Free book apps and book PDFs: Disrespecting author's work

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Image source: Hidden Gems Books

Recently I have came across this reel which shows where you can read the book for free or sites which gives free PDFs of novels. But why is such that we expect books for free?

Many of the free book apps that you would see on Playstore or Apple Store, that gives books for free wouldn't pay royalties to authors. Earlier, there was this famous app named AnyBooks. I am guilty of using it earlier too, but then stopped using it (after seeing IG stories of author Preeti Shenoy about it). The worse are the PDF versions of the books available on the internet and Telegram for free. Both of these are piracy of a book, and so a punishable act. And disrespect to the author's hardwork in writing that book.

On Twitter, once I had even saw someone's tweet saying that books are to be available for free. But why? An author puts so much hardwork and creativity into the book and they deserve to get the money. Authors make their living with words and they too have bills to pay as, just like us. And unfortunately, in India, authors are already paid less compared to countries like USA and European countries where royalty percentage is comparatively a bit more. And if it is followed by stealing their work and giving it for free, we undermine an author's work.

Its understandable if one is not able to afford to buy every single book they wish because of money constraints or less pocket money by parents. Or due to the space issues at home. In that way, they can lend a book from friends or anyone, conditions applied (includes not dog-earing the pages and returning book on time too) because a part of book-lover's heart resides with every book of theirs and cannot wait to have them back just the way it was. Oh wait, here are more etiquettes when you borrow a book . Or you can borrow from your school/college or city library. The above etiquettes and conditions apply here as well.

Amazon also has option of Kindle Unlimited where you can read unlimited books for free with a reasonable monthly subscription fees. You can keep 10 books in your library at a time and unlimited in a month. And if you want the 11th book, you have to remove one of the earlier 10 books from your Kindle Unlimited library. There is also the option of Audible subscription if you like to listen to books.

So lets not steal a book via free book apps or PDFS of a book and disrespect an author's hardwork they had put into it. As like us, they have to save money and pay the bills too. And the feeling of either buying books or borrowing a book with proper book etiquettes, hits different 😌.


Hello, I am Ritika Jakhotiya, the blogger behind Ritika Ruminates. I am an English graduate and currently pursuing an M.A. in English. I love reading and writing. Ritika Ruminates (formerly 'Blogging With Ritz') is my personal blog site, where I write about things close to my heart (and mind) and dish out my thoughts on topics that concern me or inspire my creativity. These topics include books, cinema, feminism, social themes/taboos, and travel. Before you leave, please hit the follow button and subscribe to get notified about new blog posts and share the post with others. I also create content (as a reader) on my Instagram @thisisritika_j, where I share book reviews, relatable memes and reels.

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