6 iPhone Apps & Features For Avid Readers In 2024
So, you recently saw "Dune: Part Two" in IMAX and now want to catch up on the compelling and immersive universe Frank Herbert created in 1965. Luckily, there are many ways to enjoy the "Dune" series and more on the iPhone. The Apple App Store saves readers the trouble of leaving the house to grab the next installment in their favorite series or the next book from their favorite author.
While any bookworm can attest that reading from your phone isn't quite the same as reading a physical paperback, the convenience of it can't be denied. There's no concern that your book will get damaged, and it's difficult to lose your spot, thanks to most apps automatically bookmarking your place. Furthermore, it saves so much space in the house. Whether you prefer to read or listen to novels, there are a plethora of apps for iPhone users to choose from.
Show off your collection with Goodreads
Goodreads is a social networking app for avid readers. It comes with multiple features, including finding books you've read and want to read, communities of like-minded readers, and it even lets you follow your favorite authors. For those looking to add a challenge to their reading, Goodreads lets them set an annual reading goal where they attempt to read a certain number of books for the year.
The app might look familiar to cinema fans, as it's similar to Letterboxd, a social platform for sharing movie tastes. Like the Cinephile app, Goodreads lets users give star ratings to the novels they read, along with a well-thought-out review if they please.
While users can't read books directly from the app, it's a good way to keep track of different books and can even double as a digital bookmark. Goodreads lets you update your progress with a book as you read it, making it easy to find your spot if you happen to misplace your bookmark. Since Amazon owns the app, you can sign in with your Amazon account.
Amazon Kindle for the old fashioned
When it comes to OG e-readers, you can't go wrong with Amazon's Kindle app on the iPhone. It provides a near-limitless library for those bookworms who don't want to clutter their home with hefty tomes. Not only that, but the most voracious readers can create a Kindle Unlimited membership for themselves and read up to 20 books a month without spending more than $11.99. The app looks great on the iPhone. It's crisp and easy to read, and you can customize its appearance with night, day, and sepia modes, making even the most devout supporter of physical books consider switching over to the digital medium.
Amazon used to have a separate platform geared toward comic book readers called ComiXology. However, in December 2023, Amazon merged the app with Kindle, giving Kindle readers access to a large library of graphic novels. Now, Kindle users can read the likes of "Watchmen," "V for Vendetta," and even "Uncanny X-Men," along with Herbert's "Dune" and Stephen King's "Carrie."
Wattpad for readers and budding wordsmiths
Wattpad is a unique eBook app created for readers and writers alike. It's a social platform that encourages writers to connect with their audience and for readers to interact with one another. It even encourages readers to take a stab at writing their own stories with writing contests and other resources.
By simply commenting on a sentence within a story, users can initiate a conversation with other readers. This is the ideal app for anyone who likes to support independent authors. The app prides itself on many of its writers optioning their stories to become cinematic adaptations, such as "The Kissing Booth" on Netflix and "Light as a Feather" on Hulu.
Each story in the app has a text-to-speech option, turning it into an audiobook to enjoy during your daily commute. Wattpad is free to use, but it also offers a premium subscription for $5.99 a month that removes ads entirely.
Apple Books has everything
There's no need to hunt the App Store for the perfect eBook app when Apple already developed and pre-installed one of the best eBook apps for iPhone on all iOS devices. Apple Books not only provides a vast library of any novel one could find in a bookstore, along with a solid selection of free books, but it also contains a large catalog of audiobooks, eliminating the need to install multiple eBook apps.
Apple Books provides suggestions for new novels based on what you're currently reading. The app also assists with building a strong reading habit by letting users set a daily reading goal. You can adjust your goal to be as short as one minute or as long as 1,440 minutes a day, the latter being the entirety of the day.
If you don't need suggestions and like to plan your next reading adventure yourself, users can add books to their "Want to Read" collection by tapping any book or audiobook in the store and selecting "Want to Read." When ready to dive into your next tome, it's in your collection to start once purchased.
Audible for those too busy to sit
Audible, which took on Spotify in 2020 by adding thousands of free podcasts, is ideal for people who are always on the move. Almost any book available for purchase in the Kindle app has an audiobook counterpart. The selection of titles to listen to on Audible is unbeatable, with thousands of books and podcasts in its library.
Audible is a membership service that provides a lot of content. Its most affordable plan, Audible Plus, gives members unlimited access to select audiobooks and podcasts. Meanwhile, Premium Plus members receive one credit a month to redeem any title on the app and access to the Audible Plus catalog.
Amazon Prime members receive perks when they sign up, but those perks don't extend beyond that. Open up the app whenever you have a long commute to work or school or when there are too many chores to take care of around the house.
Serial Reader to build up your reading stamina
Have a hard time sitting and reading for too long but absolutely love books and their stories? Unlike other eBook apps, Serial Reader breaks up any book you upload to it into "issues." Not only is each issue no longer than 20 minutes, but the app will also send one issue to you each day at a time of your choosing. Anyone struggling to maintain a reading habit can build one easily with Serial Reader.
For those without anything to upload, Serial Reader already provides over 900 free eBooks, many of which are classics like "Little Women" and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." Simply subscribe to a book for the app to push issues your way. However, if you want to upload a book that Serial Reader's library doesn't contain, the app only supports EPUB files.
Serial Reader supports small customizations to its appearance, allowing you to change the font, font sizes, theme, and margins to perfectly tailor the reading experience to your liking.