Free ebooks & Free Book Recommendations - Fable

The pursuit of knowing was freedom to me, the right to declare your own curiosities and follow them through all manner of books. I was made for the library ... The library was open, unending, free.
- Ta-Nehisi Coates

Skip to Free Books book selections

Free books are the cornerstone of a healthy country and a healthy mind. Through libraries and public domain resources, every reader can access thousands of free books.

At Fable, we have hundreds of classic ebooks you can read for free, both by yourself or with friends. Reading these books can change your life, as the great author Ta-Nehisi Coates explained:

“The pursuit of knowing was freedom to me, the right to declare your own curiosities and follow them through all manner of books. I was made for the library, not the classroom. The classroom was a jail of other people’s interests. The library was open, unending, free.”

What are good free books to read?

No matter what kind of genre you like to read, Fable has a free book for you.

Start with these classic books, the perfect way to explore our social reading platform and launch a book club with friends!

Persuasion

By Jane Austen

Persuasion was published in 1817, six months after Jane Austen’s death, and is the last novel she completed in full. It was well-regarded on publication and has been turned into several television series and movies.

The Great Gatsby

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

A study of America’s Jazz Age—a term said to be coined by Fitzgerald himself—complete with wealthy socialites living in hedonistic abandon, libertine flappers, jazz bands, roaring roadsters, and greasy speakeasies populated with shady grifters.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

By Frederick Douglass

First published by the Anti-Slavery Office in 1845, this memoir brought Frederick Douglass’ harrowing experiences as a slave to the world. It reportedly sold 5,000 copies in a single month, and Douglass exposed the profound evils of slavery.

Siddhartha

By Hermann Hesse

Over twelve short chapters the reader follows Siddhartha through each stage of his life, yearning for nirvana and finally achieving it. Today Siddhartha remains an influential text in new Western spirituality.

Jane Eyre

By Charlotte Bronte

Masterfully written and completely compelling, a novel with supernatural twists and romantic turns. It’s multidimensional — both a woman’s spiritual quest for independence and a love story, a gothic thriller and social commentary.

Tao Te Ching

By Lao-tzu

A series of 81 short poetic sections written in a fluid, ambiguous style, leaving them open to wide interpretation about subjects ranging from advice for those in power to advice for regular people to adages for daily living.

Crime and Punishment

By Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote “Crime and Punishment,” one of the most acclaimed novels in history, following his return from a 10 year exile in Siberia.

The Count of Monte Cristo

By Alexandre Dumas

A thrilling adventure and a timeless story of adventure, historical drama, romance, revenge, and Eastern mystery has been the source of over forty movies and TV series.

The Brothers Karamazov

By Fyodor Dostoevsky

In Dostoevsky’s final novel, a series of accidents of fate and wilful misunderstandings edge a family closer to tragedy, while the local townspeople watch on.

Odyssey

By Homer

Longing for home, Ulysses travels across the Mediterranean Sea to return to his kingdom in Ithaca; unfortunately, our hero manages to anger Neptune, the god of the sea, making his trip home agonizingly slow and extremely dangerous.

Heart of Darkness

By Joseph Conrad

A short but thematically complex novel exploring colonialism, humanity, and what constitutes a savage society.

Don Quixote

By Miguel de Cervantes

Don Quixote contains a surprising amount of slapstick laughs—even for the modern reader—and narrative devices still seen in today’s fiction. Many scenes are so famous that they’re ingrained in our collective culture.

The Art of War

By Sun Tzu

Sun Tzu’s ancient treatise on the art of war has exerted enormous influence over both Asian and Western soldiers, covering subjects ranging from morale and discipline to the correct use of spies.

Sense and Sensibility

By Jane Austen

Mrs. Dashwood and her three daughters live on the estate of a distant relative. The two oldest daughters fall in love, only to find that the objects of their affection have secrets that throw their lives into an uproar.

Candide

By Voltaire

Publisher description Candide is the picaresque tale of the titular character’s fantastical journey from an insular, idealized life in a picturesque castle through the difficulties and evils of the real world. Satir

The Thirty-Nine Steps

By John Buchan

You would be forgiven for being more familiar with Alfred Hitchcock’s incredible 1935 adaptation of John Buchan’s spy novel than the novel itself. Hitchcock made movie magic out of the story.

A Tale of Two Cities

By Charles Dickens

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” With what may well be the most iconic opening lines in history, Charles Dickens’ masterpiece tells a sweeping tale of the French Revolution, and paints a portrait of the people caught in the tide.

Beyond Good and Evil

By Friedrich Nietzsche

An exploration of the concept of morality as taken for granted by contemporary philosophers, and whether “good” and “evil” should be considered just two sides of the same coin.