Enter the code you received at the library on the dedicated Legimi subpage after logging into your account.
Voilà! You have limited time access to e-books for free!

Minuses and limitations

Well, now about the downside of this solution.

This way does not work on Kindle – unfortunately for us this is a very big minus, but we managed to hunt down quite cheaply an InkBook Lumos reader (the most economical backlit reader on which Legimi works) for less than 200 zlotys. Of course, if you don’t mind reading books on the screen of a smartphone, tablet, etc. then this disadvantage does not apply to you.
Not all libraries have joined the Legimi program – it’s worth checking on the library’s website to see if it participates in the program (Lodz city libraries are using it and everything works as expected).
The code is valid for 30 days and must be activated in the month in which it was issued – this is the code you receive in the library. This means that at least once a month you have to go to get a new code if you want to maintain continuity in access to publications.
You borrow books, not buy them – it works like a library, so you don’t really own the book, but have it available for a limited time on the app.
There are no audiobooks, or in other words, Legimi has them on offer, but there is a higher subscription cost for libraries, so if you only care about audiobooks it is best to confirm with the source, i.e. your library.
Access largely depends on the package purchased by the library – within the package there are page counts for the entire library and there is a risk that the package will be exceeded.
Two devices can be used per account – for someone this may be a downside, for us it is completely sufficient.

Is it worth it?

In our opinion, very much so! Free access to books is a great option, whether you’re preparing for a trip or just to have some engaging items with you electronically on the go.

Have you already used this option? How are your impressions? :)