Many of my own books, as well as books I’ve reviewed on this site, are available only as ebooks. That stops some readers from buying them, because if they don’t own an e-reader, how can they read them?
It’s a lot easier than you might think! Dozens of free apps are available to let you read ebooks on your phone, desktop, tablet and more. They may read mobi files (the format used for all ebooks sold by Amazon), epub (the format used by most other booksellers), plain text, html (the same kind of code that builds web pages), PDFs, or other formats you’ve never heard of. Many ereaders read multiple formats, but few read all.
Here are some of my favorites:
Kindle Reading App from Amazon
The Kindle reading app is for desktop, mobile and tablet reads mobi and PDF files. It automatically syncs any ebook purchases you make from Amazon, but you can also add files purchased elsewhere, such as Smashwords or directly from publishers. Get the Kindle app here.
Blio
Blio is made by US book distributor Baker & Taylor and is available as a free download for Windows PCs, certain netbooks, and Android and Apple devices. It reads epubs. Get Blio here.
Aldiko
Aldiko is one of the ereaders I use on my phone. It’s for Android devices and reads epub and PDF files. The free version has some ads, but I barely notice them. There’s also a paid version with more perks. Get Aldiko here.
iBooks
iBooks comes preloaded on all Apple computers and devices, and can read epub files and play some audiobooks. Read a guide to understanding iBooks.
Freda
Freda is a free e-reading app for any Windows computer or device. It reads epub, html, and txt files. Download Freda here.
Moon Reader
Moon Reader is my favorite e-reading app for the phone. It’s available for Android devices and is one of the most flexible e-readers in terms of books it can read. It reads epub, mobi, pdf, txt, html, and more. There is a paid version that does even more, but you can get the free version of Moon Reader here.
What do you think? Do you have a favorite e-reader I should add to this list? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
I just wish there was one place that you could read from all that offer ebooks. Would make the life of a reader so much better! I tend to stick to actual books more as it’s been a pain to find the books I want to read. Right now reading Heath Daniel’s book Day of Judgment, it’s amazing. I would love to have it ebook readable, but I couldn’t find it and was not going to look all day. So the actual book is what I got and I love it.
Yeah, it can be confusing to search for ebooks if you don’t know where to look. I just did a search and it looks like the ebook is on Amazon but not anywhere else: http://amzn.to/2yTTaBt. Regardless, I’m glad you’ve found something you’re enjoying, whether it’s in paperback or ebook form.