Library Genesis is a very well-known eBook library with a reputation for being a “search engine for articles and books on various topics, which allows free access to content that is otherwise paywalled or not digitized elsewhere.”
Library Genesis, also known as Libgen, is one of the largest sources for bibliophiles. It offers access to a search engine consisting of five mirror websites, giving you free access to millions of books and novels.
The library website, which was regretfully pulled down a decade ago, has a real substitute in Libgen.
Library Genesis allows you to access free books and articles in digital formats like PDFs and other websites.
Library Genesis Alternatives
1. Sci-Hub
Sci-Hub offers access to an impressive 87,979 research papers and articles thanks to this nonprofit, ad-free shadow library.
Alexandra Elbakyan established Sci-Hub in September 2011 to address the exorbitant cost of obtaining research publications online.
By allowing anyone, regardless of location, social standing, or economic status, to access the scientific Library, they want to combat knowledge inequality. The Sci-Hub supports the open access movement in science and opposes publishers’ unearned profits from limiting knowledge dissemination.
You can access papers from this platform to further your studies, whether pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in a science-related discipline.
Sci-Hub platform allows you to access content in several languages like LibGen.
Also, finding a paper is simple. You don’t need the information that most e-libraries frequently request, such as the issue number, volume number, journal name, page number, or even the year of publication. Plus, accessing the content doesn’t require a subscription.
Instead, you must type the article’s URL, DOI (digital object identifier), title, or search term and click “open.” For Chrome users like me, there is a Sci-Hub addon to make things even simpler.
2. Bookboon
Bookboon offers top-notch academic publications for students, teachers, company owners, and entrepreneurs, which sets it apart from other websites.
The site has over 1000 textbooks and at least 1700 business books that professors have approved from the best universities in the world.
There are numerous language translations of the business books. The website also enables company owners to gather visitor contact information through the platform’s books.
Bookboon offers free access to textbooks because they think students should be able to attend college at a reduced cost.
Although they permit some businesses to run advertisements on the website, the commercials don’t detract from the educational value or excellence of the books.
Their business books fall under a different category and are more concerned with soft skills and personal growth. Books about using Microsoft Office, enhancing communication abilities, achieving leadership potential, and other topics are available.
The hands-on business guides are around 50 pages, making it simple for professionals to put what they learn into practice. Over 1700 books are available in English and other languages like Finnish, French, Spanish, German, Norwegian, and more.
3. Open Library
Open Library is a project of the nonprofit Internet Archive, a digital library of web pages and other cultural artifacts. Open Library offers information on books. The Internet Archive hosts many digitized books. Open Library offers access to 3 million free books as part of the Internet Archives.
Like a regular library, an open library features digital shelves, where the books are categorized by genres, including thrillers, kids’ books, textbooks, romance, and classic books.
Like a traditional library, you can borrow and return a book once you’ve finished reading it.
The genres include, among others, works of art, science fiction, biographies, fantasy, romance, recipes, history, children, textbooks, religion, and detective and mystery novels.
A third way to find your preferred book on Open Library quickly is to add the title to the top search bar. There are many sections in the K–12 Student Library, including those for Grades K–1, Grades 1–2, Grades 3–5, Grades 6–8, Grades 9–10, and Grades 11–12.
You can switch the website’s language to Spanish, English, French, German, and more.
4. Free-eBooks.net
Another website where you may get textbooks, academic books, classic novels, fiction, and non-fiction is Free-eBooks.net.
In comparison to LibGen, this website’s homepage categories are better organized. First, Free-eBooks.net provides a broader range of genres, including textbooks, academic works, non-fiction, classics, and fiction. However, they have a list of subcategories or subjects with clickable links under each of these categories that will direct you to a page containing relevant books.
You can get books in HTML, PDF, Mobi, and ePub formats.
This platform makes it simple to search for books. If a title is available, just type it into the search field, go to the book, and download it.
When searching for a book, the book’s title is displayed in green along with the book cover to the left on the results page. The platform can also view the book’s page count, download count, and publication date.
The publication option is the following function on this website. On Free-eBooks.net, you can not only download and read thousands of books, but you can also post a book and request that others read it.
Publishing a book on this platform is significant because it has over 10.4 million users, especially if the book is about a popular topic. You get lifetime access as a published author and can download as many books as possible.
Both a free membership and a VIP membership are available on Free-eBooks.net. You are not compelled to pay if you are a free user, and you can download five books each month.
The annual cost of the VIP membership is $19.95. A seven-day free trial is available, and you can end it at any point during that time.
5. PDF Drive
Do you enjoy reading PDF documents? Then, meet PDF Drive, which offers access to more than 75 million eBooks, comics, periodicals, and articles. You can download PDFs, store them on your device and read it whenever you like.
The fact that PDF Drive allows for limitless downloads. You can store your titles in the cloud as well. This feature is not available on LibGen.
On the cloud, you can only store up to 100MB. However, you can go above this storage space for a minimal cost (more on the fee shortly). You can preview the content after finding your preferred title by searching for it, then decide whether to download it immediately.
Numerous categories, including those related to religion, lifestyle, the environment, science and research, fiction, the arts, physical fitness, politics and legal issues, and personal development, are available for eBook searches.
Despite being offered for free, PDF Drive may contain some adverts and only offer 100MB of cloud storage. Their premium edition has no ads, unlimited cloud storage, and access to special features. The price is $3.99 monthly or $29.99 annually. They also provide a seven-day free trial.
6. Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is our next LibGen alternative. It was established in 1971 by Michael Hart and is credited as being the first website to offer free ebooks.
You don’t need to download any apps to use this site. Reading is possible immediately within the browser.
It offers an intuitive interface that allows you to search for the books you want by author name, title, subject, file type, and many other criteria.
Compared to other online libraries, Project Gutenberg has the best-organized bookcases. The website is free. On the other hand, the donation button allows you to make some contributions.
The shelves on this website are unique in that they are organized alphabetically. A list of all the book categories on the website is provided for each letter.
The fact that Project Gutenberg is offered to readers for free is what has made it so well-liked.
7. Obooko
One of the best websites that provide free access to the best modern novels is Obooko. Accessible here are files in the PDF, Kindle, and EPUB formats. Additionally, you must be a registered user to access the website.
On the Obooko website, you can find a variety of books, including both fiction and non-fiction. Some topics covered there include science fiction, action, romance, health, politics, business, etc.
8. ManyBooks
ManyBooks offers access to 50,000 books in its stunning eBook collection for free. The books support a wide range of file types, including FB2, PDB, HTML, PDF, TXT, EPUB, RTF, MOBI, and others.
When I initially visited this website, the attractive bookshelves on the front page drew my attention. The bookcases are labeled with enticing headers like Editor’s Choice, Deals, Today’s Free eBooks, Popular Classics, and Trending Books.
A wide range of genres is available on ManyBooks, the bulk of which are unique or noteworthy on LibGen or other eBook markets. Among the genres we’re talking about are those related to women’s studies, etiquette, pulp fiction, satire, pirate tales, espionage, African-American studies, and the period after 1930.
An area with the most recent questions and answers can be found at the very bottom of the webpage. In other words, you can see the queries that other readers are posing and their responses.
This area is a fantastic source of ideas because it enables you to learn from other readers’ perspectives and thus enhances your reading pleasure. Additionally, you can discover more about other genres.
For instance, a reader inquired about the best works that combine science fiction and fantasy. Someone responded by citing writers who had attained the same success.
Since you may search by title, author, or keyword, finding books is simple. If you are seeking exciting novels but don’t have a specific subject in mind, have a look at the bookshelves on the homepage or perform a genre search.
Manybooks is cost-free, but they also offer the best titles at reduced prices. Remember to get books from this website. You must register (using your Google account).
9. Free Kindle Books: Kindle Store
With more than 60,000 books to pick from, this platform enables you to browse the Amazon library and access some of the top novels. The search filters make it very simple to find the books you are looking for. Searches can be filtered based on customer ratings ranging from one star to four stars or higher.
The genres on the left-hand side include romance, science fiction, fantasy, literature, fiction, mystery, thriller, and suspense.
If you like reading in series, you can choose selections like Delta Force Heroes, Willa Bay, An Adele Sharp Mystery, Mulberry Lane, and more when you filter by series.
Amazon has you covered with books in a variety of languages, such as Russian, Croatian, Italian, Czech, Finnish, Bulgarian, Dutch, Polish, Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, and more.
Additionally, you might filter your search by recent releases: 90 days ago, 30 days ago, or next. The romantic Kindle themes filter is the alternative one. It includes filters for love triangles, vacations, secret babies, amnesia, professional situations, foreign travel, second chances, and weddings.
Amazon also offers an audio narration filter to search for audio eBooks.
You can also borrow books for free from your local Library or even share some books with friends using the Amazon Household function makes Amazon Kindle Free Books a great alternative to LibGen.
FAQs
1. Are LibGen files secure?
The LibGen websites are safe to visit and are run by volunteer librarians who share your passion for reading. The librarians also run malware checks on all book files. Because they are not EXE files, book files like EPUBs and PDFs don’t pose a significant risk (viruses are usually EXE files).
2. How does LibGen earn income?
Encryption IS NOT SUPPORTED on the LibGen website, which is funded by Google-served advertising. So, each LibGen download alerts Google, and if a user has ever registered with Google, Google will also be aware of who they are, what they have downloaded, and when they obtained it.
3. Has Library Genesis been terminated?
ISPs blocked the website in numerous nations after legal action in 2015, and an American judge ordered it to go offline and suspend the original domain registration (Libgen.org). Then Libgen was declared to have ended. A Library Genesis proxy (Libgen proxy) is now required to access materials on the website.
Conclusion
We want to let our readers know that Library Genesis is, without a doubt, the best place to find free eBooks and articles to download. These days, downloading a free PDF is relatively simple. You can still obtain your free ebook from a variety of libraries other than Library Genesis.
However, it is thought that the websites on this list are superior in some areas. In conclusion, that’s all we have for this list of the best Libgen alternatives.