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4 Ways to Get Free Kindle Books on Amazon and Other Places  TechPP
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The Amazon Kindle is a popular tablet designed for reading ebooks, and if you purchase Kindle books from Amazon, you can read them using the Kindle app for other mobile devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Android. But Amazon gives you another simple way to read electronic books — using the Kindle Cloud Reader, which lets you read your books online in almost any web browser.  
If you have an Amazon account, you automatically have access to the Kindle Cloud Reader; you can open it in any popular web browser and sign in using your Amazon account credentials. 
If you don’t already have an Amazon account, you’ll need to create one before you can start using Kindle Cloud Reader. Go to Amazon and click Account & Lists at the top right. In the dropdown menu under the New to Amazon? section, click Create your Amazon account and follow the instructions to get started. Once you’ve created an account, the Kindle Cloud Reader will be ready and waiting for you. 
Quick tip: If you want to read Kindle books offline in a location that has no internet service, you should use the Kindle app on a mobile device or your computer. The Kindle Cloud Reader no longer allows you to download books for offline reading. 
You can add books to your Kindle Cloud Reader by purchasing ebooks on Amazon.
From the Kindle Cloud Reader, do this:
1. Click Kindle Store at the top right of the page. 
2. Browse or search for books. When you find one you want, click it. 
3. On the book’s product page, make sure the Kindle version is selected. You might see other editions listed as well, such as paperback, hardcover, and audiobook. 
4. Before you complete the purchase, you might notice that there’s a Deliver to: dropdown menu. It’s not important to select a specific entry (like Kindle Cloud Reader). When you buy a Kindle book it becomes available on all of your devices, including the Cloud Reader, immediately.
5. Purchase the book in the usual way. 
You should see the new book appear automatically in the Kindle Cloud Reader.
Reading a book in the Kindle Cloud Reader is straightforward — click the title you want to read. The book will open and you can advance through the book by clicking the arrow on the side of the page, using the keyboard’s arrow keys or the space bar.
You can also customize the reading experience with a small menu. To make the menu appear, move the mouse pointer to the top or bottom of the page. Here are your options:
In addition to those menus, you can highlight text or add notes for later reference. To do that, select the desired text with the mouse and you’ll see a popup menu appear. Choose Highlight or Note and enter a note if desired.
One disadvantage of using the Kindle Cloud Reader rather than the Kindle mobile app is the Cloud Reader can become crowded with books, making it potentially hard to find a title you want to read. 
If you want to organize the Cloud Reader by deleting a book, you unfortunately have to permanently delete it from your Amazon account (so if you want to read it again, you’ll have to repurchase it). If you want to do this:
1. Open the Amazon website in a web browser.
2. Move the mouse pointer over Account & Lists and then click Content & Devices from the dropdown menu. 
3. Click the checkbox for one or more books you want to remove and then click Delete at the top of the page. 

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It’s increasingly clear that risks related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are part of the regular risk factors all businesses must face. Whether emissions, data security, employee relations, products, or business ethics, the potential damages due to mismanaging ESG issues are much greater than the expense to mitigate the risks. But where should you start?
We’ve created a practical guide to help you understand how to take the first steps on your journey to sustainable environmental, social, and governance practices.
In this ebook, you’ll learn:
 

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We consider price, course selection, production quality, and more to help you decide which of these top online learning sites is a better place to study.
$180 for 1-Year Standard Plan at MasterClass
40% off 12-Month Premium Plan +1 Month Free at Skillshare
Online learning service MasterClass lures you in with its A-list instructors, then hooks you with thoughtful material and exceptional production values.
Skillshare's videos teach you creative life and work skills, from running an online business to cooking at home. It's a compelling way to indulge your brain at a low price.
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Apples are better than oranges. I kid: The entire point of the expression “comparing apples to oranges” is that you can’t directly compare the two. Sure, they’re both fruits, but they serve different purposes. Apples are better for making cider; oranges are better for juicing and mixing with champagne or vodka. I suppose you could also eat them.
My point is that comparing Skillshare and MasterClass directly is difficult, and a more fruitful exercise would be to point out how they’re different and under which conditions you might choose one over the other. Yes, they both nominally offer online classes, but the two companies use the word “class” in different ways. And they’re both very good at what they do. They’re both Editors’ Choice winners among online learning services. But what they’re trying to do is quite different.
I’d compare Skillshare to a local community college. It’s a great place to stop by and learn something new, especially if you’re looking for practical skills.
MasterClass, meanwhile, is more like a prestigious guest lecture series hosted by a university. You’ll learn a little about how to do something, sure, but the focus is almost most on why you might want to do it—the philosophy behind the thing. 
MasterClass has a collection of brilliantly presented classes taught by renowned leaders in every field. But that doesn’t mean it’s better than Skillshare in every way. There are specific reasons you might spend money on one or the other. Let’s take a closer look.
MasterClass costs a lot more than Skillshare. Cost and value are not necessarily the same thing, however.
Skillshare offers a free version with a limited selection of courses. Over the years that PCMag has reviewed Skillshare, prices for the paid version have changed frequently. As of this writing, a Premium membership costs $29.88 per year. There’s also a 30-day free trial of the Premium version but you have to add your payment information to get it. 
MasterClass does not offer a free version. MasterClass membership starts at $180 per year for the Individual plan, which can run on a single device with no offline support. MasterClass Duo supports two devices with offline support and costs $240 a year. A Family plan works on eight devices and costs $276 per year. Note that all billing is annual—there’s no option to pay month-to-month. There is no free version of MasterClass, but you can get a free trial if someone with a MasterClass account sends you a special link. That trial still requires payment details, however. There are some free live classes, but they really don’t represent the quality or tone of the paid courses.
Winner: Skillshare 
Skillshare focuses on teaching skills, with a real focus on the creative space. It includes everything from graphic design to animation to creative writing. Skillshare also touches on skills related to building and maintaining businesses in the creative world, with classes on topics such as how to run an Etsy store.
Skillshare does create some courses in-house, generally labeled Skillshare Originals. Those courses tend to have celebrity(ish) instructors and high production qualities. The bulk of the courses offered on Skillshare, however, are uploaded by independent instructors. They vary more in quality. 
Classes on Skillshare tend to be about an hour long or less, split into shorter chunks. You can complete these classes at your own pace, generally stopping to work on exercises, or you could watch an entire course from start to finish on your lunch break. 
MasterClass, meanwhile, is less directly focused on specific skills. The instructors are all A-listers in their fields, and some are household names. A lot of the value is hearing these celebrities talk about their individual workflow and philosophy. You learn some tips along the way, and some courses might even give you assignments. The focus, though, is watching or listening to someone who is the best in the world at something demonstrate those skills and give you tips.
MasterClass courses are much longer than Skillshare’s. A 20-hour MasterClass isn’t unheard of, though they’re broken up into sections and the site makes it easy to keep track of where you left off. It usually makes sense to complete a course over multiple days or weeks.
Winner: Tie. These two services are trying to do completely different things, and each does a good job. 
You’ll be forgiven if, after watching a commercial for MasterClass, you thought you’d get feedback on your songwriting from Saint Vincent or on your stand up comedy routine from Steve Martin. The truth is you won’t interact with any of the “instructors” on this service—you’ll mostly just watch them. 
Still, the videos aren’t everything. Every MasterClass course offers a PDF ebook that summarizes a lot of the points made in the course, and in some cases even supplements it. The booklets can be 50 pages long. Some of the courses encourage you to practice a skill, and a few even have worksheets. You can keep these supplemental materials after your subscription expires, giving you something to reference years later if you keep it around. 
Skillshare is more scattershot. Some courses offer supplemental downloadable materials. Some offer projects to work on and upload. The idea is that your “classmates,” meaning anyone else who happens to be taking the class at the time, will comment and give you feedback. In some cases, the teacher might even comment, though in practice it’s rare. It all amounts to more interaction than MasterClass offers, but that’s not saying much. 
It’s hard to pick a clear leader here. If you want a polished summary of the videos you watched, MasterClass is better. If you’re hoping for projects to work on as you learn a skill, Skillshare courses might be a better fit. 
Winner: Tie
Skillshare videos vary wildly in video quality. The worst user-submitted courses are clearly shot at the instructor’s desk using a webcam. The best courses have a much higher level of polish than that, particularly the Skillshare Originals. 
But even the best Skillshare videos don’t come close to MasterClass courses, all of which are extremely well produced. It’s hard to make 20 hours of someone talking interesting. You have to do a lot of pre-production planning, in addition to post-production editing, to make it work. MasterClass courses pull off this feat, which must cost a fortune. 
This isn’t to say that Skillshare’s quality is bad. It’s just that MasterClass’ is spectacular. 
Winner: MasterClass
MasterClass and Skillshare both work in your browser if you’re on a computer, and they both offer mobile apps. The mobile versions of both apps make it easy to download videos for offline watching, assuming your subscription offers that. Skillshare has a button for downloading an entire course to your mobile device, whereas MasterClass only offers the feature for individual videos. 
MasterClass also offers apps for every major smart TV platform. Skillshare doesn’t have dedicated smart TV apps, but you can use Chromecast or Airplay on your mobile device to send the videos over to your television. The MasterClass website and apps are very clean, making it easy to find what you’re looking for. Skillshare is a little more cluttered and a little harder to navigate. It’s close, but I’m giving MasterClass the edge in this category.  
Winner: MasterClass 
MasterClass wins, but it isn’t a blowout! MasterClass takes two categories: Production Quality and How to Watch. Skillshare won just one category: Price. The other three categories were ties because in many ways it’s impossible to directly compare these two services. They’re simply trying to do different things. 
If you want to learn a specific skill, start with Skillshare. If you want to see some of the best lecture-style courses ever created, taught by world famous instructors, go straight to MasterClass. But you really can’t go wrong with either, if you actually take the time to complete the courses.
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Justin Pot believes technology is a tool, not a way of life. He writes tutorials and essays that inform and entertain. He loves beer, technology, nature, and people, not necessarily in that order. Learn more at JustinPot.com.
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If you’re looking for free ebooks to download and dive into, these digital libraries are worth checking out.
With the advance of digital technology, more and more people are choosing ebooks and audiobooks over printed books. Amazon alone offers millions of ebooks in every category you could think of. Some are free, while others come with a hefty price tag.
The good news is, you can always head over to a digital library to get the information you need when you need it. You just need to know what to look for. With that being said, check out these five digital libraries for free ebooks, audiobooks, and other online resources.
Open Library started out as an online project designed to preserve interesting websites, ebooks, and other digital assets. Its founders wanted to “create a web page for every book ever published”.
Today, users can “borrow” and read millions of ebooks for free. All you need to do is to sign up for an account and browse the Open Library. You can even add new books to its collection.
Registered users can also create custom lists of ebooks, such as “Want to Read” or “Have Read”. If you want to add a new book to its collection, register on the Internet Archive, upload your book, and then create an entry on Open Library.
With a quick search, you’ll find ebooks in every genre, from art and sci-fi, to medicine. The history collection, for example, features over 1.6 million titles. Luckily, you can filter the results by subject, by author, and other criteria.
Related: Reasons Why You Should Stop Using Goodreads
If you’re looking for a particular book, enter its name in the search bar. Or you can click on random ebooks and preview or “borrow” them for free. Some ebooks are available in the much preferred audio format, too.
Another interesting feature is the Search Inside feature. If you need a specific piece of information, you can choose an ebook related to that topic and enter your query in the search bar. Just think about how much time you could save!
Established in 1971, Project Gutenberg aims to digitize books and other cultural works. Today, it features over 60,000 free ebooks that you can download or read online. The best part is, you don’t need an ebook reader or special apps to access the titles in its collection.
Users can narrow down their search by title, by popularity, by author, by language, and by file type. They can also search by subject or by category, such as audiobooks, pictures, or music.
While most ebooks are available in English, some have been published in Arabic, Ancient Greek, Navajo, or Mayan languages. This could be an opportunity to brush up on your language skills or even learn a foreign language from scratch.
Like Open Library, Project Gutenberg offers free ebooks in every category, from history and law to music, psychology, and science. Users also have access to “bookshelves” for specific content.
If, say, you want to learn more about the Spanish American War, you can go directly to that bookshelf instead of browsing through thousands of titles.
Related: Kindle or Physical: Which Format Is Best for Reading Your Next Book?
When you select an ebook, you can choose to read it online, in plain text, or in Kindle format. There’s also the option to download free ebooks in EPUB format, with or without images. This feature may come in handy if you have limited space on your smartphone or tablet.
Featuring over 32 million ebooks, the Internet Archive is the largest digital library ever created. In addition to free ebooks, its catalog includes 591 billion web pages and millions of videos, concerts, audio files, and software programs.
Think of the Internet Archive as a digital time machine. Some items in its collection date back to the ’90s and are not available anywhere else.
The ebooks are organized by category, but you can also search by collection, by author, by topic, or by year of publishing. There’s also a huge selection of ebooks for those with disabilities. It features popular works such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Jaws, and Dune.
Users have the option to rate and review the books they read. If you find a book that looks interesting, click on it to see what others have to say. After registration, you can upload ebooks and other media files from your personal collection.
Whether you’re doing research for an essay, white paper, or science project, it can be difficult to find trustworthy sources. That’s where the Wiley Online Library comes in handy.
This digital library offers over 22,000 online books, 1,600 journals, and hundreds of reference works. Most resources are science-focused, covering all manner of topics.
The Business and Management collection, for example, includes hundreds of ebooks and articles on consumer behavior, management, and business technology.
If you’re ready to learn a new programming language, head over to the Information Technology section. Narrow down your search by publication date, subject, author, or publisher.
Related: Understand Any Book With the Instaread Book Summary App
Not all ebooks are free to read and download, but you can browse them or access specific chapters. Look for the Free Access icon to see which books are available for free.
Launched in 2009, the World Digital Library selection of rare books, manuscripts, and other materials dating back to 8,000 BC. The collection includes more than 19,000 publications from over 190 countries.
This project was developed by the U.S. Library of Congress and UNESCO, with the purpose of making culture available to everyone. It features thousands of books, photos, and maps that were once only available in museums, so it’s just like visiting these cultural institutions from home.
Anyone can download the books for free. Depending on what you’re interested in, you may want to check out the rare book collection on offer. There’s also the option to search by place, by topic, by time period, by language, or by the institution.
As you already know, there’s always room for growth. However, this doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on books and courses. Whether you want to learn a new language, develop your skills, or start a project, everything you need is at your fingertips.
For starters, visit these digital libraries and take your pick. Head over to the Internet Archive for a stroll back in time, or check out the World Digital Library to expand your cultural horizons. If you’re doing research for a science paper or work project, go to the Wiley Online Library to get the facts straight.
Andra Picincu is a senior digital copywriter and content strategist with more than 12 years of experience. She holds a BA in Psychology and a BA in Marketing and International Business. Her day-to-day work involves writing content and executing digital marketing campaigns for multinational companies, creative agencies, brands, and small-to-medium businesses.
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As endpoints proliferate and organizations move more applications, infrastructure and data into the cloud, lack of visibility and scalability poses a serious challenge to security and IT teams in charge of protecting endpoints.
Modern endpoint security is based on visibility and scalability, something legacy endpoint security solutions lack. Download this eBook to learn more about the five critical capabilities you need for a modern approach to endpoint security:
For technical information on installation, policy configuration and more, please visit the CrowdStrike Tech Center.

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Trading an ebook for a prospect’s contact information is among the purest forms of content marketing. It’s an effective way for B2B sellers to find their next customer.
B2B companies supply the products that ecommerce and omnichannel sellers retail to the general public.
I was recently reminded how a simple ebook can be an excellent B2B customer acquisition tool when I downloaded one from Affirm, the installment loan company, in exchange for my LinkedIn profile information and email address.
Here are some of the insights I drew from Affirm’s ebook.
This screen capture is from the cover page of Affirm’s ebook. The bright and colorful image was also featured in the LinkedIn ad.
1. Capture a lead. Affirm’s ebook was presumably developed as a lead capture device. Consider the evidence.
The final customer acquisition tactic in Affirm’s ebook was the company’s own service. This was also the longest tactic in terms of the word count.
2. Combine with ads. I define content marketing as the act of creating, publishing, and promoting content with the aim of attracting, engaging, and retaining customers.
In practice, marketers often emphasize creating and publishing the content but not promoting it. This is a mistake when your goal is lead capture. So I applaud Affirm’s decision to buy ads around the ebook.
This is not to say that you should be advertising every new blog post. But when you have an ebook for lead capture, why not buy attractive ads around it, with compelling graphics and a click-grabbing title?
3. Your ebook can be short. This Affirm ebook is brief. The PDF is just eight pages, including a title page and an “About Affirm” page. There are fewer than 1,100 words, 107 on the “About Affirm” page. This article is roughly 700 words.
In my mind, Affirm’s ebook was too short. But the point is that you don’t need to create a massive tomb to acquire leads. Your ebook can be short and focused. Provide enough content to make good on the promise in your title and your promotion. That’s all you need.
Ebooks are within your company’s reach.
This single page with a couple of short paragraphs and a list constituted a full section in the Affirm ebook.
4. A little value is still value. Offer something of value when asking a prospective customer for an email address and, by implication, permission to contact. This is reciprocity — trading things of value for the mutual benefit of two parties (your company and your prospect).
The value you offer, however, should be proportional to what you ask in return. My email address is worth something. But it’s not worth, say, an entire encyclopedia set. A bulleted list of reasonable customer acquisition tactics, which is what Affirm offered, seems fair.
Make sure the value you provide is worth it to your prospect.
5. Automation. Although I downloaded the ebook directly from the LinkedIn ad after sharing my email address, I still received an email from Affirm with a link to the ebook and a marketing message.
Automate your lead follow-up with a nurture campaign that helps guide the prospect toward a purchase.
I suspect Affirm initiated a marketing automation workflow when it captured my email address. Likely I will receive a couple more emails in the series.
This is something you should consider for your ebook, too. Develop an automation flow that guides your new prospect toward more engagement. The content opened the door to a new relationship with your company, but you still have to nurture it.
Affirm’s marketing team did a pretty good job with the ebook. It captured my contact info and intrigued me enough to compose this article. But it wasn’t perfect. You can do better.
Build on Affirm’s example for your next lead capture campaign.
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