4 Apps I Use for eBooks and Audiobooks
When I’m trying to track down a new book, there are four places I check . . .

Everand
It’s a sad story about Everand. I used to check here first because they often will had brand new books quickly with no holds lists to wait on. But they just changed their model and I think I might be cancelling my subscription soon.
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Formerly Scribd, Everand seems to forever be under the radar. I’ve been a subscriber for years and have always impressed with their selection of ebooks and audiobooks with unlimited access. Their subscription model changed recently, though, and while they are (of course) trying to sell it as an improvement, to me it just seems like they are limiting access (à la the dreaded Audible). I’m going to give it a month or two, but if my fears are correct, I’m cancelling.

Libby
Libby is free, connects with your public library card, and has a selection that can vary based on your library system. It’s so good. They offer ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and probably more stuff I don’t even know about yet. The only aspect of the app that can be frustrating is the fact that materials can typically only be checked out by one person at a time, meaning you might have to put things on hold to wait (just like with a physical book at the library).

Kindle
Like a lot of people, I don’t really love to support Kindle/Amazon, but somtimes they’ll be the only place that has a certain ebook (I don’t do audiobooks on Kindle). I own a Kindle so it obviously works nicely with that. I don’t subscribe to Kindle Unlimited, so for me it really just for buying ebooks if there’s something I really want.

Spotify
I usually head to Spotify last because I always forget they have audiobooks on here now. If you are a premium subscriber they have a great selection and often will have just-released audiobooks. I ran into an issue this month, however, when I learned you only have 15 hours of audiobook listening time per month. Usually not an issue, but I was in the middle of that new Lorne Michaels book and hit the limit with 10 hours still to go. You can pay more to buy more time, but who wants to do that? I went to Everand to finish the book.
What apps do you use?
Filed under: Articles
About Travis Jonker
Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.
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