As someone with a full time day-job, I have a bit of a commute. Passing the time can be quite the challenge. Books are always a great idea, but between my iPad and documents from work, my bag gets quite heavy. In such a case, I’d really rather not carry a 1000 page book.
Enter Marvin, an ebook reading app on iOS. Initially an iPad only app, the relaunched, Universal, iOS 7-ready Marvin supports EPUBs, which is a DRM-free format for ebooks, stored either locally or downloaded via Dropbox. This Dropbox integration is the real clincher for me, since I’d really rather not import books via iTunes. Once you connect your Dropbox account, all EPUBs stored there appear, ready to be downloaded.
What sets Marvin apart from other ebook reading apps like Amazon’s own Kindle app is the sheer amount of customisability available. Almost everything can be changed – the theme, font, font size and even the brightness or colour warmth of the screen (done through gestures). You can either change your reading experience to suit you, or you could set it the way the publisher/author intended. You can write notes, annotate and highlight text. Marvin even has a Kindle-like ‘X-ray’ feature, where you can search for a particular term and the app will highlight every instance of it in the book you’re reading. This is particularly useful in the kind of books I read, with scores of characters with wildly different backstories. You can then export the results of this search as a sort of dossier of that character, for your reference. Answering the ‘Who was that guy again?’ question that is a mainstay of most long books has never been easier, and this remains one of my absolute favourite features of the app.
Device restrictions, unfortunately, will be the only reason Marvin won’t replace the Kindle for me. With battery life measured in weeks, a much more reading-friendly screen and Amazon’s MASSIVE catalogue of books, the Kindle still remains my personal ebook reader of choice. However, if buying a separate device only for reading books is not really your thing, you’ve found the app you were looking for, and I will admit to being quite jealous of all the features it offers. Marvin is, by far, the best app for reading books on your iPhone or iPad, and is available as both a free app (with some restrictions, such as being able to read only one book at a time), or as a fully featured app for $2.99.
Thanks for the tip, Peter