Where and how to purchase e-books in English
Just bought a new Amazon Kindle and want to try it out? Or do you have one of the latest generations of a tablets or smartphones and you’re itching to read a book in English, if nothing else, just so you can read while you’re in line at the post office or in the waiting room at the doctor? Here are a few handy tips on where and how to download the best e-books!
1. Amazon
The first and most obvious choice is Amazon. For English books you’ll find much more selection using the British or American urls, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com. Once you’re on the website, in the menu to the left you need to go to Kindle E-readers & books and then click on the link for “Kindle Books”. One you’re in the Kindle Books category you’ll see a list of recommended books but you can also type in the name of the one you’re looking for into the Amazon search field.
After you’ve bought the book of your choice, if you don’t have a Kindle you can still read the book on the Kindle Cloud Reader, a platform you can access on your computer which lets you view the books you’ve purchased. If you want to read your book from an Android operating system you can just go to Kindle for Android and download the free app.
Before spending your hard-earned money on the book you want, you can also try seeing if it’s available to download for free. Just try a search for Mansfield Park by Jane Austen!
2. Mondadori
On the Mondadori website you’ll find loads of e-books in English (go the the top menu: e-books -> e-books in English). Just enter the name of the book you want to read into the search field. However, Mondadori offers some interesting categories: latest releases, books from the most popular contemporary authors, as well as classic English literature. When you buy the e-book you can also decide which device to download it onto: Kobo reader, smartphone, iPhone, tablet, or iPad. If you don’t have a Kobo e-reader, simply install the free Kobo reading app you’ll see offered before finalising the purchase. This is another place where you can try it out for free by taking advantage of one of the free e-books Mondadori has to offer.
3. La Feltrinelli
La Feltrinelli uses the Kobo e-reader too, and you can find a variety of English e-books available by going to the “e-books” menu item in the top menu, and then clicking on “e-books in English”. The top results shown will most likely be technical books about astrophysics or orthopaedics, but on the menu to the left is a list of categories to help you narrow down the results!
