Over the past two weeks my reading has slowed to a crawl... I've barely plodded through 200 pages of the book I am currently reading. Now this is sometimes inevitable as books can occasionally drag on you or draw you into a slow deliberate reading pattern, to say nothing of the fact that life has a habit interfering with one's passions - work and family take priority, not to mention the ability of other hobbies to steal away my book time - I unfortunately do not have such a good excuse... although, an excuse I do have, and its name is iPhone.
No, I am not trying to brag about my fancy new phone, just figured I could tie it all back to books somehow by sharing my thoughts on a few reader/writer/book/blog friendly apps I've come across (I’ve only had the phone for two weeks, so there is much I am probably missing out on). I am not reversing my opinion that the only way to read a book is with an actual book in your in your hands, and you will not be catching me reading anything longer than a short essay on my iPhone, but many people will and do, and one of the first things I did after getting my phone was check out some bookish apps - here are my thoughts on a few of them...
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Next Read
This book specific list making app allows you to take note of book recommendations you get from various place, weigh those recommendations by their sources (blogs, friends, radio, etc.), and have a nice little depository of books possibilities for the next time you head to the bookstore. For the unorganized, I am sure this app would be quite useful. Ultimately though, this was deleted off my phone - I tend to keep lots of notes on books I want to read and that are suggested to me, and I am constantly adding to both my Amazon wish list and eBay watch list, so I use a note taking app which syncs to my computer and the internet instead (Evernote) which helps keep my various notes and lists in order.
This book specific list making app allows you to take note of book recommendations you get from various place, weigh those recommendations by their sources (blogs, friends, radio, etc.), and have a nice little depository of books possibilities for the next time you head to the bookstore. For the unorganized, I am sure this app would be quite useful. Ultimately though, this was deleted off my phone - I tend to keep lots of notes on books I want to read and that are suggested to me, and I am constantly adding to both my Amazon wish list and eBay watch list, so I use a note taking app which syncs to my computer and the internet instead (Evernote) which helps keep my various notes and lists in order.
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Penguin US
This app is great idea and one that I'd love to see more publishers create... to have a screen full of various publisher apps is not something many people would want, but I sure would. Penguin US provides sample chapters, news, podcasts, blogs, and various other information on select titles from their current catalog. This is all done in an appealing package. For the time being I am going to keep this on my phone to periodically see what updates Penguin US provides - it is a great way to kill a couple of minutes.
This app is great idea and one that I'd love to see more publishers create... to have a screen full of various publisher apps is not something many people would want, but I sure would. Penguin US provides sample chapters, news, podcasts, blogs, and various other information on select titles from their current catalog. This is all done in an appealing package. For the time being I am going to keep this on my phone to periodically see what updates Penguin US provides - it is a great way to kill a couple of minutes.
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Stanza, BookShelf, and eReader
Here are three free ebook readers I have downloaded just for kicks and each seem to provide a quality way to read books on your iphone (again, not something I actually do). All provide the ability to download books straight to your phone, many of them free. Of the three, Stanza appears to provide the widest selection and best user interface, with eReader coming in a very close second. BookShelf (I have the free "lite" version) seems to have the redeeming quality of being able to download books from Baen's free library of books directly, so if that interests you, BookShelf is probably worth the $.99 for the full non-ad supported version. As I am not an ebook reader, I deleted BookShelf and eReader, and plan on keeping the Stanza app on my phone to preview books and read the occasional public domain short story (probably a rare occurrence, but it is good to keep our options open).
Here are three free ebook readers I have downloaded just for kicks and each seem to provide a quality way to read books on your iphone (again, not something I actually do). All provide the ability to download books straight to your phone, many of them free. Of the three, Stanza appears to provide the widest selection and best user interface, with eReader coming in a very close second. BookShelf (I have the free "lite" version) seems to have the redeeming quality of being able to download books from Baen's free library of books directly, so if that interests you, BookShelf is probably worth the $.99 for the full non-ad supported version. As I am not an ebook reader, I deleted BookShelf and eReader, and plan on keeping the Stanza app on my phone to preview books and read the occasional public domain short story (probably a rare occurrence, but it is good to keep our options open).
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Amazon.com and Kindle
The Kindle app is new and got a lot of attention when it was released last week. For me it is just another ebook reader and not that exciting (you can't even directly purchase books from the app), but I am sure it is worthwhile for kindle owners who also have an iPhone. I deleted this app off my phone but may reinstall it some bored day to possibly read Stephen King’s Kindle exclusive story “UR” - OK, probably not (I am sure it will make it into a future short story collection of his at some point and I can’t imagine spending $3 to read an e-story). Where Amazon has done something exciting for book lovers is in their Amazon.com app. Here I can search for books, read reviews, and have my wish list handy at all times. Plus, the amazon app takes things in a new direction with their “experimental” “Amazon Remembers” feature - snap a picture of something, amazon then saves it at Amazon.com and attempts to locate that item on their site and provide you a link so they can sell it to you - pretty neat, but I doubt I will use it... I mainly just love the easy access to my Wish List and reviews.
The Kindle app is new and got a lot of attention when it was released last week. For me it is just another ebook reader and not that exciting (you can't even directly purchase books from the app), but I am sure it is worthwhile for kindle owners who also have an iPhone. I deleted this app off my phone but may reinstall it some bored day to possibly read Stephen King’s Kindle exclusive story “UR” - OK, probably not (I am sure it will make it into a future short story collection of his at some point and I can’t imagine spending $3 to read an e-story). Where Amazon has done something exciting for book lovers is in their Amazon.com app. Here I can search for books, read reviews, and have my wish list handy at all times. Plus, the amazon app takes things in a new direction with their “experimental” “Amazon Remembers” feature - snap a picture of something, amazon then saves it at Amazon.com and attempts to locate that item on their site and provide you a link so they can sell it to you - pretty neat, but I doubt I will use it... I mainly just love the easy access to my Wish List and reviews.
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BibleReader and Mantis Bible Study
Nope, I am not much of a reader of the bible, but the idea of having one in my pocket was novelty enough for me to download and check out two. Mantis provides the full text of the King James Version and the ability to download others (although that’ll cost you money). It has a nice and simple interface and if you are reader of the KJV, this is the app for you. BibleReader provides the full text of the American Standard Version and the ability to download more (some free, some not), along with various other religious texts through Olive Tree. I deleted Mantis and kept BibleReader for the fun of it... I often wonder what some verse or another is that a coworker insists on having below his email signature (dude should probably be careful about offending some sensitive type, but I could care less), and now I can - with BibleReader finding a specific verse is very easy.
Nope, I am not much of a reader of the bible, but the idea of having one in my pocket was novelty enough for me to download and check out two. Mantis provides the full text of the King James Version and the ability to download others (although that’ll cost you money). It has a nice and simple interface and if you are reader of the KJV, this is the app for you. BibleReader provides the full text of the American Standard Version and the ability to download more (some free, some not), along with various other religious texts through Olive Tree. I deleted Mantis and kept BibleReader for the fun of it... I often wonder what some verse or another is that a coworker insists on having below his email signature (dude should probably be careful about offending some sensitive type, but I could care less), and now I can - with BibleReader finding a specific verse is very easy.
[Update - since writing this, The Olive Tree BibleReader had an update which allows split screen viewing of two separate Bible versions, along with the inclusion of a KJV Bible, so you can compare one version’s translation to another right next to each other - for anyone seriously into reading the Bible, I am guessing this addition makes BibleReader even more appealing, and most likely the only Bible reading app to consider]
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BlogWriter Lite
This one is for all you bloggers out there. Post on the go from your phone. I seriously doubt I will ever find the need to live blog about books, but hey you never know (if I ever hit Stephen King with a van, I would need to get that posted before the cops showed up - hmm, bad taste?). Besides the Lite (free) version there is a paid version which adds some things and takes away the ads which are part of this version. If anyone knows of a better app to post to Blogger from your iPhone, please let me know... like I said, you never when it could be useful, and I surely want to be prepared.
BlogWriter Lite
This one is for all you bloggers out there. Post on the go from your phone. I seriously doubt I will ever find the need to live blog about books, but hey you never know (if I ever hit Stephen King with a van, I would need to get that posted before the cops showed up - hmm, bad taste?). Besides the Lite (free) version there is a paid version which adds some things and takes away the ads which are part of this version. If anyone knows of a better app to post to Blogger from your iPhone, please let me know... like I said, you never when it could be useful, and I surely want to be prepared.
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Shakespeare
This free app was downloaded for the same novelty purpose mentioned above - I now have the ability to say I have complete collection of Shakespeare in my pocket. Yep, that’s a sh*tload of Shakespeare! For those who actually read on the iPhone and like Shakespeare, I would say this is an absolute must have. It has a clean and friendly interface and is free. For me, it is just the idea of having it.
This free app was downloaded for the same novelty purpose mentioned above - I now have the ability to say I have complete collection of Shakespeare in my pocket. Yep, that’s a sh*tload of Shakespeare! For those who actually read on the iPhone and like Shakespeare, I would say this is an absolute must have. It has a clean and friendly interface and is free. For me, it is just the idea of having it.
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SnapTell
This might be the coolest app I have downloaded so far (yes, even cooler than the light saber!). SnapTell lets you take a picture of a book, cd, dvd, etc. and almost as fast as the photo can be uploaded information is relayed back to you about that book. I see this app as being incredibly beneficial as a shopper. Say you are in a bookstore and see a book you might want to buy. You wonder if the price is a good deal. What kind of reviews has it had? Snap, out comes SnapTell and in a minute you can see the going rate on Amazon, eBay listings, any Wikipedia entries on the book, and other information from around the internet. I find this simply amazing. And while I have only played with it briefly, its ability to recognize books from a picture taken of their covers is astonishing. I really don’t know how often I will use it, but have a feeling it will be quite useful, even if it is only used infrequently.
SnapTell
This might be the coolest app I have downloaded so far (yes, even cooler than the light saber!). SnapTell lets you take a picture of a book, cd, dvd, etc. and almost as fast as the photo can be uploaded information is relayed back to you about that book. I see this app as being incredibly beneficial as a shopper. Say you are in a bookstore and see a book you might want to buy. You wonder if the price is a good deal. What kind of reviews has it had? Snap, out comes SnapTell and in a minute you can see the going rate on Amazon, eBay listings, any Wikipedia entries on the book, and other information from around the internet. I find this simply amazing. And while I have only played with it briefly, its ability to recognize books from a picture taken of their covers is astonishing. I really don’t know how often I will use it, but have a feeling it will be quite useful, even if it is only used infrequently.
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Shortcovers
A pretty cool little app which provides sample chapters, blogs, articles, short stories, and more. Shortcovers is billed as a way to “Find Your Next Great Read” - it has a nice user interface which provides quick links to various books - perfect for a doctor’s waiting room, or if you are actually looking for your next great read. I will be keeping this one to check out periodically. Nice app and free.
Shortcovers
A pretty cool little app which provides sample chapters, blogs, articles, short stories, and more. Shortcovers is billed as a way to “Find Your Next Great Read” - it has a nice user interface which provides quick links to various books - perfect for a doctor’s waiting room, or if you are actually looking for your next great read. I will be keeping this one to check out periodically. Nice app and free.
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Library Thing Mobile
Last and most certainly not least is a simple web clip to my Library Thing catalog - every book I own listed in my pocket! When at book sales I often end up buying books I own inadvertently - no longer, my list is now with me, and that $1 or 2 I would have spent on a double copy can now be spent on something else! In my crazy book addled mind this is somehow worth the price of the iPhone by itself.
Not shown in the picture above is also a very nice eBay app which I foresee coming in very handy when I am away for a weekend and want to bid on books .
OK, so that’s it for now - any iPhone owners have any other bookish apps they’d recommend? Please let me know your favoirte app... any recommendations for blog plosting? As there are so many apps in the iTunes store (out of the thousands of apps, some must be hidden gems), I will always be on the lookout for recommendations and suggestions.
Library Thing Mobile
Last and most certainly not least is a simple web clip to my Library Thing catalog - every book I own listed in my pocket! When at book sales I often end up buying books I own inadvertently - no longer, my list is now with me, and that $1 or 2 I would have spent on a double copy can now be spent on something else! In my crazy book addled mind this is somehow worth the price of the iPhone by itself.
Not shown in the picture above is also a very nice eBay app which I foresee coming in very handy when I am away for a weekend and want to bid on books .
OK, so that’s it for now - any iPhone owners have any other bookish apps they’d recommend? Please let me know your favoirte app... any recommendations for blog plosting? As there are so many apps in the iTunes store (out of the thousands of apps, some must be hidden gems), I will always be on the lookout for recommendations and suggestions.
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