Reading ebooks is what first attracted me to the iPad. However, like many book lovers, I too was resistant to the thought of ditching my beloved hardback copies. Afterall, traditional books are so easy to use - just flip open the cover and start reading. To some of us, the very thought of making the switch to digital books is overwhelming. With digital books, you have to install an ebook reader on your tablet, download some books, and then figure out how to use the program to start reading. Yikes. It already sounds like a headache. Why bother?
Ebooks are great for many reasons. First, they are very portable. Being a typical homeschooling parent, I spend a good portion of my week toting my kids to and from different activities. Many days it's just not worth it to drive back home, so I try to always have something with me to read. I have found it's more convenient to bring along a tablet filled with a collection of pre-loaded books, than a bag full of paperbacks.
Reading digital books makes such good sense for homeschoolers because we seem to appreciate books so much. It's great when we can give our kids access to books - 24/7. My youngest son is one of those kids that always has several books on the go. When we're stuck running errands and I need to keep him occupied, I'd much rather have him read an ebook than play with his portable gaming device.
Finally, many homeschoolers I know strive to introduce to their children to the classics. With digital books we can repackage great books in the public domain, like: "A Christmas Carol", "Treasure Island", "Little Women", or "The Call of the Wild", into something that looks more appealing to younger people. It's a great example of - everything old is new again.
Like most homeschoolers, my family is on a tight budget. After expending money to buy a new tablet, the last thing I'd want to do is shell out money for ebooks. So I began looking for ebook reading applications that were easy to use and could access free ebooks. After checking out several different ones, here's my top 5 picks for ebook reading on the iPad:
#1. StanzaThis application is my first choice. Not only does it have easy access to lots of free books but it's so easy to use. You can change the brightness of your screen, bookmark pages, and instantly make fonts larger or smaller by pinching the screen. My favorite feature is the little "ying yang" icon that allows you to toggle to "night mode" (white text on a black background). This feature is nice for reading in bed, especially if you're a night owl and your spouse isn't. I've found that it sure beats messing with that silly book light of mine.
#2 KindleCrazy as is sounds, the iPad actually has a Kindle application you can download from the App Store. Considering that Amazon's Kindle is the iPad's biggest competitor, I was surprised to find it even existed. I have to give the Kindle application a big thumbs up just for the wide variety of books you can download from Amazon. However, I do have to warn you, it does take a bit of work to find the free ebooks. Unlike Stanza, where you download your books directly from inside the application, Kindle requires you visit the Amazon website. At Amazon's "Kindle Store", you can choose from free limited time promotional ebook offers, as well as public domain classics that are always available. Once you find the books you want, you add them to your cart, check out, and they are delivered wirelessly to your iPad via Amazon's Whispernet download process.
#3. Google BooksSince I am a big fan of Google, it was only natural that I would like Google Books. This is a pretty decent program for reading ebooks. The colors are good and it's fairly easy to use. A nice feature of this application is that there are lots of bestselling books you can sample. I like these samples because it allows me to get a feel for a book in advance. Unlike Amazon, where you only get a few pages to preview, Google Books provides a really decent size sample of 20-30 pages. Like Stanza, this application allows you to easily switch to "night mode" reading.
#4. iBooksI have to admit that this application is very slick, especially with regards to the color quality on children's books. Like most traditional Apple programs, it's easy to use and works reliably. I especially loved the look of the bookshelves, where all your ebooks are displayed so nicely. It makes you feel smarter just looking at them.
Where the iBooks app fell short for me is that I found it hard to locate free books. When I finally did, I discovered there weren't many to choose from. So in my opinion, this application is a better fit for folks who have money to fill those bookshelves.
While testing iBooks, I was kind of surprised to find there was no feature for reading in "night mode". Thinking that I must be wrong, I did a quick Google search and found that this feature is indeed missing. I did learn that iPad users can replicate the same effect, by reconfiguring their iPad's settings to toggle to "night mode" whenever you triple-click the HOME button. Sheesh, couldn't that make that a little bit easier?
#5. Overdrive Media Console This application is an ebook service that most public libraries freely offer for use with a wide range of devices (iPads, Kindles, etc.). To use the program, all you really need is a current library card. Overdrive gives you access to both ebooks and audio books. However, in typical library fashion, you can only check out items for a specified length of time. When I used this service, I found I was limited to 5 items for 20 days. At the end of the loan period, the books you check will be magically erased from your ebook device. Guess it will be impossible to ever rack up late fees with this lending library. Good. Just like my top pick, Stanza, this application makes for very easy reading and also offers the "night mode" feature, which seems to have become my favorite ebook reading feature.
Wrapping it all up
In conclusion, these are just some of the programs I checked out on my quest for reading free ebooks. You will find that the more you look... the more you will find. I believe that over the next few months we will continue to see the cost of tablets drop in price. With the introduction of the Kindle Fire, due to hit the stores soon, ebook reading is going to going to become more and more affordable.
Having access to ebooks now is good for both homeschool parents and their children. By the time this generation of homeschoolers are adults, I predict we'll see more colleges replacing hardbound text books (which seem to be outdated the day they are printed) with digital books. Owning a tablet will almost be mandatory for all college students. So it only makes sense to jump on the bandwagon now and prepare ourselves for this paradigm shift.
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