Whether you’re a devoted digital reader or you just love books and are looking for a way to pack more reading material on the go, it’s best to have a whole arsenal of digital reading apps at your fingertips for when the need to read overcomes you. From the well-known to the under the radar, here are some of the best reading apps with riveting material that you should download!
Kindle
Amazon’s popular e-reading service is known as Kindle, and you can get the Kindle app free on pretty much any device. Because of that, it’s one of the most popular apps in our best reading apps list! The Kindle app syncs across all your devices, and there’s a myriad of content that you can download, from the most popular ebooks to independently published freebies to Kindle exclusives from the biggest authors out there. You can also sign up for subscription services such as Kindle Unlimited, which offers a wide library of books that you can access free with subscription, and if you’re an Amazon Prime member you get access to even more content. The major downside? If you’re an Apple user, you can’t make purchases within the app—you’ll have to hop onto a browser to do so.
Nook
Barnes and Noble’s e-reading platform enables you to read books, magazine, and comics. A perk to the Nook app is that you get access to BN’s bookseller recommendations and exclusive content, and you can even share books with family members (with some limitations).
Apple Books
Although it’s limited to Apple users, Apple Books is another convenient way to access ebooks and audiobooks. The perk to this is that it’s linked to your Apple user account, so purchases are easy and your library syncs across all devices. You can also add books and files not purchased from Apple Books to your library!
Kobo
Kobo is an international e-reading service that offers all of the same access to traditional published content as Amazon and BN, but with the added benefit of having even more international content. While availability will vary according to territory rights, Kobo has a huge library of content in a multitude of languages that you won’t be able to access easily anywhere else. They’ve also really upped their Kobo Original content game, soliciting exclusive short stories from authors such as Alexis Hall, Brandon Sanderson, Charlaine Harris, and from the publisher Tor.
Libby
Libby’s e-reading platform syncs up with your local library so you can download books from your library. While not every library offers ebooks through Libby, many do and it’s a great way to access books for free! You can read e-books, magazine, and audiobooks within the app, but you can also borrow e-books and send them to a Kindle device.
Scribd
Scribd is one of the best reading apps, a subscription-based app that offers a wide (but not exhaustive) selection of ebooks, audiobooks, magazine articles, dissertations and academic studies, sheet music, and more that you can get unlimited access to with a single monthly subscription starting at $9.99. Avid readers will find that the single monthly cost is definitely worth it if you consume a ton of digital content, and people who read widely across mediums will likely find it to be an essential app!
Realm
Realm, formerly known as Serial Box, is primarily a platform or original audiobooks and podcasts, and they’ve been producing some excellent exclusive content in the past few years from some of the biggest authors. All of their shows are produced in audiobook format but if you don’t or can’t listen to the audio production, you can read the stories in the app. The only catch is that you do have to subscribe to their service in order to get the ebook access on the app, but with a huge library of engrossing stories across a multitude of genres, it seems like it’s worth the cost!
Wattpad
Wattpad is a great place to read and share original stories and works! You can discover great stories in all genres, save them to the app, and find a community of readers. Many stories that started out on Wattled and became hits have gone on to receive traditional publishing deals, and Wattpad even has their own imprint with a traditional publisher so you know that you can find some true hidden gems ahead of the buzz!
Need more books apps for your digital devices? Check out these great apps that help book clubs organized! And if you need some reading recommendations for digital reading, sign up for TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations! TBR is a personalized book recommendation service that sends you books you’ll love to read. Here’s how it works: Simply fill out the reader survey and let us know what you want more of—such as Kindle originals or other great ebooks—and what you’re not keen on. Then, an expert Bibliologist will read your responses and recommend three books just for you. Receive your recommendation letter via email in about two weeks (perfect for those who love reading digitally), or opt to receive your recommendations as brand new hardcovers in the mail in about three to four weeks. Learn more and sign up now!