Books that work with Lexis.

The one rule: DRM-free

DRM is a lock a store puts on a file so that only its own app can open it. Lexis reads EPUB and PDF files that carry no lock, which is the open format used by public-domain libraries, independent publishers and every store that labels its books DRM-free. If you upload a locked file, Lexis tells you straight away instead of failing half way through.

Lexis does not remove locks and this page does not explain how to. Buy the open version instead; it costs the same.

Start tonight, free

Six classics are built into Lexis with a reading level attached. Open your library, add one, and you are reading in under a minute. No file to find.

• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

  Lewis Carroll

  B1

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

  L. Frank Baum

  B1

• A Christmas Carol

  Charles Dickens

  B2

• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

  Arthur Conan Doyle

  B2

• The Picture of Dorian Gray

  Oscar Wilde

  C1

• Pride and Prejudice

  Jane Austen

  C1

Thousands more, free and legal

Books whose copyright has expired can be downloaded by anyone. That is most of the English canon before about 1930, in clean EPUB files.

• Project Gutenberg

  More than 75,000 public-domain books. On a book's page choose the EPUB download; either EPUB option opens in Lexis.

• Standard Ebooks

  The same classics, carefully proofread and beautifully typeset. The best-looking free EPUBs you can find.

• Baen Free Library

  Free science fiction and fantasy novels from a publisher that has never used DRM.

• Internet Archive

  Scans of older books, often as PDF. Only the downloads work; the titles marked Borrow are locked.

Which classic for your level

Rough guides, not tests. Open a random page and count the words you do not know in the first hundred: ten or fewer is right, twenty or more is too early for that one.

• B1

  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wind in the Willows, Anne of Green Gables

• B2

  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, A Christmas Carol, Treasure Island, The Time Machine, The Call of the Wild

• C1

  The Picture of Dorian Gray, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, The Great Gatsby

Modern books, bought without a lock

Recent bestsellers from the big publishers are usually locked on every store. These places sell modern books that open in Lexis. Before you buy anywhere, look for the words DRM-free, no DRM or watermarked on the product page, and check that the store gives you a file to download rather than only a button to read in its app.

• Kobo

  Some publishers sell DRM-free here. Open the eBook details on the product page; when it says DRM-free, the downloaded EPUB opens in Lexis. Most other Kobo titles are locked.

• ebooks.com

  A large store with a DRM-free filter. Search for a title and look for the DRM-free label before buying.

• Smashwords

  Independent authors, every book DRM-free, many free or under five euros. Fiction of every kind.

• Tor Publishing Group

  Science fiction and fantasy from Tor, Forge and Tordotcom has been DRM-free since 2012, wherever you buy it.

• Baen Ebooks

  Science fiction and fantasy, sold DRM-free by the publisher, in EPUB.

• Humble Bundle

  Bundles of ten to twenty DRM-free ebooks for a small donation, usually non-fiction and genre fiction.

• Verso Books

  Non-fiction and politics. Ebooks bought from the publisher's site are DRM-free EPUB and PDF.

• Authors' own shops

  Many authors sell direct through their own site (delivered by BookFunnel, Payhip or Gumroad). Direct sales are almost always DRM-free.

Your own files, and any web page

Any EPUB or PDF you already own without a lock works: books from the stores above, articles and reports saved as PDF, course material, your own writing. Drag the file into your library and tap the first word.

No book at hand? Paste a link. A news story, a blog post or any web page becomes a page in Lexis with the same tap-to-translate and the same flashcards. Pages behind a login or a paywall are the one exception.