Apps we love: Reading tools to fuel digital bookworms

Source: The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.存倉Sept. 13--Few pastimes are more comforting than sitting down with a good book. But as technology becomes more prevalent, you're more likely to cozy up to your favorite novel in digital form. Below are some apps to help you bring digital literacy to your smartphone.The iBook app, available for free on iPhones, lets users download and read any book in the extensive iBookstore, straight from your phone. While some titles are free, most of the popular books come at a price. Like most Apple software, iBooks can be synched between devices. So the title you purchased on iTunes will show up on your phone.The Kindle app for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry presents a handy reading option for people who already own a kindle with a library full of titles. They'll be carried over to your app, so you can keep reading on your phone even when you don't have a Kindle handy. The drawbacks: You must have an Amazon.com account to use the app, and the app doesn't let you buy titles from your phone -- only read titles you've already purchased from Amazon.Encyclopedia Britannica's free app could free up a lot of occupied space in American households still harboring full collections of the brand's hefty books. The app, available for iPhone and Windows Phone, allows the reader to browse the A to Z listings of entries, or search for a specific one. The drawback: The app's free version cuts off most entries about a paragraph in. So if you want to learn more than a f迷你倉w sentences about the British television show "Absolutely Fabulous," you'll have to subscribe to the $14.99 per year membership. It's expensive for an app, but still much cheaper than that bulky encyclopaedia set.If poetry is your preferred reading, try The Poetry Foundation's stellar app, which lists thousands of classic and contemporary poems from E.E. Cummings and Robert Frost, among other greats. The app, which is available for iPhone and Android, lets users "spin" for a random poem, or search by themes. Choose an overarching theme of, say, "insecurity," then toggle the subtopic from "insecurity and life" to "insecurity and nature." Or, search for a specific beloved poem. Star your favorites to place them in a folder easy future reference. Some titles even come with audio.Finally, bookworms living in Portland or nearby might want to download the free Multnomah County Library app, which works on nearly all smartphones. The essential app for library patrons allows users to browse the catalog, check up on the books they've placed on hold, and make sure they're not sitting on overdue books. Want to wander through the rows of books? The app will locate the nearest library, and provide directions. A list of library events can help you plan your next trip. Can't find what you're looking for? Ask a librarian through the app.--Kelly HouseCopyright: ___ (c)2013 The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) Visit The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) at .oregonian.com Distributed by MCT Information Services自存倉