Category: Books

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Books Books

Romance Audiobooks from Audasy (for Women)

Growing up, it was the “harlequin novels” 🙂 These were romance novels that appealed mostly to women. Well, they are still around today and since I am not a women, I have never read one.  🙂

As the the technology developed, we eventually had audio books. This was  great because now we could enjoy our novels while driving or commuting. When I had a long commute years ago, I would definitely go through audio books.

With Audasy, we have romance novels merging with audio books. This is a free app available for both Android and iOS devices. I used the Android revision for this post.  This is app is designed for for mature women,

When you first download the app, you will need to allow a number of different permissions. To be honest, I am not sure why but it is something to note. You can run the app on a phone or tablet but it only presents itself in portrait mode.

The app is broken down into three main sections:

  • Featured – a listing of books organized in the following sections Classic, Trending, What’s Hot, Recommended
  • New – this is a listing new books
  • Top – a listing of book with the top likes and downloads

Now you can use the app as a guest but to have access to all features you will need to create an account using Facebook or an email address. The app has a download section too where you can easily access any book you downloaded. The app layout is pretty straight forward and easy to use.

This is a free app and every book does come with a small sample audio you can listen to. Many of them also come with a chapter or two you can download. If you wish to listen to the whole book, I assume you will need to purchase them. It is not very clear from the developers website or from the app itself.

After listening to a few free samples, I definitely realized this app was not for me – this is an app designed for mature women and definitely is NSFW.  So if you enjoy steamy romance novels, then Audasy has plenty to choose from.

Downloads:

Free Romance Audiobooks
Free Romance Audiobooks
Download QR-Code
Free Romance Audiobooks
Developer: Audasy
Price: Free+
Unknown app
Unknown app
Download QR-Code
Unknown app
Developer: Unknown
Price: Free
Categories
Books Entertainment

Where Do the Swans Sleep [App Review]

Do your children love to read? Then they’ll love the interactive book Where do the Swans Sleep?, an app created by Felix Hofmann for the iPad and iPhone. The app is for children ages 5 and under and is available for $1.99 USD. It includes beautiful illustrations, engaging music, a wonderfully creative story, and an interactive interface. It’s sure to keep a child’s attention and encourage them to enjoy reading.

The settings icon at the bottom, left include a volume control for both the voice and music, a language choice, the web site, an option to restart the story, and rate the story. Another icon at the bottom, left lets users select the page they want to view.

The story starts off as a fairy tale where Felix imagines himself as a swan and takes an adventure. You really get a feel for the story through the beautiful illustrations. Each interactive picture brings the story to life and makes you feel a part of it. Kids will love this as they step through Felix’s journey.

The end is a real treat and I won’t give it away, but if your kids love to tell stories and draw, they’ll really enjoy it.

This app is sure to entertain kids and encourage reading, a life-long skill they’ll love!

Categories
Books Reviews

Experience Alice In Wonderland in a whole new way – The Alice App [iOS Review]

If you enjoy literature, great art, and reading on your iPad, then The Alice App is right up your alley. I really like the tag line: The Alice App, Renaissance art meets the Alice world.

The Alice App is a beautifully done ebook of the classic story. This book is designed and illustrated by Emmanuel Paletz. I definitely recommend you head over to the official website for the app to learn about Emmanuel, the book, the art, and more.  The app is designed for the iPad and comes with some simple instructions. You can adjust the volume and either read the book yourself or have the book read to you.  I really enjoyed having the book read to me. 

The book begins with a nice introduction to the story behind the story of Alice in Wonderland. Definitely worth the time; I learned quite a bit. The one thing I found though is that there is no way to pause the reading until he finishes the page.  You will also notice a green bookmark in the center of the page. Here you can open up each chapter and quick choose a page to go to.

Overall the app is beautifully done and allows you to interact with the story. Many pages have pictures you can click on and watch what happens. This is not a boring book.  This is a great book that parents can share with their kids. I really enjoyed exploring the book and playing with the interactive pictures.

So if you need some summer reading this year and want a different experience, give The Alice App a shot!

The Alice App
The Alice App
Download QR-Code
The Alice App
Developer: Emmanuel Paletz Corp.
Price: $0.99
  • The Alice App Screenshot
  • The Alice App Screenshot
  • The Alice App Screenshot
Categories
Books Press Releases

A new ebook for Parents- 100 Best iPad Apps for Kids

If you are a parent with small children, you need to be careful with your kids and electronics. If you find yourself asking questions like what is a good educational app for my child? What is an app I can let my kids use to help with his math? Then this might be the app you need.

Apps Playground, the UK-based children’s app reviews site, has released its first e-book for iPad, offering parents a guide to the best iPad apps from 2013.

Apps Playground’s 100 Best iPad Apps for Kids: 2013 Edition is available in iTunes and breaks down the site’s favorite apps of last year by category: Creative, Education, Stories, Playful and Games. The e-book aims to provide an accessible guide to apps for iPad-owning parents, including explaining their prices clearly and, if they use in-app purchases, how those work and how much they cost.

“More parents than ever own an iPad and are sharing it with their children, and they’re keen to ensure that the apps they download are entertaining, educational and trustworthy,” says Apps Playground co-founder Alice Whitaker. “We’ve worked hard to curate a collection blending familiar characters and brands with some of the hidden gems of the App Store that parents may not have come across before. And they’ve all been tested by two of the toughest reviewers we know: our two sons!”

“There are a huge number of children’s apps available for iPad, so we hope this book will help parents and carers find the gems that will delight their children, from creativity tools and inventive storytelling through to educational apps and playful digital toys,” says Apps Playground co-founder Stuart Dredge.

The app was not found in the store. 🙁
Go to store Google websearch
Categories
Books Reviews

Find Neat Books for the Kids [StoriesAlive]

One of the things my kids loved to do when they were young and continue to do now is read. They love to read. Many of the children have won awards in middle school for reading the most pages/books! What did they get? Giftcards to bookstores! Well if you have kids between the ages of 3 to 8 and are looking to find quality books, then you should download StoriesAlive for the iPad.

StoriesAlive is from the digital publishing company Auryn and is a subscription-based digital library. The app is free and comes with six trial story titles. You will need Internet to initially get going on the app. Since you get six free trial stories, you can easily try the app before you make any purchases. Subscriptions for the service are monthly and there are no contracts. A currently monthly subscription is $7.99 USD. With your subscription, you will be able to download any story you want. There is no limit. Also once you download a book, it will be on your iPad so you will not need Internet to read it.

The app is very well designed and easy to use. You will probably need to give the little ones a bit of help navigating through the app initially. The app has three main sections:

  • Library– list of the books available
  • Bookshelf– your books
  • Account– the specifics for you StoriesAlive account

Within the library you can just browse or hit the menu and get a variety of sections such as Free titles, new releases, age groups, rhymes, etc.  Once you find a book you are interested in, you can tap on the cover and get some basic info on the story, author, size. There is also a Look Inside option which will let you read a sample of the book. The app will download it to your app.

Once you download a sample or book you will have three options:

  • Auto play
  • Read to me
  • Read myself

And you will be able to personalize the story by putting in your voice and text of each story!

The app makes it very easy and enjoyable to read with your child or have them read on their own.  The app and the subscription service puts a huge selection of quality children’s books at your fingertips. Since there is no long term contract, there really isn’t much to lose. So if you are looking for great children’s books for your iPad, give StoriesAlive a look.

As a side note, I do not think this app is really designed for kids to find books on their own. I would definitely get the books for the kids and then give them the iPad with the book already loaded, but again you will need to determine what you child can or cannot handle. But if they enjoy reading and want to learn, they should have no problem handing StoriesAlive.

Unknown app
Unknown app
Download QR-Code
Unknown app
Developer: Unknown
Price: Free
Categories
Books

Doubting Dasha [iOS]

App Name: Doubting Dasha [iOS]

Cost: $3.99 USD

Developer: Tatyana Mironova

App Market: Download Page

Description:

New EPIC story for KIDS released! Sometimes courage comes in small packages. Join Dasha as she races against time to save her village and confronts the dark forest, whispered to contain giants, wolves, witches and other monsters. Feel the magic pulsing as the adventure unfolds, and help her complete her quest!

With this app:

  • Leap into a MAGIC world of SURPRISES!
  • Help SAVE the village!!
  • Can you solve the RIDDLES and find the grain?
  • Stuffed with TRICKY games, can you win?!
  • Meet exotic BEASTS from myth and legend!

Dasha needs your help! Join her in her quest to solve the mystery and shows unexpected courage and bravery to save her village. Enter the dreary forest to discover what lays in wait!

Feel the magic of story time! Create enchanted moments for your child with vivid illustrations, compelling narration, innovative interactions, and a unique story that will delight kids and parents alike.

Categories
Books

e-ROSDA Bookstore [Android]

App Name: e-ROSDA Bookstore [Android]

Cost: Free

Developer: Buqu

App Market: Download Page

Description:

e-ROSDA Bookstore is a digital bookstore business which is owned and managed by PT Remaja Rosdakarya cooperation with Buqu, a leading platform and ecosystem of digital publishing and bookstore.

You can purchase and download thousand books from general and university publishers.
You can download free pages of a book before deciding to buy a book.
You can use their account to download and can save the same book in three different devices (tablet, personal computer or smartphone).