Books to read on a phone

There are many perks to reading books on a phone. From enhanced convenience and portability to having something to kill time with, storing books on phones is now a modern necessity for avid book lovers. Listening to audiobooks has just as many benefits, if not more because it also allows multitasking when driving, doing household chores, exercising, and other activities.

Thankfully, there’s no need to look up every single platform out there and dig through their websites to see what they offer. Here, we’ll share the best audiobook and e-book platforms users can access with their phones.

The best book apps for phones

Let’s take a look at our top list of the best book and audiobook apps for mobile devices:

Kobo

Kobo offers more than a whopping six million e-books, podcasts, audiobooks, and other spoken content. This Canadian company also sells e-readers, but you don’t have to purchase one to enjoy the app since it’s available on the App Store (iOS) and Play Store (Android).

While Kobo offers free e-books and audiobooks, most require payment. You can purchase e-books and audiobooks without a subscription. However, subscribing is a more affordable option because you redeem one credit for one title.

Google Play Books

Google Play Books is another popular platform for e-books and audiobooks. The app is completely free, and people with either iOS and Android devices can find it in their respective app stores.

With Google Play Books, users can download their favorite e-books and audiobooks and enjoy them when they’re offline.

Unlike other similar services, Google Play Books doesn’t require a subscription. Instead, it features a pay-per-book pricing model. Users say the prices are more than fair.

Nook

Nook is an app designed by Barnes & Noble. Within the app, users can explore more than four million e-books, graphic novels, magazines, manga, and comics, and over 300,000 audiobooks.

Many people love Nook because it offers recommendations curated by experts. Moreover, the app features numerous customization options and social sharing tools. Whether you have the app or a Nook device, you can enjoy other benefits such as adjusting the text size while reading and a built-in dictionary.

Apple Books

iOS users will be happy to know they can explore millions of trendy and less popular e-books and audiobooks alike. The impressive selection is only one of the advantages of this app.

Apple Books allow users to enhance their reading experience with numerous options. Some of them are customizing the background color, using the night reading mode or scrolling view (to avoid page turning), and exploring recommendations.

Libby

Libby is one of the best reading apps designed by OverDrive, a popular digital distributor of e-books, audiobooks, magazines, and videos.

Libby allows users to access digital collections of their local libraries free of charge. All users need is a valid library card from a participating library. Users can choose to stream the content online or download it and enjoy it anywhere, any time.

Goodreads

Goodreads is one of the most popular sites for book recommendations. Here, users can browse library catalogs, create reading lists, and search Amazon’s database of books and reviews.

Goodreads is a free service. If you want to fully take advantage of its features, you’ll need to create an account or sign in with Facebook, Amazon, or Apple.

Note that you can’t read books on Goodreads, but it’s a great place to get reading recommendations from people with similar tastes.

Scribd

Scribd is a subscription-based service that offers millions of e-books, audiobooks, and documents. Here, users can explore new releases and bestsellers, as well as less popular titles. Many consider Scribd one of the best apps for voracious readers because of its impressive collection.

While some titles on Scribd are free, you’ll need to purchase a subscription if you want unlimited access to the entire library. Scribd offers a 30-day free trial for those who wish to explore their options.

FBReader

FBReader is an e-book reader app for iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android users. Moreover, this popular e-book reader can be used on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers and ChromeOS.

The service allows users to access and manage their favorite books. FBReader supports numerous e-book formats, including EPUB, HTML, MOBI, RTF, and plain text.

Speechify

Although Speechify isn’t a typical e-book and audiobook platform, it deserves a spot on the list, and here’s why.

Speechify is text to speech platform that can convert any written text to spoken language. Simply put, any digital text can become an audiobook, thanks to Speechify. What’s more, Speechify uses cutting-edge technology that lets users scan physical books and convert them to an audio format.

Users can download books to their devices and enjoy them even when they don’t have an internet connection.

Try Speechify—The text to speech app that creates audiobooks

As mentioned, Speechify allows users to create an audiobook out of any text. Users can select the desired language, voice, and accent. The platform features 20 languages and 30 voices users can choose from. Moreover, users can adjust the playback speed, use bookmarks, or take notes.

The Speechify app can be used on Android and iOS devices, as well as on Mac and Windows computers. Web browser extensions for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox are also available. You can use Speechify on all types of text, from Microsoft Word to Google Drive documents and more.

Speechify offers a free and paid version. Those who aren’t sure Speechify is the right fit can take advantage of the 30-day free trial of Speechify Premium to see what it has to offer.

Try Speechify now and see why it’s one of the most popular text to speech programs for book lovers.

FAQ

How can I read free books on my phone?

Numerous platforms and apps allow you to stream and download free books to your device.

Can I read a book on my phone?

Yes, you can read books on your phone with the help of Speechify and other apps.

What are some good books to read on my phone?

You can never go wrong with classics like Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 1984 by George Orwell, or the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling.