Amazon has just killed the ability for people to download Kindle books as files on their computers. No longer can you back up your Kindle selection or control whether or not a book gets changed out of the blue.

But Amazon isn't the only game in town, and the Kindle format isn't the only ebook format a Kindle can read. Here are two of my articles that walk you through how to upload books to your Kindle devices (whether they're registered or not) and how to convert formats so your Kindle can read them.

• How to easily convert EPUB files to Kindle format in minutes
• How to add EPUB, MOBI, and PDF files to your Kindle - no converting required

And with that, let's take a tour around the internet and drop into a number of fun stores, marketplaces, and sharing sites that provide free and/or cheap ebooks.

1. Amazon

We might as well start with Amazon. For those who have registered Kindle devices, there are a couple of options for downloading free and kind-of-free ebooks.

Kindle Unlimited falls into the kind-of-free category. The program costs$11.99/month and gives you access to more than four million digital books, as well as some audiobooks and magazines.

To be clear, like all things online, the "unlimited" in Kindle Unlimited is a doublespeak euphemism for "limited." You're technically borrowing the books from Amazon to read. You're also only allowed to "check out" 20 at a time. Essentially, Kindle Unlimited is a digital library you join for a monthly fee.

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There are two tricks you can use to read some free Kindle Unlimited books. First, all Kindle Unlimited users get a free one-month trial. So download and read within that month. Also, some new Kindle purchasers get Kindle Unlimited free for three months. So if you're buying a Kindle, you might be able to take advantage of that deal.

Prime subscribers also gain access toPrime Reading , which offers a select group of books that rotate on a regular basis. If you're a Prime member, check it out. Prime members can also subscribe toAmazon's First Reads newsletter and get a free book each month.

While we're at it,click here , and you'll get a search string that looks for Kindle Classics that are free, even if you're not a Kindle Unlimited member.

Finally, here's a trick for finding cheap Kindle books outside of the Kindle Unlimited program. Point yourself to theKindle Store . Then type in "0.99" in the search box. I found that if you try to find free Kindle books, Amazon keeps recommending Kindle Unlimited books, but if you go for "$0.99," you'll get a ton of cheap content, including the always-great Father Brown mysteries.

2. Your local library

Did you know that your local library may lend out ebooks? Here in Central Oregon, the libraries are part of a regional group that coordinates their collections together. If I wanted to read Neal Stephenson's awesome Cryptonomicon, I could just check it out from one of the libraries.

Of course, typical library restrictions apply, including due dates and late fees. But just because you're now reading digitally doesn't mean you can't use your local library. How cool is that?

3. Project Gutenberg

Our next must-stop on our tour of free ebook resources is Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg was actually started way back in 1971. It began by posting digital scans on a mainframe connected to the old Arpanet.

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Today, Project Gutenberg provides more than 75,000 free ebooks. Most of them are older and have been released into the public domain. But if you want the complete works of William Shakespeare or you want to read The Great Gatsby, this is the site for you.

Another nice thing about Project Gutenberg is that most books come in a wide variety of formats.

4. Archive.org

Archive.org, home of the Wayback Machine, maintains an archive of almost 5 million ebooks. Not all books are downloadable, and I'm not entirely sure what they're doing with copyright. For example, while I did release three of my books to be downloaded for free, one older book of mine was published by a company that did not ever provide a digital release, and yet it's still on Archive.org.

Oddly enough, Archive.org also has a bunch of my 3D printing STL files as well. I don't really mind that they're distributing my output because they do good work. Still, they seem to be playing it somewhat fast and loose with copyright.

My advice for this resource is to simply search and dig around. There are a lot of treasures to find, but you do need to work at it a bit.

5. Open Library

Open Library is another service of the Internet Archive. Unlike the search options above, which are fairly unmanaged, Open Library works on a library model, where you can borrow a book for a period of time. Some can be put on your Kindle. Some can't.

In addition to its library of millions of books, Open Library has a very powerful cross-referencing mechanism that can help you find digital versions of out-of-print and very hard-to-find books, and can point you to external library networks where you can check them out.

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I wouldn't necessarily use this site if you want to read a copy of Wicked, but there's an amazing amount of information available to the intrepid searcher.

6. Smashwords

Smashwords is a platform for authors and indie publishers to self-publish their works online. That means you're not likely to find highly publicized mainstream books like Wicked, but you are likely to find some really good reads that haven't had to pass through gatekeepers. Smashwords is where I purchased Potus, an entertaining read by fellow writer Jack Wallen.

Smashwords reports it has published nearly a million books. Of those, more than 93,000 are free. Those free books are also easy to find. On the main screen, simply toggle the Free selector, and you're good to go.

7. Manybooks

Manybooks offers free and inexpensive ebooks. Most books are free, with a few that are one or two dollars at most. The service acts as a Project Gutenberg mirror, so books you find on PG will also be found here on Manybooks.

They also have a selection of books that are not from Project Gutenberg. I particularly like their Editor's Choice feature, which surfaces free books you might not otherwise know about, but which are definitely worth reading.

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You can browse by selecting from a very wide range of genres, as well as many of the world's languages. It's a cool site to get lost in, and isn't that one of the best feelings you get from a good bookstore, too?

8. BookBub

BookBub is a site that helps surface good book deals and makes recommendations for books you might like. Back in the early days of the Kindle, BookBub sent out mailings that were chock-full of free and super-cheap books. I think I filled up half my Kindle library via their recommendations.

Today, there is still a free books section that surfaces some interesting books. But while their mailings do offer deals, the days when they highlighted a ton of bargain-basement book offers seem to be gone.

Still, feel free to visit their site and click on the Free & Under$1 section. There are some gems there.

9. Baen's Free Library

If you're an avid science fiction reader, you're no doubt familiar with the name Baen. Baen has been publishing science fiction since the early 80s. Baen now offers a selection of books, mostly short story collections, for free download.

It's not a huge selection, but considering Baen's decades-long talent for picking great science fiction authors, every book or short story collection is bound to be a great read.

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This is one of those times when doing my job nets me something cool. I didn't know about Baen's collection until I started researching this article. Now, I have a whole selection of short stories and some books that I can download for free. I'm looking forward to reading them.

10. Obooko

Obooko is a free, ad-supported site that provides a very nice selection of online books, all appropriately licensed for distribution. While you do have to register, the company does not charge for membership. Unlike some of the other resources we spotlighted in this guide, Obooko is a nonprofit.

It's not a huge selection, but all the books are safe to download. They're all distributed with the permission of their authors or publishers. It's not the biggest resource for free books, but it's certainly a nice place to visit with a hot cup of coffee and your favorite e-reader.

Much more dubious sites

There are a number of much more dubious sites that have libraries of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of scanned and uploaded PDFs, as well as ebooks, including current best-sellers. Some of my readers love these as free resources.

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But these sites are essentially pirate sites. They steal the work of creators and publishers and distribute their hard work for free or for a monthly fee. They're out there, but I'm certainly not going to facilitate their rip-off practices by sharing their names or web addresses.

Still more to discover

Once you realize you can read ebooks in a wide variety of formats on your Kindle as long as you convert them, the possibilities are endless. Here are a few more sites to check out.

• Planet Ebook:A hundred or so classics for you to download for free
• Free-Ebooks:Not exactly free. If you pay a one-time fee of$25, you can download five books a month.
• PDFBooksWorld:Another fee-based membership site. Despite the name, it also offers EPUB and other formats. Plus has some academic texts as well.
• Cantook:Another site with free and paid ebooks, along with book loans. I particularly like their section on banned books. Formerly known as Feedbooks.
• E-Books Directory:A site that links to specific ebooks and collections of ebooks. Worth browsing around for an hour or two.

What do you think about Amazon restricting Kindle book downloads? Does this change impact how you manage your ebook collection?

Have you explored alternative sites for free or affordable ebooks? Do you prefer borrowing from your local library, or do you rely on digital stores? Are there any hidden gem ebook sources you recommend? Let us know in the comments below.

You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly update newsletter, and follow me on Twitter/X at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, on Bluesky at @DavidGewirtz.com, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.

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