The Ten Best Book Apps

by Will Viharo

​Whenever you come up with a “ten best” list of anything, you are going to annoy people because of choices you neglected to include.
 
But “ten best” lists often serve to enlighten and inform aficionados of any given genre or format.
 
So for digitally inclined book lovers with little time or money to waste, here is a completely objective list just for you…

There are dozens if not hundreds of apps for readers of all genres to choose from.  ⤺ Tweet This!

These are just a very few that come highly recommended for people just now experimenting with this option. Whichever one you choose, you can’t go wrong.
 
Plus, for the sake of diplomacy, they’re presented in alphabetical order:
 
Amazon Kindle
Well, duh. The undisputed, unrivaled leader of the digital publishing revolution offers several ways to download free apps for their vast Kindle library, which is growing by the minute, partly thanks to self-publishers, whose share of the market is growing in tandem with the trend.
 
Audiobooks from Audible
What’s more convenient than a portable digital library you can access and read at your leisure, on-the-go, on vacation, or even on the job when no one is watching? Books you can actually listen to, while driving, relaxing in the tub, swaying on a hammock, etc. This app is the ideal option for readers that don’t have time or energy to focus their eyes, and would rather let their ears do the reading.
 
Epic
This app is aimed specifically for children, making it the perfect “baby-sitter” whether your kids are sitting in the back seat on a long road trip or just laying around the house watching television, and you’d prefer they put their developing brains to better (or more edifying) use.
 
Free Books
The name says it all. Of course we’re talking about public domain titles, but when that extensive list includes nearly 24,000 classics by the likes of Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Lewis Carroll, you’re given access to essentially planet Earth’s literary treasure trove, going back hundreds of years in our history. That itself makes their inventory priceless, and so it is – literally, as in “no cost.”
 
Goodreads
This popular online hub for writers and readers alike is the ideal place to hang out if you want to review your favorite authors and receive recommendations from fellow fans. As evidence of their user-friendliness, they have a feature (for iOS) that allows browsers to decide before purchasing whether they will actually enjoy a book. They also offer a virtual “barcode scanner” with which users can add titles to their “to-read” shelf.
 
Google Play
What makes this app so appealing is the sheer volume of titles available – over a million, including bestsellers like Gone Girl and the Game of Thrones series. They also provide limitless cloud storage, so you can haul around a virtual library – like, the main branch – wherever you go.
 
NOOK
Amazon’s most realistic rival for dominance of the eBook market is this popular Barnes & Noble version of Kindle. Not only do they also provide a self-publishing platform, but also B&N brick-and-mortar stores are now stocking books by (selected) authors that use their services, which is a rarity for the indie trade these days.
 
OverDrive
This app allows the user access to titles from their local libraries (as long as you have an account with them), providing not only their reading stock but also streaming videos and audiobooks. It’s essentially an e-library card, with easy returns!

Tapas
This app is mainly known for the many comics they have on digital tap, but they are quickly expanding their literary repertoire.
 
Author Andy Weir - who made indie history success with his initially self-published sci-fi novel The Martian, subsequently made into a hit film by Ridley Scott – is releasing his new short story collection Principals of Uncertainly exclusively via Tapas.
 
He explains why in this recent interview:
 
Because they made a good offer! But seriously, I’m always excited to explore new ways to connect with readers and I think what Tapas is doing in focusing primarily on mobile phones and small chunks of text is interesting. And if it gets more readers to connect with my stories, that’s all I can ask for.
 
Wattpad
This is fast-rising resource for both readers and writers, innovative due to its interactive network, while offering a truly eclectic and massive library ranging from indie short stories to popular classics to fanfic.
 
Happy downloading!

PHOTO: MARK HILLARY