iPad™ For Dummies®

Chapter 11. Curling Up with a Good iBook

In This Chapter

• Opening up to iBooks

• Reading books

• Shopping for iBooks

• Reading electronic periodicals

Don't be surprised if you have to answer this question from an inquisitive child someday: "Is it true, Grandpa, that people once read books on paper?"

That time may still be a ways off, but it somehow doesn't seem as farfetched anymore, especially now that Apple has signed on as a major proponent in the burgeoning electronic books revolution.

Don't get us wrong; we love physical books as much as anyone and are in no way urging their imminent demise. But we also recognize the real-world benefits behind Apple's digital publishing efforts, and those by companies such as Amazon.com, which manufactures what is, for now, the market-leading Kindle electronic reader. As you discover in this chapter, the Kindle plays a role on the iPad as well.

For its part, the iPad makes a terrific electronic reader, with color and dazzling special effects, including pages that turn like a real book.

We open the page on this chapter to see how to find and purchase books for your iPad, and how to read them after they land on your virtual bookshelf. But first we look at why you might want to read books and periodicals on your iPad.

Why E-Books?

We've run into plenty of skeptics who beg the question, "What's so wrong with the paper books that folks have only been reading for centuries ...