Happening now: the Easter long weekend. Here in Sydney, the options are endless. The Easter Show. The rugby action. Blockbuster movies. The Sydney fish market…and a partridge in a pear tree. Upon closer inspection, these events are not for everyone. Show tickets are 48 bucks. Factor in the rides, chow, other buys, and show bags, my sister told me that I’d end up spending $200. To avoid the stampede, why not read the good old eBook? Nothing beats sitting at your desk and devouring the latest Facebook tell-all. Of course, I do plan on exploring the great outdoors this weekend. One thing to remember is that these apps use different file types. Hence, your Kindle eBook will not work with Apple Books and vice-versa. I’ve been trending towards examining nonfiction. Here is my ranking of three popular eBook apps.
- Kindle. The original and the best. Great synchronisation across your devices. Using your Amazon account, pick up where you left off. As long as your account is working, you’ll never lose books. Unlike Apple Books, which is tied to your Apple account. Kindle has possibly the most comprehensive selection of eBooks. This is the place to go for hard to find titles. I’ve read many basketball books here which I otherwise wouldn’t find. The breaks of the game by David Halberstam. Life is not an accident by Jay Williams. Bleeding Orange by Jim Boeheim.
You can highlight and look up words. There is a bookmark option, so you can easily return. A handy contents page. As mentioned, the Kindle app syncs across your devices. It’s very intuitive. Whether on your laptop, tablet, or phone, Kindle is leaps and bounds above the rest. Unfortunately you cannot purchase books directly from the app. However, the Amazon website makes book reading easy with one click purchase.
I haven’t read a book on Kindle in a while now, but I do regret buying Nike executive, Sonny Vaccaro’s memoir on Apple Books. I should’ve gotten it on Kindle. I’ve already purchased my next Kindle read: Tuff Juice by ex NBAer Caron Butler. I’ve read Kobe’s foreword.
Rating: 4.8/5
2. Apple Books. The stock reading app that came with my iPads. It replaced the now defunct iBooks. There’s a decent selection of titles. One handy feature is the reading goal, which you can adjust. It keeps track of your diligence, praising your streak. Like Kindle, there is a dictionary, bookmark, and highlighter. You can make annotations on the eBook. The pricing is similar to Kindle and you can use Apple gift cards to pay for your purchases. The big downside though is losing access to your library. Once you create a new Apple ID, you’ll lose your material, read or unread. A tourist’s guide to losing unread eBooks: I feel ya. Like Amazon, it’s got a clean interface and is mostly problem free. It also sync across devices, as long as you use the same ID. The biggest thing going for Books is that you could browse and buy titles in-app. That’s something you won’t find with the other two.
Rating: 4.2/5
3. Kobo. No offence, but this is the weakest of the trio. First off, you have to pay in Yankee $$. Secondly, you get slugged with state and city taxes on checkout. They should provide a clearer way of communicating this, not shocking you with fees when it’s time to pony up. On top of that, their app is a little spoiled. I have to turn off my WiFi every time I use their app. Is this a joke? Maybe they’re a crew of comedians. Just like Apple Books, you will lose everything if it’s tied up to your Apple ID.
Basically, the main thing going for Kobo is that they offer some hard to find books. They’ve got the John Wooden read. Ray Allen’s From the Outside. The recent Hakeem epic by Mirin Fader. They’re the only one to offer the last two.
Rating: 4/5
These three apps reveal that going digital is the trend. Even Topher aka Wellington Ong and his published books have gone with the flow. Of course, many traditionalists will pout at not scanning physical pages. EBooks will never replicate the turning and feel of the pages or low eye strain. The book’s heft is both a pro and con. EBooks will save you lots of space, but hardliners would rather fill that void with copies. To paraphrase Air Jordan, there is no E in book, but there is in eBook.
P.S. I know there are other reading apps out there. Libby, BorrowBox, and IndyReads come to mind. However, these library apps have a limited selection and limited copies, too. I’m sure that I’m not alone in facing disappointment after a few searches. The precious eBooks just aren’t there. For new releases, there’s a long wait. Plus, you have an ephemeral time to peruse your loan. That’s a dealbreaker for me.
