BitLit offers discount eBooks if you own the paper version

Paper books or digital books? Both have their pros and cons, but getting the best of both could end up with you having to buy both versions separately. That’s where BitLit comes in: it will offer you free or discounted digital versions of books you already own so you don’t get shafted because you’d rather carry a Kindle around.

If you do own a paper copy of a book and would love to have a digital version, all you have to do is take a picture within the BitLit app. First of all you have to take a ‘shelfie’ (groan) which scans all the books on your bookshelf and lets you know ones have digital versions available.

Claiming it is a bit harder, and requires you to write your name on the book’s copyright page in pen. I can imagine a number of book enthusiasts will cringe at the prospect, but it’s a measure to ensure you’re not just scanning books inside a bookshop to avoid paying for them. Once you’ve claimed it, you can have the book sent to your e-reader or directly to you as a PDF, ePub, and Mobi – which means it should work on any device.

The only downsides are that not all of the ebooks are free (though they are heavily discounted), and the library doesn’t cover every book ever written. That said, you can check the books that are available ahead of time on BitLit’s website.

BitLit is free to download, and is available on iOS and Android devices.