BookShout: eBook & Reading App Reviews

by CreateNicknameReview

I've written an essay worth of how bad BookShout is and BookShout Store app refreshed itself so I'm making this short and simple... (don't you hate it when that happens?). This was a forced download upon a point redemption system which didn't notify of any use of 3rd party which happened to be this. This website harasses you to download BookShout and barely works on any platform on phones or web pages on a computer. You can't download images or print them for use outside of their service. It completely defeats the purpose of only one 28 page promotional reward I was able to get and ended up deleted whatever information selling no-name company this is. At least go to Amazon's Kindle or Audiobook or Nook or whatever options are actually reputable and honest enough to tell you up front, even if they have their own set of problems. I have no idea how this is highly rated when it doesn't even work or let you do anything besides stare at a gif-sized image and burn your eyes. Even if I won it "for free", I lost in other aspects and will just be buying the book myself now. Outrageous.

by IDragonLadyJane

BookShout should not have been released to the public. I find BookShout to be cumbersome. I struggle with this application on both my MacBook and iPad. BookShout only marks a book as having been read if:
1) You have read through all the previews of other books that follow the book you’ve read
2) You did not read a page took quickly
3) You did not skip over a page or pages

You cannot mark a book as being read, only BookShout can do that. I have to ask who decides if I have read a book, me the owner of the book or some misguided programmer who thinks they have to make this decision for me as I surely don’t know whether or nor I read a book.

My publisher decided I must use this horrific app. They obviously did not test the product before they bought it.

On my MacBook, BookShout does not correctly adjust the font sizes and line spacing when the option to enlarge the text is used. Text in the same sentence can be too large and then change to being too small (but the text was supposed to all be larger). Line spacing changes from none (lines touch) to one and a half (gaps between lines of text).

I would not recommend BookShout to anyone and feel my publisher is holding me hostage to this terrible app.

by Soxfan42

I downloaded this in order to take advantage of a offer through which I could get a free book. I found that whatever books I download are essentially locked within BookShout , so that I can't save a copy of the book to put on my other e-book reader. There's no way I would spend money to buy a book on this app, if I can't save a copy. I also don't much care for all the statistics and time-tracking either (for one thing, they're distracting), but there is no option that I can find to shut them off. I just want to read for enjoyment and relaxation and I don't want to make a contest out of it. (edit) To make a long story short, I'll look elsewhere for e-books, not this app.

by Raven_voice

BookShout constantly nags you about meeting your daily reading goal whether you set one up or not. This feature is enabled right from the start and spams you every day in your email about it. The functionality to disable it was not working in app, presenting a less than helpful blank screen under "settings". I actually had to go to their website, login and disable it there to finally get it to stop nagging my inbox. In my case this is totally inappropriate as I have reference books for school on my account. If I didn't have to use BookShout for my coursework it would already be deleted from my device.

by Mccgsm

I got BookShout to make use of free ebooks from my Wall Street Journal subscription. But in my view, it is buggy and irritating to use. Footnote hyperlinks don’t consistently link. You can highlight a sentence on one page, but it wouldn’t let me highlight the last clause of a sentence that broke across screens.

It is also a touchy thing—I usually read at the gym while on an elliptical machine, and half the time an effort to swipe to the next page instead highlights some or all of the text, and there is no way to click out if that, or turn the function off. Similarly, you can end up in a dictionary link, again with no clear route back to the text. And it won’t reliably reopen at the last page read, even when I bookmark the page. And the auto-advance is ridiculous, showing. Only a few words at a time instead of scrolling the screen at a given rate.

by Pepperbrandy

This is the worst book app I have ever used. I am forced to use it as long as I keep buying E books from the source that I have used for years. I read both on my iPad and iPhone. Every other app I have used, would know where I was at in the book no matter which device I chose to read from. When asking for help on this matter, I was told to just read on one device. I don’t always have my iPad with me, and when I am waiting for an appointment, I like to read. Also, I don’t like that it doesn’t time out, as all other apps do, when you are not using it. Sometimes I forget to get out of BookShout , and come back three hours later, and app is still open. I saw this complaint from others.

by Diga1950

I do or enjoy my experience with BookShout while reading my books. I also do not appreciate having no say in the use of it since the publisher I buy my books from does not give me a choice whether I use it or not.
These are a couple of the reasons I do not like BookShout, it does not show the pages as it shows only a percentage, to change the lightening the reader has to go to settings and not simply swipe the screen, moreover jumping from one part of the book is not easy, moreover it seems more interested in counting the words you read as if we are still in school and congratulating you on your achievement!!!

by Lisap99

I dislike only a few things about BookShout: 1) screen doesn’t timeout with inactivity (like every other app I use!) so if I walk away from the device without manually closing the screen, I may come back to drained power.; 2) I want a clock on the screen with my book. I love to read, so it’s easy for me to lose track of time. The only way I can check the time is to switch to some other app or close the book I’m reading to see the clock in BookShout ... a small thing, but annoying. 3) I want to turn off the reading competition features - I’m not a child and don’t need to be incentivized to read

by TrooperCam

I like that it sends you a reminder to read and an email that tells you how much you read the day before but it is very twitchy when flipping the pages. It seems to not count a page if it appears you’re reading faster than it thinks you should be able to read. I actually read faster than it says and have ha to go back a page or two to get it counted. Also, maybe not an email everyday with totals. I like to read but I don’t want to be reminded each morning that life happens. Also, while book. Shout bucks are great there are so any books you can’t use then on which kind of negates earning them.

by Unhappy H Reader

BookShout is clunky to navigate and has been broken this week. New books won’t download. Existing books won’t open.
I wish I could create shelves/ categories within my books. And I really wish I could search within *my* books. The search option covers all books. A toggle to do an internal search wouldn’t be that hard.
I have searched other books I’m interested in, but there was no “download” or “buy” option listed. Make it obvious for me! A “not available yet” button would be helpful.
Most of all- I just want it to work.

by Dr. L.

I love being able to read books using the Spritz method. I've improved my reading speed from 130 wpm to 400 wpm.

That said, I'm struggling with the latest version of this app. I tend to switch back and forth between Spritz mode and normal reading mode. In the previous version I could do this with one click. Now I have to click the ellipsis symbol, click on Display Settings, choose a reading mode, and finally click the back arrow, losing some of the time saved by reading faster to time spent navigating BookShout .

by Jessnzach

BookShout has become my go to for reading, I even ditched my kindle, BUT I've noticed over the last few weeks there have been a lot of glitches. Like my reading words not adding up like they should on the computer by fine on my phone. And having trouble turning the page sometimes, like it will take me backwards or skip a chapter. While the issues are mainly on computer and not BookShout , I still would love to get it resolved!

by Ygmwak59

I just finished reading this book. It was a quick read. Although I had predicted some of the narrative early on, the suspense and humour in the writing kept me reading...

I read several books on e-readers. Usually on Overdrive app (tied to local libraries).

I prefer their app because once books are open, can still tell time and notifications of how many pages remain in a chapter....

by Lollipopshot

Not only are the books here flawlessly presented and your bookshelves easy to organize, there is a speed reading function that is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and I’ve tried them all. Not only was I able to increase my reading speed, my retention went through the roof and the most relevant information of the book stayed with me long after the book was finished. It was also hard to miss the main points of the book with this feature. There are other goodies in BookShout that help keep the reader on track. This is BookShout I’ll most likely use for all my future non-fiction reading. Love it, stunned by it, appreciative of its development.

by The Early Nerd

An eye opening book to doing things differently. I yelled a lot with lots of poor excuses. I had mostly stopped yelling by the time I read this book but I love how it relates to all of our relationships- not just the parent-child one. I appreciate a view that starts with the only person I have control over- me. I keep thinking of the people I think should read it and then remember to glean as much from it as I can, share it as I go and keep learning. I am still growing in how I relate to my husband, my youth, and my friends as I get further into the book!