Stanza software

This software is a useful and valid addition to your iphone, ipad or touch. It is simple to use and has a large collection of free books that you can read.

This can be linked with the Calibre software and you can download your papers and other newsfeeds all in a very convenient wifi way.(www.calibre.com)

The software has the usual library for the books you already have downloaded to your machine.

 The point where it gets interesting is the “get books” section.

1.       You have a range of free and paid for books that you can download straight to the device in the catalog. These are a mix of the free classics that are now out of copyright and new authors who are self-publishing and offering a free book to encourage you to look at their paid books. Some are existing authors keen to introduce you to their books.

2.       The shared section lets you use things like Calibre software which enables you to download news and to convert books to the right format from your pc that you may already have. Then you can add sources to get your books from for example fictionwise can be added as a source.(www.fictionwise.com)

This I have to admit has taken over as one of my primary sources of reading material. I can download newspapers for a quick read. I can add full length books I have that I just have not got round to reading or I can experiment with the free authors who do a mix of full books, short stories and flash reads.

There are some really good authors out there well worth a read but would they ever have got past a publisher?

In terms of settings it has one of the most flexible settings I have seen. Size of text can be adjusted by a scrolling bar so you can have the perfect size for you. Then for style there is a huge list of type fonts you can pick from. So many e-books come in one typeface only and here you can pick your personal favourite.

If you already in a book there is if you tap the centre of the page a quick access to settings which you can scroll and save so no interruption to your reading experience.

If you love making your book reading a real style experience you can change away from the classic white background and choose a from a whole range of backgrounds to suit your style. Now how many ebooks or ebook  software  offer you that.

You can set up the perfect layout for you whether it be justified or centred choose your paragraph layout etc.  It really is more flexible than anything I have seen so far.

A tap on the centre of the page give you access to settings a note how far through the book you are and if you click the arrow at the top left you can jump back to the library and switch books.

A tap and hold will give you access to the dictionary and the options to share or to annotate the book.

If you are enjoying a book then you can share with facebook and twitter. So if you find a great author what a great way to raise their profile.

So in summary one of the most customisable book readers I have seen so far.

If you want more information take a look at http://www.lexcycle.com/