Do you think there are enough ereaders for iPhones out there? I have eReader, Kindle, Stanza, and GoodReader on my phone, so why did I download BlueFire a couple of weeks ago?
Well, for starters, I’ve never used GoodReader. I bought a couple of novels early on in eReader format, and liked the app just fine. Stanza reads .pdf files as well as other e-files, but .pdf files are still a bit awkward on the iPhone, in my opinion. Though I could read other file formats on the Stanza, I haven’t.
My most used book app is the Kindle, hands down. That’s because they have so many books on their free download list at any time. Yes, there are older public domain novels, but also plenty of new releases.
I like reading free books. As you may have noticed, I also like to review books, so I hooked up with NetGalley a few months ago. They’re big, by the way, offering eARCs (electronic advanced reader copies) for review from dozens of publishers, major and minor. The best way to read these ARCs, I believe, is on the actual Kindle device, but they won’t transfer to the Kindle app as many of them are in a DRM (digital rights management) form.
The other way they can be read is on the computer, which isn’t a problem for many people. It isn’t really a problem for me, either, except that when I get on the laptop which, yes, is a lot (!) I have two main purposes on the brain: writing and surfing. Reading for pleasure just doesn’t seem to be where my brain slides on this machine, so it took me a long time to get around to starting the first NetGalley ARC I asked for. And it made me hesitant to request others.
Enter BlueFire. With this application, you can read DRM files on your iPhone (and, I assume iPad, but I don’t have one so don’t know!) To me, this seemed like the answer to my problems. Since getting my iPhone in February, I’ve read nearly two dozen novels on my it. Obviously I don’t have an issue reading for pleasure on it!
So I downloaded the app. Had a bit of trouble setting things up but Lindsey at NetGalley walked me through the issues in short order (thanks, Lindsey!) I transferred two novels to this app on my iPhone.
Do I love BlueFire? No. Maybe because the files are still .pdfs instead of .epubs, or maybe it’s the app, but the font size isn’t changeable other than by ‘spreading’ the page with two fingers. Every. Single. Page. They still float from side to side and each page still has to be scrolled down. Then to the next page, and spread it wide again. Sometimes it then reverts to the previous page. It’s sloppy.
I’m not a fan. It’s driving me so crazy that when I was offered (through an upcoming blog tour) a paperback copy of an ARC I’d already downloaded, I jumped on it. Please note: I don’t yet know if I’ll love the book enough to want to own it and loan it. I might be REALLY glad I got the paper version. And I might not. But, either way, it will be a heckuva lot easier to read.
I will continue to be very select in downloading ARCs via NetGalley and BlueFire. I wanted to love this app, and maybe if my eyesight was a bit better, I would. But really? I’m holding out for a Kindle. 😛
