I assume it doesnt track books you upload to the app manually?
It is tracking my uploaded epub’s for me but I think you need the metadata to be right for it to know what book it is.
I’ve read 56 books in the app this year, all manually uploaded with full metadata. I can even confirm most of the books I have read show up in the Book store as well because I am annoyingly suggested to buy them whenever I try to find them in ‘search’ (annoying feature)
The review doesn’t show up in my app but someone below thinks their uploaded titles have been tracked. Who knows what the rhyme or reason is.
In my experience Apple Music Replay is terrible so my expectations are measured anyway but I would like to be able to use this service if it were possible.
Depending on what kind of router/network setup you have, you might be able to block books.apple.com and you’ll never see another ad or ‘suggestion’ in the Books app again (usually it’s considered a parental control feature). To disable the ads when you’re off WiFi, go into the settings app and disable the Books app’s ability to use cellular data.
That is what I’m doing and it works great for now, but I’m in the process of exploring third party Book readers. The AppStore is such a garbage filled wasteland though that I’m not hopeful.
This gave me a chuckle because I started blocking books.apple.com on my network because they added two giant rows of ads to the main screen.
Seriously, I open the books app one day and they made the continue reading section smaller and I have a half naked Britney Spears staring at me lol.
(On a related note, if anyone has a suggestion for a third party book app, please let me know. I don’t mind paying for it once, but no in app purchases or ads obviously.)
Top Nonfiction Books of 2023:
- Spare by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex …
🙃🙃🙃
This looks so good! I wish they would have done something similar for Apple Music Replay and maybe for Apple Podcast too.
It’s crazy that for Apple Music is still primarily on the web.
Maybe this is a preview of what’s to come with Apple Music Replay
Do people even use Books?
I do some. I find it works better for books with lots of pictures than my Kindle.
I use it because it’s simple and is a native app that syncs across nicely. Don’t really care about custom fonts or other features, as I just want to read a book.
As an old old dinosaur that can’t find my reading glasses half the time, I love the ability to change font size.
I use it daily.
I adore books. I do not adore Books, but I use it because I like to read that much.
I do wish the interface was more professional.
Love it. Why do people hate on it?
Because there’s no way to use them in a dedicated eReader. I love my iPad, but for extended reading sessions it’s not even comparable to a Kindle (or other eReader). The eInk screen is easier on the eyes and doesn’t fuck with my sleep, they’re lighter and more easily held than an iPad Mini, and I can toss it in my bag for weeks and it’ll still have battery power.
If the Apple struck a deal with Kobo or BOOX to get Apple Books on their device (or fuck, makes their own) I’d switch in an instant.
i want an apple ereader an apple book sub that gives both books and audiobooks and whispersync.
How apple has missed all these features for years is beyond me. They are a trillion dollar company !!
As an avid reader, it’s far too limited for my usage. I want to be able to Share/AirDrop books from one device to another (books I own in open source epub, not DRM books).
I want to be able to change the font, add custom fonts, use custom themes, adjust margin width, line height, etc. I can’t do any of this in Books. I used to be a Marvin 3 user, but that got abandoned so I moved on to MapleRead SE and have been using that for the past few years.
I agree with all of your other points and I’m not trying to convince you to switch to Apple Books but you actually can airdrop books between devices! Most of the time I don’t need to because I sync my whole library over icloud but occasionally I will download a single epub and then airdrop it to my ipad and it imports immediately.
I’m otherwise not picky about the rest of the things (my biggest gripe is actually poorly imported metadata! and I’ve finally gotten Books to show all my cover art so I can’t switch now) but the Airdrop ability is a must for me and I use it a lot.
Would you be able to show me how to do this? I have screenshots from Books with an epub (non DRM) of my own after tapping “Share” but I’m unable to get into either Files or AirDrop. Neither option is displayed so if others can do it, clearly I’m missing something :)
Here are my screenshots:
You can do a lot of that. Maybe not as much as you want, but the options are there.
I think it syncs the books you add via iCloud if you import the EPUBs into Books on your device rather than syncing them via iTunes or something.
You can’t adjust the margins.
I hate it now that they started putting ads on the main screen. I wake up one day, decide to open the books app to get some reading in, and they made the continue reading section tiny and now I have a topless Britney Spears staring at me. Immediately went on my pihole and blocked books.apple.com
and now I have a topless Britney Spears staring at me
W for Apple
If you like trashy autobiographies from b-tier musicians I guess it’s a W lol. I was flabbergasted when I saw the ad because presumably kids use the books app too. Hopefully they’re not showing the same ads to everyone.
Me too for some comics and manga I don’t have space to store
Children of time is sooooo good. Spider planet!
If I were to read one book listed here which would it be?
They couldn’t center the covers ?..
It feels like a casual “you could have filled this more you know…” doesn’t it?
Can i sincerely ask why? Whats the advantage over Kindle? Does it offer audiobooks for books you buy for free?
A native experience in Books before Music — who would have thought?
I just finished “The Wager.” I really liked it. I’m excited to see the film whenever it is released.
Does anybody use iBooks? I’ve always use Kindle Reader as it syncs with my Kindle and Audible when I want to use it.
I basically only use Apple Books. But I only read books I find, download, and add to the phone.
i do that and i use spoken content. that way the iphone reads the book to me.
How is the voice on that? Natural enough?
That’s what I do. I think Apple got wise to it though, so they started putting ads directly on the main screen of the app now. Seriously, I open the books app one day and have a topless Britney Spears staring at me. A pretty jarring experience, had to block books.apple.com on my network to get rid of the ads.
For real? I hadn’t even noticed but then again I haven’t used it in a bit.
Yes. I don’t like being locked into Amazon and I get DRM free versions I put in my books app, as well as some paid Apple Books. I like it more than Kindle in some ways.
What a dumb question.
I would love to use Apple Books but can’t stand reading on anything that’s not e-ink. I’d buy an Apple e-reader for $1500
I just recently got a Kindle and yes, e-ink is wonderful. Have you tried using a matte screen protector and tweaking the warmth of an iPad display? I haven’t but I would prefer using a single book/eBook app that allows me to import both media types into the app.
I did the matte ipad mini + warm settings for years, switched to kindle this year and it’s so much better
I appreciate the input. Something about the Paperwhite with the right warmth and brightness setting has actually helped me fall asleep noticeably faster. I’ve struggled with sleep my entire life and I’m sure the LCDs and OLEDs haven’t helped.
Can I import some of my books from Amazon kindle to books?
I just prefer the UI with books than with kindle.
yes, use calibre
Bro you can’t go around putting “Apple Unveils” at the beginning of your post, I got excited thinking a new product launched!
Apple Books doesn’t have a dedicated e-reader and from what I’ve seen all the books are more expensive than getting them from Amazon. Cool for people who don’t care about those things though.
Apple Books is the single destination for all the books and audiobooks readers love
So this is a damn lie. That said, groovy feature - would love to see others riff on it (maybe Kindle does and I just haven’t noticed, I dunno - I read physical books, mostly).
I actually really like Books, so it’s nice to see it get some love.
