And while the debate of e-readers or paper books might rage on for years, I want to show you a few digital apps that can enhance anyone’s reading experience.  Try these apps out whether you prefer reading from a tablet or a paperback!

I used to have lists all over the place of “Books I should read”.  I’d havebsome jotted down on an actual list, some written in notes in a notebook,vand some just stored on my phone somewhere.  But now that I’ve been using GoodReads, I have been able to aggregate these lists and actually keep track so I am reading the books I want to!  GoodReads lets you make lists of books you have read, want to read or are currently reading.  You can check out reviews, see what your friends are reading, and get suggestions based off your preferences.  Read on!

Have a bookshelf filled with books that you can’t remember if you’ve read or not?  Turn those dust collectors into something useful!  BookCrawler lets you catalog your entire book collection by just scanning a book’s barcode.  You can add the cover art photo too so you always have a visual prompter (yes, I have called a book “The one with the palm tree scene on the cover”).  You can also use this app to discuss books with people in your community by using the location-based tool.

It’s the new age of Book Clubs.  BookShout lets you find or create reading groups around your favorite books.  Share insights that you gleaned from the reading along the way, comment on certain parts, or leave questions on issues that weren’t clear to you.  For certain books, you can even engage with the author!