The best apps to find new books

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.

Books offer a compelling, slower alternative to the onslaught of negative news. With terrific new free tools, it’s increasingly easy to access print, digital, and audio books. Read on for my favorite book sites and apps.

The heavy-hitters

• Libby lends out free e-books and audiobooks through libraries in 78 countries. It works for 90% of U.S. libraries. You can search for and check out nearly anything, instantly, for free, on any device.
  • Audiobooks: Check out and listen to audiobooks at any speed. You may not need to pay for an Audible subscription.
  • Definitions: Click on any word in an e-book you’re reading in Libby for its definition or to see where else that name or phrase appears.
  • Highlight: Save memorable passages for your notes.
  • Multiple cards: You can use multiple library cards within a single Libby account. That helps you check which library has the shortest waiting list for a book in high demand. (See where you can get non-resident library cards).
  • Limitation: Libby is digital-only—you can’t use it for physical books. That requires a separate app or site, like the NYPL app in New York.

• Kanopy provides free access to top-notch feature films and documentaries. I log in with my library card. Watch on the Web, iOS or Android, or on a SmartTV app like Google TV, Roku, or Amazon Fire TV.
  • Limitation: libraries limit the number of videos you can watch monthly. 

• Hoopla is an alternative to Libby that works with 3,900 library systems in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Like Libby it hosts audiobooks and e-books, but also bundles in comics, movies, TV shows, magazines, and music.
  • Use Hoopla to read, watch or listen from the Web or on a mobile device. I recently discovered its free Bingepasses, which allow instant access to a collection of magazines or videos for a week.

• World Cat tells you which of 10,000 global libraries near you have a particular book. It works in multiple languages. Search for books in print, e-book, braille, audio, or other formats.

Find your next read

• Most Recommended Books shows you a list of smart people. Pick an expert or celeb you like and see which books they recommend, along with brief quotes on why they like each book. Check Goodbooks.io and ReadThisTwice for more expert/celeb book picks.
• Whichbook’s World Map offers a creative way to find a book about any part of the world. Select a country and see books set in that region.
• Where to find book recs is a nice list from a Writing About Reading post. I also like the eclectic recommendations in the New York Times’ Read Like the Wind newsletter.
• BookClubs lets you find a book group near you or organize your own.
• Fable hosts book clubs & communities for sharing what you’re reading.

Find free and cheap books

• Project Gutenberg has more than 75,000 free e-books and audiobooks. No registration required. See the top 100 list for free reading inspiration.
• The Internet Archive has searchable e-books and a free library collection.
• Bookbub is handy for bargain hunters. It shows discounted and free e-books. Available as a newsletter or check the site for deals.

Support Independent booksellers

• Alibris has 200 million titles from indy booksellers around the world.
• Powell’s is the world’s largest independent bookstore.
• Bookfinder lets you search online to find any book at the cheapest price.
• Indiebound helps you find a nearby real-world indy bookstore.
• Abebooks has great deals from independents. Check its bargain books + collections. Caveat: Amazon has owned it since 2008.
• Tertulia is a well-designed online co-op bookshop owned by readers.

Make your own book list

• Listy is free. It’s easy to look up & add books, and later export your list. (See my prior post about it).
• LibraryThing is free and easy for cataloging books & tracking reading.
• Free Notion book tracking template lets you customize a collection page.
• Free Airtable book list template & my Airtable example: 30 authors I like.

Find great children’s books

• Sora is a digital library for kids. Schools make e-books and audiobooks available on the app. It works well with graphic novels, picture books, as well as comic books and textbooks. (We also use Libby for kids books).
• Epic is another popular kids e-book app. It’s fun to use, but be aware that it leans into gamification and extrinsic motivation—using points and streaks to entice kids to repeatedly open the app.
• Kanopy has a great kids section with video versions of books by Eric Carle, Mo Willems and other great authors to spark an interest in reading. It also has math and science lessons.

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.

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