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Have you read any good books lately? It's easy on your iPad or iPhone.
Formerly known as iBooks, the Apple Books app is the all-in-one book store and reading app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
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You can use it to read e-books and listen to audiobooks, but before you can do that, you need to know how to find and download books on Apple Books.
We'll show you how to do just that below and explain everything from page-flipping behaviors, highlighting and searching within books, to browsing the Bookstore to find your next favorite title. Keep reading for all the details.
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How to download a book from the Apple Book Store
As we explore the features of the Apple Books app, let's start on page 1: Find something to read.
The Bookstore has been reorganized into sections, including For You (recommendations based on past purchases), New & Trending, Top Stops, Bookstore team recommendations, genres, etc.
- Tap the app Books .
- Tap the tab Book Store to browse the virtual shelves.
- Tap the button Browse sections for a list of sections in the Bookstore.
- Tap one section to navigate.
- Tap one book For download.
- Tap To obtain (if the book is free) or Purchase if the book has a cost. If you want to download a sample chapter of the book, tap Sample. You can see more information about the book by scrolling up on the book card.
- Authenticate Sign in with Face ID, Touch ID, or your Apple ID password and the book download will begin.
- Tap To read to read the book.
How to search for a book in Apple Books
If you know the name of the book you are interested in (or its author), you can search for it and get results for books and audiobooks both in the Bookstore and in your library.
- Tap the tab To look for .
- type the text of research .
- Tap To look for or in a suggestion in the list of matching results.
- Tap one book to start the book download steps.
How to read a book on Apple Books
Now that you have a book, it's time to read.
You can access any book on your device by tapping the tab Library. You can also use the tab Reading now to continue with the book you're currently reading, resume other books you've read recently, and book recommendations based on what you've purchased before.
- Tap one book to open it.
- Tap right bank or swipe from right to left to go to the next page.
- Tap left margin or swipe left to right to go to the previous page.
You can change this edge tapping behavior in the Settings app. When you finish reading, tap the button To go back in the top left corner to return to your library. Your place in the book will be saved automatically – no need to mark.
How to quickly scan a book in Apple Books
You can flip through the virtual pages of your book with one finger. Try this with a normal book.
- If the controls don't appear at the bottom of the page of the book you're reading, tap one blank part from page.
- Tap and hold the point in the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen.
- Drag left or right to scroll through the pages of the book.
How to use the Want to Read collection on Apple Books
Think of Want to Read as a wish list containing books you're curious about or that others may have recommended to you.
Books that you downloaded but didn't finish are automatically added to the Want to Read list. Additionally, you can add other books to this collection. See how to do this when browsing the Bookstore.
- Tap the tab Bookstore.
- Tap one book of your interest.
- Touch in Want to read.
The book will be added to your Want to Read collection.
How to set a bookmark in Apple Books
Few people can finish a book in one sitting, which is why bookmarks were invented. You can set a bookmark — as many as you want, in fact — quickly and easily in Books.
- If the controls don't appear at the bottom of the page of the book you're reading, tap one blank part from page.
- Tap the icon Highlighter in the upper right corner of the screen.
The bookmark icon will turn red and will be added to a list of bookmarks for that book. To remove the marker, tap it again.
How to view a favorites list in Apple Books
- If the controls don't appear at the bottom of the page of the book you're reading, tap one blank part from page.
- Tap the icon list in the top left corner of the screen.
- Tap the tab Bookmarks.
To go to a specific bookmark, tap it. Swipe left to remove a favorite from the list, then tap Delete . To return to the page you were reading, tap Resume .
How to view a table of contents in Apple Books
Most books have an index. If your book has it, you can use it to jump to a specific chapter without scrolling through the entire book.
- If the controls don't appear at the bottom of the page of the book you're reading, tap one blank part from page.
- Tap the icon list in the top left corner of the screen.
- Tap the tab Content.
Tap the index entry to go to that page.
How to highlight text in a book in Apple Books
You can use your fingertip as a virtual marker — in different colors! — to mark significant passages in a book.
- Open one book .
- Tap and hold the starting point of the text you want to highlight and drag until the end of the text.
- Tap Emphasis.
How to change the color of a highlight in Apple Books
Tapping highlighted text reveals a menu of options for working with that highlight.
- Tap highlighted text that you want to edit.
- Tap us colored circles to display a color palette.
- Tap one color . The underlined button will remove the color highlight and underline the text.
How to remove a highlight in Apple Books
- Tap highlighted text that you want to delete.
- Tap the button delete (trash bin icon).
How to add a note to a highlight in Apple Books
After highlighting the text, you can also add a note to it.
- Tap highlighted text to which you want to add a note.
- Tap the button note (speech bubble icon).
- Enter your text and tap Concluded.
You will now notice a small color matching square next to the highlighted text. You can tap this to read or edit the note at any time.
How to review notes in a book in Apple Books
The list button at the top of the book page provides convenient access to all notes in the book.
- If the controls don't appear at the bottom of the page of the book you're reading, tap one blank part from page.
- Tap the icon list in the top left corner of the screen.
- Tap the tab Grades.
To go to a specific note, tap it. To return to the page you were reading, tap Resume .
How to remove notes from a book in Apple Books
There are two ways to remove notes from a book.
- In the book, tap emphasis of the note you want to delete.
- Tap the button delete (trash bin icon).
- Tap Delete to remove the note and its highlight.
Another method is to use the notes list.
- If the controls don't appear at the bottom of the page of the book you're reading, tap one blank part from page.
- Tap the icon list in the top left corner of the screen.
- Tap the tab Grades
- Tap the tab Grades.
- Swipe left on the note you want to remove and tap Delete.
How to find text in a book in Apple Books
One of the biggest benefits of an electronic version of a book is searching the text and finding it almost instantly. Here is how to do it.
- If the controls don't appear at the bottom of the page of the book you're reading, tap one blank part from page.
- Tap the icon magnifying glass in the upper right corner of the screen.
- type the text search and tap To look for.
You can tap any result to go to that part of the book, and use the links at the bottom of the list to search the web or Wikipedia. And if you put a page number in the search field, you can tap the page number in the search results to go to that page.
