E-Reading Apps and Their Quirks

These days, whenever I sit down in public and open up a book, it increasingly happens that the person who sits down next to me takes out an e-reader. With this proliferation of e-readers comes a proliferation of e-reading apps. So which one should you go with? Greg Zimmerman of BookRiot critiqued five of them.
 

Image via quick-brown-fox-canada-blogspot.com

The five e-reading apps that Zimmerman reviewed for BookRiot are the Nook app, Kindle app, iBooks app, OverDrive app, and Bluefire app. All are available for iPad, Android, and Windows tablets, and each has its good points and bad points, according to Zimmerman. Here is the summary of his findings:

Nook/Kindle: Offers portability ("all the content I purchased for my Nook can be accessed through the Nook (or Kindle) app on an iPad, Android, or Windows tablet") but doesn't show page numbers while you're reading. (On the latter point, a few commenters on Zimmerman's article begged to differ: "My Nook shows what page I'm on," insisted Linda Weiss and another commenter.)

iBooks: Declaring this "the best pure e-reading app," Zimmerman said "it's smooth, very customizable, and seemingly crash-resistant." However, it doesn't allow you to download library e-books in epub format. So if you plan to get most of your e-reading material from libraries, this won't be a good app for you.

OverDrive: If you mostly go to libraries for your e-reading needs, this is the app for you. "Since many libraries are now tied into this app, it's easy to download the app, choose your library, enter your library card info, and check out e-books," said Zimmerman. Yet he found it to be slower and clunkier than the other apps, and it doesn't have a search function.

Bluefire: Zimmerman found that this app "solves the iBooks no-library-books and OverDrive no-search-function problems." However, it doesn't let you download library e-books directly into it on your tablet, forcing you to take a more roundabout route in getting the e-book you want. As a result, Zimmerman called the Bluefire app "unwieldy."

Many readers chimed in, offering opinions of Zimmerman's critique of these apps, as well as giving suggestions for good e-reading apps. Commenter Steve Himmer said, "I'm really pleased with Readmill. Good flexibility with formats, and simply but thoughtfully designed." "My favorite is the Marvin app for iPad," said Jon Page. "It is the most customizable reading app I've come across and links directly with Dropbox and Calibre." Commenter Peter Damien said, "I've been using the IndieBound e-reading app on my iPad for a while now, and I was surprised at how quickly I took to it. Very flexible formatting, very comfortable and easy to use."

For much more insight into these e-reading apps, including full critiques from Greg Zimmerman and lots of commentary from readers of his article, see "The Quirky World of E-Reading Apps" at THIS LINK.

Students Eye Print vs. Electronic Textbooks

One of my library school professors told us that experiments were underway in classrooms across the country to see how students take to textbooks in electronic form. Last week, New York's Daily News newspaper reported that kids in American universities still prefer traditional textbooks over the electronic versions.

Students in Clearwater, Florida, take out their school-issued e-readers.
Image via http://goodereader.com

According to the Daily News, "some students" stated their preference for print textbooks. Their reasons? The electronic versions are "clumsy" and "difficult to use." I have to say I sincerely doubt that today's college students, who've come of age in the digital age, would have trouble navigating their way around a handheld electronic gadget. Perhaps e-textbooks can be "difficult to read" on certain types of electronic devices, as some students claimed in the Daily News piece. But I think most would welcome the opportunity to not have to lug around a bag full of heavy textbooks. I really think it all comes down to the influence that textbook publishers have on school systems and if individual schools have the money and in-house expertise that would allow for entire groups of students to be equipped with the technology to access textbooks in electronic form.

As much as I love books in print, digital is the way of the future. And if today's college students are already used to absorbing information via a compact electronic gadget, perhaps e-textbooks are the way to go.

Poe as You've Never Experienced Him Before

I love traditional books. I really do. I'm such a devotee of the paper book that I can honestly say that owning an e-reader is not in my foreseeable future. But I have to admit...whenever I witness the highly interactive nature of digital stories, my mind gets completely blown. Like with iPoe.

Image via https://www.iphonelife.com

iPoe is a collection of four Edgar Allan Poe stories - "The Oval Portrait," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Masque of the Red Death," and "Annabel Lee" - that have been creatively reinterpreted for digital consumption via the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. The "illustrated & interactive" nature of this reinterpretation is positively stunning. Take a look:

With amazing illustrations by David Garcia Fores and a haunting soundtrack by Teo Grimalt, iPoe allows for a breathtakingly unique revisitation of Edgar Allan Poe's work for longtime fans. Plus, it's sure to attract a new, younger group of readers to his timeless tales. Extras include a biography of Poe and a collection of the illustrator's sketches. Text is available in English, Spanish, and French.

iPoe is from Spanish developer Play Creatividad and is available via the App Store.