I am entralled with this app. Haven't read this much in a long, long time; and since there are so many classics I haven't read yet I'm not at all bothered by their older publishing date. I'm also pleased with the ease of navigation, the use of the slide bar for longer jumps through the text, the ability to adjust font size and the ability to see how many pages along you are. BUT there is one major annoyance. As I read through the Tarzan series I notice that many of the chapters are missing their final paragraphs. (Comparison of the text of Tarzan of the Apes with the 101 Classics app confirmed this.) Context clues fill in the gaps, but these are the places where key narrative observations tend to be delivered. I shouldn't whine for a dollar, but it's irritating to start a new chapter going "Huh?" much of the time. Plus I love this app so much I want it to be perfect.

7 years ago, Handbag Junkie

Love this collection!

If you like classics, this is the app for you. All those old-timey books and authors you've been curious about are all here. And because it's an app, it's super easy to read and it's with you all the time. Sure, we all have our favorite games to waste time while we're waiting at the doctor's office or bank, it feels a little better to "waste" time reading. I've discovered old authors I'd only heard about. It's great.

6 years ago, 244 Jake

Great Option for readers of All Ages

You can read about all sorts of stuff ,--. ﹤__) `- |________7 |`. |\ .--|. \ |.\--. / j \ `.7__j__\ \ ----- | o | (o)____O) | ---- \ / J \ / --- `---' `---' I use to ride 25 miles every weekend There really are books about the real life of football players | | | | | | L______J | () ,,,,,,,|,,,,,\\,,,,, \\ \\ 0 \\ /|\ ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, JL,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Like the great collage team LSU / \ _~~~_ ( ) _~~~_ / ___ \ \ / / ___ \ \ / \ \ / / \ / \ \/ / ﹤::::::> (\ _/ /^\ \_/) \__/ \__/ Romance ❤️ ﹎ ┈ ┈ ┈ ﹎﹎┈ ● o .﹎﹎ ┈ ┈ /█\/▓\ ﹎ ┈ ▅▆▇█████▇▆▅ Yea I still a good love story..,, Or something like it ...

5 years ago, Justanobodyspecial1611

Great App

Been using this app for several years. My ONLY issue is that when I switched from ipod to iPhone the app crashes frequently and I lose my library to try and remember what I had. Anyone have any ideas why? Have plenty memory. Great reading and selections. Thanks for great app.

7 years ago, Ascoltando..

Great App!

Quite an ample variety of books, and useful tools! I would love to see the audio option for all books and a children's genre. Perhaps some more recent books as well. Nevertheless, I'm truly thankful for so many free books!!

2 years ago, Chester R. Lambert

What happened?

This used to such great app! For years I loved having so many books available, but now nothing. Argh!!! I have several novels and enjoyed. Now it won’t download anything. I feel like a chump trying to do so. Digital Press is not responding to obvious demand by the public for an update. There are a great many of us who would like to continue if they would let us.

3 years ago, Verxta

Rendering not working

Books aren’t rendering properly the prerequisite 20 seconds to 2 minutes needed before reading are far-fetched as they don’t hold up for any amount of time. I don’t see any update coming any time soon as the developers haven’t had one for over 4 years. Don’t download, there’s better alternatives. Also the 5-star reviews on this app are trying to dupe you into getting it.

2 years ago, vet9er

Paid but does not work iPhone 12 Pro

I had this app years ago and although slow to download, I loved it. Downloaded App March 2022, paid for it…and it is basically USELESS. cannot get any books to read. I am glad I only WASTED $1.00 to pay for it. Disappointed. I recommend staying away from this app. Would give it ZERO STARS IF I COULD.

7 years ago, jcellotx

Update renders this app useless!

I used to love this app until the update. Now I get a message that each book must be re-rendered. I could live with that, but the books NEVER re-render. I even left one “open” overnight, and nothing. Then I deleted the app, re-uploaded it, and downloaded one book. Same problem - never renders, never readable. This update needs an update.

7 years ago, joeblfspk

Delivers what it offers

Good selection of classics, and quite a variety of other titles as well.

9 months ago, The Unknown Lady

It’s NOT Creating Account

When you try to create an account the process is continuous trying to create the account but nothing happening. I’d paid the 99 cents but it’s not worth it since it never created my account. So I’d requested my refund the same day.

5 years ago, dummytail

I want my $1 back.

Books do not “render” and therefore cannot be read, nor do they successfully send to my email address. There is no way to contact customer service, as it leads to a dead page. The creators of this app are using us for pocket change.

8 years ago, Daytona_mac

Some old classics

Very enjoyable! I found some old classics I'd read before and other stories I'd never seen. Good for a Sci- fi fan.

7 years ago, songwriter55

books don't "render"

Books don't render so you cannot read them. I erased and downloaded the app several times and tried everything..How can they put something up here that flat out does not work?

7 years ago, The Right Honorable Ratbastrd

Books are lovely

Who can complain with the price?

7 years ago, Old Head

App is useless

Apparently the makers of this app tried to make improvements. However, all they have done is make matters worse. The app remains in a perpetual state of rendering and never delivers the books. I am deleting it from my iPhone 6 Plus.

7 years ago, Krckt

After Dark

Great book for bedtime or relaxing reading.

6 years ago, Mech-Eng1

Used to be great. Now broken.

Like many others I updated the app and am now stuck "rendering" forever. It's a bummer. Previously the app was basic but did all that it needed to do. Now it's not good for anything.

6 years ago, Heathernicole1208

'Rendering' and won't download

Every book I try to download asks for two minutes to 'render' a new better version and it never finishes. Would be great if it actually worked :/

3 years ago, SLGP1225

Cant read one book

It says it has to render the books and they never download so I haven’t read one book. Pretty disappointing.

7 years ago, Airbusjon

Doesn't Work

The darn thing has been on a white screen saying it's "rendering" a book. This app was great when it was free. Now that I've paid for it, it doesn't work at all. What a rip.

7 years ago, ZcraigInNC

Doesnt work. Buggy! Last version worked great

I used the prior version. Worked great! They changed the rendering. The book spins trying to render it. Doesn't work at all. No stars! They broke it!

5 years ago, tomirishflanagan

Didn’t work for me

Downloaded book but can’t read it because it’s “rendering” and has been doing so for over 30 hours.

2 years ago, Creetes

Was Great - Now Doesn’t Work

I loved using this app, but it hasn’t been updated in years and no longer works.

3 years ago, Dondy83

Used to love

Used to love this app. Now, nothing will load. Every book says "Rendering" for hours. Nothing ever happens. Book never loads.

8 years ago, gbatten1

Excellent

One of my favorite apps. I love it!

2 years ago, Jack1377

MY PERSONAL LIBRARY

I can’t get this app to work at all. Every time I try to use it it gives me an error message. Time to do it delete.

7 years ago, mbruch

Free Books!

This is great. I love reading these classics.

7 years ago, Brookner

Doesn't work at all anymore

The same rendering issue that others here speak of. This app is now useless.

7 years ago, AngelaTT

I had loved this app, but the update ruined it.

It will not render any books. I am so sad. I loved this app before. Please fix the update.

6 years ago, dfcastillo

Rendering Issue

I hope they fix this problem. App does not work.

6 years ago, Goose544

Doesn't work

Don't download this. It doesn't work. Books won't render so they can be read.

5 years ago, Popunkordie

Failure of knowledge

I attempted to download three books and it didn't work for me.

5 years ago, atituspr

it won’t play the books

i have tried and tried and can’t get it to play.

1 year ago, RevelationAdept

☠️

Abandonware.

14 years ago, Thinkoplex

Worth the price, with a couple of minor shortcomings

Like the description says, most of the books in this app are available elsewhere. Most seem to come from Project Gutenberg. There are sites that already let you save these books in a mobile format, but I still find Free Books to have its own strengths. The problem with using a service like ManyBooks to save files in PDF format is that you need a computer to do it. Free Books provides almost immediate access to titles. I find its layout to be very good, and more readable than the Kindle app. I do wish it had a smooth-scrolling landscape view like GoodReader, though. You have to read books in portrait view, and tapping the left or right sides of the screen flips the page (tapping the middle brings up the menu). The controls may be minimal, but they work very well. Like I said, though, it is very readable in this format (moreso than competitors), but a landscape view would be a nice addition. One warning, though: Free Books does not include every book in the Project Gutenberg library. I don't know how it makes its selections, with part of an author's library will be available while part is not. Still, with ManyBooks and GoodReader as a backup, it is well worth $2.

14 years ago, mjmeme

Excellent implementation of access to free books from the Gutenberg Project plus other sources.

All the five star reviews describe the strengths. I have had no technical difficulties, crashes or failures. I don't understand the complaints, particularly the one that says the product with 150 books is better and all those offered by Free Books are uninteresting, since all 150 books offered by that seller are on Free Books. Even the Art of War for which some sellers are charging $10. is on Free Books. My only annoyances are some Gutenberg books have several pages of boiler plate to scroll past. And spacing is off in some text when the source used hard returns. The absence of fonts to indicate headings in sometimes an inconvenience. This can be especially bothersome when reading poetry. If spacing is too bothersome, it is easy to find something else to read. Don't miss Cory Doctorow. Is this where I am supposed to start my review? At the end of someone else's with no indication a new review is starting? Very confusing.

14 years ago, jleazott

Nice Reader

This book reader is an easy to use interface to a massive 23,000+ collection of public domain books. It provides both online and offline reading with customizable font sizes and color schemes. It also has a search function. The pages flip page to page, it might be nice to offer a scrolling text feature but the page flips are easy to use. It also seems locked into portrait mode, not sure landscape would work but it might be a nice option for those who prefer to read that way. You can also have the ebooks sent as an .rtf (rich text format) to any e-mail box for reading there as well. The collection of books you have access to is (obviously) massive and should provide plenty of material, especially the classics that you may or may not have ever read. Overall, a very nice portal into this large collection of public domain works, I can't say I've tried the other readers on the app store but this one certainly works admirably. Recommended.

14 years ago, Hollasch

Great little app

Those who complain about the general age of the many books available in this collection are probably unaware of the sad state of copyright law in this country. Only those books written before 1930 are currently in the public domain, and hence available to everyone. Nevertheless, this includes a great many books that have stood the test of time. The app itself is ok, though there quite a number of improvements that could be made. For one, books are displayed without summary, page count, type, and so on. Many of the book titles are truncated in the listing. I saw one French book categorized as English, plus a typo, but there's no immediate way to report errors. There's no support for landscape reading. There's no support for table of contents (lots of fun reading Plato's "Republic" when the introduction ends around page 750). All that said, this is well worth a couple of bucks, and I imagine I'll be spending a good deal of time using this app.

13 years ago, Saxophoness

Really great app overall. Best for classics, and good reading screen! 5 stars. Happy reading!

Overall, this is a really great app. It does exactly what it says. Awesome selection, and a great alternative to buying all those expencive classics that you know you "really ought" to read. Easy reading screen, works awesome on the iPod touch. Good selection of poetry. The only qualm I have about it is the lack of extra personalization. I know, you can change the color of the pages and the size of the letters, but it would be nice to be able to scroll rather than flip, and maybe put some real covers on the books; and a short description of what it each one contains before adding it to your library. The super quick page turning was hard to get used to. Who flipps the page that fast, I say?? All in all, it is WELL worth the $2 to buy all these books, and probably pays for itself for most of you.

14 years ago, fininnyc

Nice, very nice!

Very nice indeed. I thought it was going to be a bit complicated to find books I'd actually be interested in reading on this app--but, it's not. Took me only a few seconds to get started. You can quickly search through popular books, different genres, or just search for a title you're looking for. It's really easy to read the text and you can increase/decrease the font size in just once click. The page turner is easy and fun (just have to tap the screen). I really love the slider at the bottom that lets you jump through pages easily. Was feeling a little nostalgic so I skimmed through a few books I haven't read in years and traipsed right to the end--lame I know. Right now, tackling Dostoevsky’s The Idiot on FreeBooks, wish me luck! Free Books rocks!

13 years ago, Mustang Betty

Love it so far....

I originally got the free version, and it was a huge flop! I got into a book and the app wouldn't open. It froze, I deleted and re-downloaded it 2x and it still did it. I was brave enough to try this version, and so far I'm very glad that I did. But the new update had a huge flaw- it goes back to the library/menu constantly when u are tapping to turn the page....tried to read last night and it drove me nuts!! But another update may be able to fix that, because otherwise it is the only flaw. I love the new option to change page orientation. I was really hoping for that. Thank you! I look forward to even more updates which improve an already very good thing....

12 years ago, Foghornleghornssister

Wow

So many books I have wanted to read, but just didn't go to them first. How could I live in the US and not have read Common Sense. I plan to read so many of these books. I love British mysteries and the humor in them. So many libraries don't house some of the older books just because of space. I read Edgar Rice Burrough's John Carter books, and I just heard that John Carter will be a major movie in Marsh. These books are ageless and timely. The great writers were deemed great for a reason. Harry said to paraphrase if you do not know history, you are doomed to repeat it. Books for fun, books to make you think and many books that do both at the same time. I love this app and so will you, if reading means something to you.

14 years ago, dsytnr

I really like this app!!

I've downloaded a few free book apps but this one takes the cake thus far. I really like the color contrast option that makes the reading much easier on the eyes. It took me a short time to get used to the flipping of the pages but other than that I'm really enjoying it. I like that the app saves your place for you when you return to reading. I was wondering how the developers were going to address that but I didn't need to wonder for long. Its nice to know that I always have a book or two available to me when I'm out and about and these classics are great reads that I may not necessarily grab when heading out the door. Thanks much for this app! I would recommend it to anyone!

14 years ago, pikanya

A great app to read with!

The thousands of books available make this more than worth the price. It's great for class or just casual reading. The layout of the menu is clean, however, I wish the books themselves would be a bit neater. The books are just lumps of text with no way to find chapters or passages. If there was a search function within the book, it would be even better. You get an adjuster for the font size and color, but I'd rather scroll down for the rest of a page rather than flipping though 730 iPhone screen size pages that should only be 120 pages in real life. Regardless, I recommend this app!

14 years ago, eames1948

I'll never be stranded with nothing to read again!

I love love this app! While I'll always prefer reading books the traditional way, this is a fantastic alternative for those times when I find myself in public with time on my hands and no reading material. They have a good selection and the option to browse by category for those of us not sure of what we want to read. Also great is their option to change font size and color scheme so you can adjust the look to whatever will be easiest on the eyes. Looks like I'll finally be able to check off some books from my reading list!

11 years ago, Waterlilly01

Love this App

I like this App very much. So far no crashes, etc. I have access to Cicero, or Edgar Rice Burroughs to name a couple of very different genres. There is such a wide range; even Robert Frost. I can find more modern books somewhere else. This App offers classics of all kinds that I would, otherwise, never go searching for. To add to the benefits, I just found Agatha Christie & Georgette Heyer. Awesome!! Thanks. UPDATE Love the update. Am finding more great authors, George MacDonald, H. Rider Haggard, Plato & the list goes on. Thanks sooo much!!! P.S. To those who keep complaining because more modern books are not included, try reading the DESCRIPTION. This app contains classics that are Public Domain; that's why they are Free. Deserves 10 Stars.

12 years ago, ADAM BARRETT

Public domain is a wonderful thing!

Clearly stated, books are pre 1923, that's how it works. Many classics are within the public domain and several are compiled here. There are many obscure texts as well. Again we are talking classics here, books that have stood the test of time, books that are still being taught in schools today. Believe me when I say because I had to suffer through Last of the Mohicans, The Scarlet Letter, and any of the Bronte sisters while I was in high school, that should be the privilege of all American high school students. This is a convenient form for that. Again we are talking classics, not vulgar or popular literature. No Twilight, Stephen King, or Toni Morrison here.

13 years ago, Melamel89

Awesome if you want Classics

I love having all the classics within easy reach, no travelling to a library or bookstore to get a copy. Those who complain that more recent books should be added should understand that these books are free because their copyright has expired already so newer books will not be available for free. Gotta pay for those. If you love the classics though and want to read a lot of them this is for you. The only thing you pay for is to use the app. After that, nothing! It's great! You could download all 20,000+ books for the price of two little bucks. Awesome deal :)

13 years ago, art27

yesyesyesnoyesyesyes

this is a great app and totally worth more than the 1.99 I bought it for. I'm glad it doesn't try to make everything realistic and stuff cause I'm just trying to read and I don't really care if the page flipping looks real or not. the only thing that would make it perfect is some more modern books... past 1923. but old books are always interesting to me. also if I could see all 23,600+ books in one big list so I don't miss any. unless there already is and I'm missing it. for that stuff, I'd like to give it 4 1/2 stars but since i can't, I'll give it 5.

Description

Free Books for iPhone is the world's favorite paid book app. Browse our handpicked ebook collections, download any one of our 23,469 classic books instantly, and read with our fully featured ereader. On the go? We save your place in the book automatically. We've crafted handpicked collections to make browsing the extensive ebook library a snap, and commissioned hundreds of custom book covers to bring you Cover Mode. This is the world of public domain literature like never before. Unlike "free" apps that charge you $10 a book, with Free Books once you pay, everything's included. No limits! No download caps. 23,469 classics in your pocket, for less than a cup of coffee. Features: * Books. Free Books! The plays of Shakespeare, the letters of leaders, the autobiographies of Franklin and Carnegie, the collected works of geniuses, the philosophy of Seneca and Plato. It's all here in our library, along with tens of thousands of other books. * Handpicked Book Collections. English 101, Theology, Romance, Ghost Stories, Banned Books, Fiction, Novel ... the list goes on. We have 61 hand picked collections to make finding great books a cinch. * A Perfect Reader. It's beautiful, fast, and customizable. Curl up with a book in Night Mode, change font sizes with a tap, and turn the page with a simple swipe. You can even upload your own book from Dropbox in epub format. * Original Covers. We make public domain books come alive with absolutely beautiful covers. * Over 4,000 audiobooks featuring Librivox recordings can be unlocked to go along with the ebook collection. You can easily switch between ebook and audiobook versions while reading. If you have any questions or suggestions don't hesitate to drop us a line at [email protected] that's what we're here for! ***** FIVE STARS Great app! My pocket is a library and I love that you can have the book sent to your email. I will never get rid of this ***** LOVE IT! Love love love this app! There's book I can read to my kids, and there's tons of books for me. I don't go for "typical" recommended read, so I love that the classics and more unusual are @ my fingertips. More please! ***** VERY GOOD APPLICATION Use it every day. Have bought paperback versions of classics for $5. This is a bargain! ** above quotes are recent 5 star reviews on the app store **