ebooks

Stanza is a reader for books, available in apps for most devices. We downloaded Stanza from iTunes, and it installed quickly. The app is free.

Stanza lets you read books on your iDevice using a simple, elegant interface. Notably, compared with other reader apps, Stanza supports a wide range of file formats from PDF to EPUB, including those with DRM and without. In fact, we tested Stanza with almost a hundred different books over the space of a couple of months of commuting, and it opened every file we threw at it from different sources. When launched, Stanza shows a … Read more

Popular Web sites that sell e-books like Amazon and Barnes & Noble allow you to preorder titles with your credit card. Google Play Books now offers the ability to do the same, from the Web or your Android device.

To allow preordering of titles, you'll need to make sure you have a payment option available in Google Play, like Google Wallet or carrier billing.

Step 1: Open Google Play Books in your Web browser or on your Android device. When using an Android device, just open the Google Play Store and tap on Books.

Step 2: Search for the … Read more

As someone who loves to read, and someone who thinks most e-books are ridiculously overpriced, I'm liking this new trend of name-your-own-price e-book bundles.

To wit: StoryBundle is now offering the Halloween Horror Bundle, a collection of six horror-themed books with a price tag that's up to you.

Not sure you like horror? Try the bundle for a buck. Big fan of the genre? I'd say $1 per book is a steal. And if you're willing to pony up at least $1.25 $1.50 per book (i.e. a minimum of $9 total), you'll … Read more

If you like reading, bundles, science fiction, fantasy, and/or supporting charity, today's your lucky day.

The folks at Humble Bundle, who regularly serve up indie games on the cheap, have created the Humble eBook Bundle, a collection of six sci-fi/fantasy e-books for whatever price you want to pay.

That means you can literally drop a penny to get half a dozen DRM-free novels. But you're not that cheap, right? Here's why you should give serious consideration to paying more:

Writers need to eat. I've often railed against e-book prices, but certainly a buck per … Read more

So you're a writer, huh? Well, now it's time to turn those writings into sweet cash. Unfortunately, most places online that let you sell your e-books also want to take a nice cut of your profits. That's understandable, though, right? They need to make money, too. However, if you're just getting started, a little off the top here and there can add up to the chunk of the profits you need to move your writing career forward.

Instead of fussing with other sites, why not check out Payhip? This site offers a free and easy way … Read more

I love books. I also love bundles. Typically, the latter consist of things like indie games and productivity software and give you some pretty serious bang for the buck.

If only some clever developer would combine these two loves of mine.

Done! The StoryBundle Big Bang Bundle lets you name your own price for five "indie" e-books. And if you pay at least $7, you'll get two bonus books.

This is StoryBundle's first offering, and hopefully it won't be the last. As with any number of game bundles I've covered before, this one lets … Read more

Kno has announced a new partnership with publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that sees the company getting into the K-12 education space.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Kno has launched a digital textbook rental system aimed at K-12 students, expanding its product range beyond its higher education roots.

From today, digital versions of HMH's K-12 textbooks can be rented through the Kno digital textbook app at a cost of $9.99 or less for one year.

The app is currently available in an iOS and Web version, while Kno plans to develop versions of the app for both Android tablets and … Read more

Forget Stephen King; if you like the macabre, you gotta go Poe.

iPoe for iOS brings to creepy, illustrated life four of Edgar Allan Poe's works.

As with Alice for iPad and other famous literary works given the app treatment, iPoe transforms the author's text into lavishly illustrated pages enhanced with music, animation, and interactive touches.

The app comes with four tales: "Annabel Lee," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Oval Portrait," and "The Tell-Tale Heart." You also get a brief biography of the author.… Read more

The first time I heard someone say "Everybody has a book in them," I recommended that they see a doctor right away.

At least that explains all those books I've read that appear to have traveled through the author's colon. Writing can be painful, but there are limits.

Lots of people have unpublished novels and other book-length documents sitting forlornly on their hard drive, waiting and waiting for an audience. If your magnum opus (or even half-pint opus) is a Word document that's ready for the world to fall in love with, give the free … Read more