Consumer Reports: Top e-readers and free e-books

Looking for something good to read? There's a huge number of free options you can access right now.

Maybe you've cleaned every closet and streamed every show. What's left to do at home? How about reading!

Since your local library might be closed, Consumer Reports reveals the best e-readers and tablets to download tons of free books, music and movies

Book clubs, like many other public gatherings these days, are being held online.

"It's been really great for everybody that's come to the book club to have a little bit of insight into people that they're not sitting next to," said Geoffrey Rickly.

While it might be harder to physically go to a bookstore or library these days, you can read an e-book. Consumer Reports says you might want to consider a tablet or e-reader.

"The Amazon Kindle e-readers are the best rated in our ratings -- incredible battery life, the screen is really legible," said Consumer Reports Tech Editor Nicholas De Leon. "If you want more flexibility, a tablet is a more well-rounded device. The flipside there is that tablets can be more expensive."

Libraries around the country are encouraging their readers to go digital with apps like overdrive, and libby. All you need is your library card to sign up. Then browse through thousands of titles, choose what you'd like and a digital download is sent to your device for a set number of days.

Don't have a tablet or e-reader?

"What folks may not know is that you don't necessarily need to buy either an e-reader or a tablet to start reading e-books," De Leon said.

Although harder on the eyes, Consumer Reports says all of these apps also work on a laptop or smartphone.

Prefer to listen to a book? Try Hoopla where your library card gets you access to thousands of audiobooks along with music and movies.

If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, you can access free e-books using Prime Reading and the Kindle App.

And check out the Library of Congress online, as well as Project Gutenberg, a free website that makes digital copies of old, no longer copyrighted books available.

And when life finally returns to normal, all of this e-reading might inspire you to pick up a book at your local library in person.

Another great resource: while schools have moved online, Audible is letting students stream thousands of audiobooks free.

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