There are hundreds of millions of people that are using an Android phone, tablet or e-reader. They primarily rely on apps to consume digital content and there is no shortage of them. This list is not going to promote the mainstream apps like Kindle, Kobo or Nook, merely because everyone is already aware of them. Instead, our best apps of 2018 list will focus on e-reading apps you might not heard of before and the ones our editors and staff really enjoy.
Radish — HOT Fiction Stories – Radish came out of Beta earlier this year and the company specialises in short fiction and serial fiction from authors that are submitting content directly to their platform. Writers can make their content available for free or experiment with the freemium model where readers can pay to read a chapter now, or wait to read it for free at a later date. Some books are also pay to read, but they are really inexpensive, only a few dollars.
HOOKED – Chat Stories – HOOKED lets you read amazing chat stories on your phone. These are gripping, edge-of-your seat thrillers that will keep you reading for hours. Or, write your own story and get lots of fans! Every HOOKED story is told as a bite-sized text message conversation, as if you were reading someone else’s chat history.
Libby, by OverDrive – Libby is the next generation app from Overdrive that purely focuses on audiobooks and ebooks. The overall experience is excellent, but one of the most compelling factors is that users can sign up for a library card right in the app.
Scribd – Scribd unveiled their new subscription model earlier this year and provides audiobooks and ebooks at a low monthly fee. Their selection of content is way better than Playster or Amazon Kindle Unlimited. It is well worth paying the subscription price if you read a lot.
Goodreads – Sometimes you want to discover your next big read and traditional ebook retailers have a huge selection, that it can be daunting. GoodReads is a social community focused on ebooks. You can talk with like minded people who have the same taste in genres and even talk with your favorite author.
Amazon Kindle Lite – This app is only 2MB in size and you can read ebooks as they are being downloaded. This app was developed primarily for lower end smartphones in places like India, but this app performs the best on Android e-readers, since it does not have page turn animations or any of the bulk that the main Kindle app has.
Pocketbook Reader – is a super comfortable ebook reading app from one of the world’s leading experts in e-reading. Start reading to your own rules now! Reading in your formatThe PocketBook Reader reading app allows you to read comfortably, ad-free and absolutely free of charge on Android devices, not only online but also without connecting to the Internet. The app supports all popular e-book formats, such as PDF (Adobe DRM), EPUB (Adobe DRM), DjVu, FB2, FB2.zip, MOBI, DOCX, RTF, TXT, CHM, HTML (basic), CBZ, CBR, CBT.
Book Breaks – Book Breaks is the perfect app for reading FREE romance stories on-the-go! Whether you’re looking for a quick read while waiting in line or for a binge read on a rainy morning, you’ll find the story that fits your mood! Hundreds of stories are already available in the app, plus new chapters are posted every weekday!
eReader Prestigio – One of the most popular emerging apps of the past few years, it reads a wide array of book formats and is proving to be more widely used than Moon+ or Aldiko.
All of the apps above can be downloaded from Google Play or the Good e-Reader App Store. Did we miss your favorite app? Sound off below.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
