Books We Read Online

Books We Read is a collaboration between Rutgers New Brunswick Libraries and the Office of Academic Programs at the Rutgers School of Biological and Environmental Sciences. It aims to promote reading, libraries, and  information literacy with the resources of Rutgers University Libraries. Recreational reading, i.e., reading for fun and mental health also has side effects, such as improving marketable skills for classes and beyond, including searching for information, finding resources, writing papers, and citing scholarly resources.

The program was extended to online reading after Rutgers had decided to move its courses fully online due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March, 2020. For engaging online activities, games, and quizzes, see also RUGRAT - Rutgers University Groups Reading Alone Together. The print Books We Read is also available. See also our Books We Read: Poetry guide.

Start with QuickSearch on the RUL home page

• Enter your search term(s), you will get a list of results.

• Use the left panel to narrow down to ebooks.

• Under 'Resource Types" select Book.

• Under "Limit to" select Available Online

• Select any title from the results list to view the complete details for that item including the link for online access.

For more guidance, resources, and tips, see this guide on electronic resources at Rutgers.

Additionally, the Internet Archive has a large collection of digitized books.  With a free account, you can “borrow”  or download.

Virtual Browsing

You can also browse the Rutgers University Libraries collection virtually. Once you have located a book, scroll down to find similar titles under VIRTUAL BROWSE.