The estimated reading time for this post is 4 minutes
When you finish reading a book, do you wish you could start reading another book right away, for free? If you can’t get enough of reading books, your fondest dream may for an instant, unlimited source of books. Good news, just as you can watch unlimited movies and tv shows on Netflix, you can read unlimited ebooks on Scribd.
Instead of buying movies, tv shows and music, many people are buying subscriptions to unlimited services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, Spotify, and Pandora. If you’re looking for a way to read unlimited books for one, all-you-can-eat price, you need to check out Scribd.
What Is Scribd
Scribd is a subscription service for ebooks, similar to Netflix for videos. Pay $8.99 per month (less than the average cost of a Kindle book) and get unlimited access to all Scribd ebooks. You can browse through the Scribd library to see what their collection offers.
A Scribd subscription includes access to over 300,000 ebooks from over 900 publishers plus over 40 million other written works. Just as with Netflix, you won’t find everything in their collection but you may find plenty of books you’ll enjoy.
You can try Scribd for free for the first 30 days. Read an ebook a day during that month and enjoy 30 free ebooks. Most ebooks are available free for subscribers but Scribd offers other ebooks for purchase.
Any author can submit their works to Scribd so its collection continues to grow. Scribd has over 80 million monthly readers and was named as one of the Top 10 Innovative Media Companies by Fast Company.
As long as you’re an active subscriber to Scribd you have unlimited access to their entire collection. When your subscription ends your access to Scribd books ends.
Scribd is offered in over 100 countries worldwide, though not all books are available in all countries. Digital rights to some books may not be available in certain countries. Most of Scribd’s readers are outside the US so you can have access to Scribd books from around the world.
Getting Started with Scribd
Head to scribd.com and sign up for an account with your email address or Facebook account. You have to enter your credit card or PayPal information but you won’t be charged for your subscription until the end of your free 30-day trial period. You don’t commit to a subscription period, you can cancel whenever you want.
You can personalize your Scribd recommendations by selecting categories you’re most interested in. Choose from interests such as thrillers, travel, business, fiction & literature, biographies, kids & teens and more.
You’re asked to rate at least five books from one to five stars so Scribd can learn what you like. Scribe uses the information to recommend other Scribe books you may enjoy reading.
Where to Read Scribd Books
You can read Scribd ebooks on multiple devices:
computer
Android device
iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
Kindle Fire
Just like Netflix videos, Scribd ebooks are not available on eInk reading devices such as Kindle and Nook ereaders.
Scribd syncs across devices so you won’t lose your place if you start reading on one device and pick up where you left off on another device. You can download books for reading when you’re offline and not connected to the Internet. You can create collections to keep your books organized.
You can adjust the font type and size and change the screen color from white to black or sepia. You can read on your computer in single column or double column views.
You can get social with your Scribd books and share what you’re reading on Facebook and Twitter and via email.
Giving a Scribd Gift
If you become a big fan of Scribd and want to share the love, you can send a Scribd gift card via email. You can choose from a 1 month subscription for $10, 3 months for $25, 6 months for $50, or 1 year for $100. Scribd lets you choose a custom look for your gift card.
Contributing Your Content to Scribd
If you’re a writer, author, and/or blogger you can add your written works to Scribd. Scribd can help you get your work discovered and get you more readers.
Check out this helpful article from Wonder of Tech reader Sylviane Nuccio about how to contribute your written work to Scribd:
How You Can Generate Organic Traffic Using Scribd
Read more: http://sylvianenuccio.com/generate-organic-traffic-using-scribd/#ixzz2vexxDLIq
Your Thoughts
Do you like the idea of a subscription ebook service? Are you excited at the idea of reading unlimited ebooks for less than the price of a single ebook? Have you ever tried Scribd? Let us know in the Comments section below!
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Hey Carolyn,
I use to post to this site, another form of getting your content out there until they deleted my account for some unknown reason. Said I wasn’t following their terms of service yet they didn’t tell me what it was I had done and for the life of me I still have no clue. I was just sharing my content like everyone else. I never really used the site for anything other than that so I wasn’t aware you could use a subscription for reading books.
Unfortunately since I don’t get enough time to read this one wouldn’t benefit me but I think it’s a good idea. Sometimes I don’t want to buy the book because I’m not one of those people who will read it again and again. Same thing with movies, I rarely will watch one again. I have but rarely.
Great idea and thanks for sharing this one.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, Yes, Scribd has been around for a while but changed significantly at the end of last year to offer subscription ebook services. Authors can use Scribd to help themselves get discovered by adding their content to Scribd. I’m sorry you had difficulties, I’m wondering what Terms of Service went counter to your offering.
You’re right, Scribd is best for people who read quite a bit. But even those who read only one book a month may enjoy using Scribd.
Hi Carolyn,
I have never heard of Scribd before. Thanks for giving me a heads up on this one. Sounds like a great way for getting books to read. I shall have to give it a try.
Debbie
Hi Debbie, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Definitely give Scribd a try. The first month is free, so why not? The cost of the subscription is extremely low so if you read an ebook each month, you’re getting a good deal.
Hi Carolyn,
Yet another informative piece!
This is a new idea to me, and
I need to check it out to get in.
Its really good to know that we
can read unlimited pages paying
less than the price of a single book.
I am sure that offer will tempt people
to go for it.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
And ha, thank you so much for the
visit to my page.
Best Regards
Phil
Hi Philip, Yes, if you’re a reader then Scribd is quite a good bargain. Just as Netflix lets you watch movies and TV shows forever, you could read forever on Scribd. You never have to leave your house and can have unlimited books. How cool is that?
Hi Carolyn,
For people who read a lot, this is the ANSWER! I am not much of an ebook reader myself, but rather have a hard copy.
But…I know plenty of people who are! This would be perfect for them, so I’ll pass this information on. I clicked the link for the Gift Card! That would make the perfect gift for people I know. I’ve already bookmarked this post so the next time I want to give a gift, I’ll remember how to do it.
As I read through 10 friends and family members came to my mind. Thanks for sharing this because Scribd has come a very long way!
-Donna
Hi Donna, Yes, if you don’t like to read ebooks then Scribd wouldn’t be for you. But one of the advantages of ebooks is that you can start reading a new book within seconds. No need to make a trip to the library or the book store!
I bet your friends will really appreciate their Scribd gifts, Donna!
Hi Carolyn,
Anything free is good, and if they’re ebooks then what could one ask for more! 🙂 Even if they’re not totally free, but then the service is unlimited, so well worth it.
This is really, even if you look from the social perspective apart from the personal benefits. Scribd increasing interest and opportunities in reading, which is wonderful. Reading is a great habit, and it prevents people from taking any negative or futile pastimes, isn’t it?
I’ve read somewhere that bloggers use this medium too to promote their posts.
This is a great review and I’m motivated to try Scribd. The gift option is pretty good too, worth trying.
Thanks for this information, as always, its splendid! Have a great week ahead! 🙂
Hi Harleena, Yes, as an author you can add your writings to Scribd and get paid and discovered. Why not, right?
Yes, it’s very cool that people can read even more than they did before with Scribd. Just one price for unlimited ebooks, you would want to read a lot to get your money’s worth!
I like how they have kids and teens books too so families can take advantage of Scribd subscriptions.
Scribd is free to try, Harleena, so you could give it a try for 30 days and see if you and your family enjoy it. Because you can read on multiple devices, everyone in the family can be enjoying a book!
Hi Harleenas, Carrie here from Scribd. With regards to writers promoting their own work on Scribd, this is one of my favorite posts on the subject from a writer herself: http://sylvianenuccio.com/generate-organic-traffic-using-scribd/.
Hi Carrie, Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a link to Sylviane’s article. She is a friend and a loyal Wonder of Tech reader. I have added a section to this article to link to Sylviane’s article about how writers can submit their work to Scribd.
WOW !!
Carolyn you have shared a great source for ebook lovers.. 🙂 and the amazing thing is that it’s free and UNLIMITED to read. JUST GREAT .. 🙂
Hi Mainak, Yes, Scribd is incredible, such a great deal for book lovers. Scribd is free for the first month, but then it’s $8.99/month after that. That price is less than the average cost of a book so it’s a pretty amazing deal!
Caroline, thank you so much for this wonderful review and overview of what Scribd is. I manage all things community-related here at Scribd, and I can’t tell you how stinkin’ happy this made all of us here. We hope to get better and better as we go. Our team is working really hard to take in positive and negative feedback to improve. If you ever have any feedback to give the team here, we’re all ears. You can send me a note at carrie(at)scribd(dot)com. That goes for all your readers too! 🙂
Hi Carrie, Thanks so much for taking the time to visit and leave a comment here. When I learned about Scribd, I was very excited to share your site with Wonder of Tech readers who happen to be the most brilliant readers in the world!
This is exactly the type of tech that I cover here at The Wonder of Tech: personal technology that people can use in their everyday lives. Scribd offering unlimited ebooks for a monthly price of less than a single ebook is a truly great deal.
Thanks for your service in providing ebooks and also for writers to share their works.
Hi Carolyn,
You can call me old fashioned but I must confess that the pleasure that I get in reading a book, which I can feel, i can bookmark with my oldest friends…[one of my bookmark is as old as 15 years!] is indescribable. I do try to read on kindle and even have self published a book but visiting a bookstore, looking at the new arrivals and buying them gives me immense pleasure.
I enjoyed reading this post, though and thoughts that came to my mind, I have shared them.
Thanks! your posts are always loaded with information.
Hi Balroop, There is nothing old-fashioned about enjoying the tactile sensation of holding a book in your hands. I certainly enjoy that too. Nothing about reading an ebook prevents you from reading printed books. You may find that you read a combination of books, some printed and some in digital form.
The convenience of ebooks, that you can download one in seconds, change the font size, and have it available wherever you go, may work for some books while other books you may prefer to read in print form.
When people think about buying a book, they may now instead think, “For the cost of this book, I could read it plus an unlimited amount of other books if I subscribe to Scribd.”
Hi Carolyn,
As I am an an avid, no strike that, a voracious reader, I have loved Scribd for a long time now, and think it is a wonderful service.
If you love reading as much as I do, you can also find a stack of unusual content on Archive dot org.
Cheers!
Bill
Hi William, Wow, it’s great to hear from a long-time fan of Scribd. Thanks so much for the tip about finding unusual content! That’s especially helpful to Wonder of Tech readers.
As a technician I was using scribd to find obscure and obsolete tech manuals for the equipment I worked on, came in handy more than once!!
Hi Carolyn,
Lots of my friends are authors and so this might be another opportunity for them. I find too many services want me to subscribe and the bills just mount up. I don’t use any of them enough to warrant paying the money! When other people are watching TV I’m out taking photos! I only watch TV in bed before I go to sleep. I never seem to get time to read fiction, I read news and articles all the time. I used to be a great fan of magazines, because you tended to know what you were going to get when you bought the magazine. I would consider a tablet or eBook reader to read more magazines.