Ebooks are a great way to enjoy books.

Why are they so great?

• If you’re on a budget, they’re typically cheaper than their physical counterparts.

• If you don’t have a lot of space to store books or you only want physical editions of your favorites, they don't take up space.

• If you want to be able to take your books where you go in your pocket, purse, or backpack without much added weight—no aches and pains!

• If you need a large-print version of a book, you can control the font face and size of an eBook.

Most importantly, they’re great if you enjoy indie authors because it’s the one format that almost every indie author will offer.

Whatever your reason for reading an eBook, there are 3 eBook apps that are pretty much essentials for voracious and occasional readers alike. Let’s have a look at them and why you need to make sure you have them on your devices.

Amazon Kindle App

It feels like Amazon rules the world, and it’s even more so in the world of publishing. Amazon started their business as an online book store, and even though they’ve expanded so much that books are a minor part of their business, they’re still the world’s largest book store with the largest source of on-demand books.

This has positive and negative effects on the book world, but it does make the Kindle app (or a Kindle eReader) an almost essential eBook app for your devices if you want access to the world’s largest library of books.

While you can get nearly the exact same library of traditionally published books from large corporations who publish the bigger names in the book world from Kobo, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Books, and the other players in the eBook space, the Amazon Kindle Store holds the advantage in its overwhelming share of indie titles.

If you have a preference from another eBook store, buy from those stores. We absolutely need those other stores to provide competition for Amazon to keep the overall health of the book world healthy, but until there’s a big shift in how independent books are published, you’ll want to hold on to the Amazon Kindle App for books that have only been made available there.

BookFunnel

BookFunnel stormed onto the eBook distribution scene and shook up how readers can receive eBooks from authors. Back when eBooks were becoming mainstream, there was one tiny issue that so many readers had to overcome: How the heck do I get this file where I want it?

With so many apps, eReaders, and devices, it can be a huge challenge to figure out how to read an eBook that you didn’t buy from a retailer. Or it could be that you bought it from a retailer and you want to move the file to a different device.

BookFunnel changed all of that.

BookFunnel allows readers to get paid and free eBooks directly from authors. It also allows authors to connect with readers and beta readers for their books. For authors, it enabled them to sell or give away books directly to their readers without having to deal with the hellish technical gymnastics that readers were forced to perform to side-load an eBook onto the device or app that they preferred. It was a win-win situation for both authors and readers.

Even better, BookFunnel’s app also functions as an eBook reading app, allowing you to simply read the eBook in the app if you don’t care to move it somewhere else.

BookFunnel has also made it so you can listen to audiobooks in the app when you receive an audiobook from an author.

If you’re subscribing to an author’s newsletter or Patreon to receive a free eBook, buying an eBook (or audiobook) directly from an author’s website, or if you’re backing an author’s crowdfunding campaign and receiving an eBook as one of the reward tiers, you’ll want to have BookFunnel locked and loaded because there’s a good chance the author will be using it to deliver the book to you in a way that has the least amount of friction.

Libby/Hoopla/Local Library App

If you’re looking for a free way to access eBooks, audiobooks, and movies, check out your local library’s digital collection. Most libraries offer apps like Libby and Hoopla, which allow you to borrow digital media direction to your device.

You can typically find a wide variety of titles to choose from, including new releases, bestsellers, and classics. Some indie authors also make their titles available to libraries as well. And since they’re digital, you can check out the eBooks from the convenience of your reading nook. The only thing you need is a library card. (If you don't have a library card, it's easy and free to get one!)

It is a library system, so the library can only lend out so many digital copies at a time. If it’s a new title or a very popular title, you may have to wait in line to check out the book just like a physical one. But if you’re willing to wait, good things are sure to come.

Since every local library is a bit different, you’ll have to check their website or give them a call to know which app you’ll need to download, but it’s a great way to get books for free (paid by your taxes, actually) while supporting access to information to all. 

Also, authors do get paid to be in libraries! You don’t have to feel guilty for using the library!

Did you know that you can get Emergent Realms authors' stories on the Kindle and BookFunnel apps?! (We'll get into the library apps soon!) Oh, did we mention some of them are free? 😏