Glose Reviews

Main complaints:
As I’m scrolling down while reading in the iPhone app, the scroll down is slow and also tends to highlight sections. I’m not pushing down hard with my thumb, I’m merely scrolling down in a normal movement and yet Glose acts like I want to highlight.

The highlighting feature itself is horrible. I was trying to highlight a specific quote and Glose defaulted to highlighting a specific passage only. When I try to highlight just the quote and finally get the slider, the slider is clunky and I finally gave up just highlighting a couple of sentences rather than a whole paragraph. Forget even trying to actually make a note for the quote, the pop up menu only has “show translation” or “copy” options. I finally just took a screenshot and used the edit tool to highlight what I wanted, and saved it to my phone. What a waste of time.

Why the publishers of this app-readable books do not simply make them readable in Apple Books or some other standard, I can’t understand.

Yes, I can. They are trying to stop folks from sharing the books. They can exercise more control over the use of their content if all someone’s books are linked to the account through which the books were purchased.

The only reason I downloaded Glose was because it was the only way I could read the book that I wanted. As soon as I am through with the book, I will delete Glose .

These folks have clearly not “walked through their own front door”. They have no idea the hoops that they make new users jump through if they buy a book—and then attempt to set up Glose .

It took me several hours, creating an account through Glose , deleting that account, and creating a new account before I could read the book that I had already purchased. When I sent an email to the company for help, they sent a canned response, clearly never having read my email.

Like I said, after I finish my book, I will have nothing further to do with this app. I will simply avoid any future book that is only available through this app.

My new rule of thumb: If an e-book is not available through Apple Books, where 99% of the rest of my e-Library lives, I won’t buy it.

Lesson learned.

Ive used the Kindle platform for years to read my e-books and learned about this app earlier this year through Wall Street Journal. At first, I was skeptical —who needs another ebook platform? — but I actually find this app to be a more “true” and easier reading experience. Its interface closely resembles a print book, which is the gold standard and its easier to bookmark and make notes where I want to. Sometimes, I find the this app notifications reminding me to read a little exasperating, especially since I read daily — I just don’t read via this app. I typically read several books at the same time, so I toggle back and forth between “dead tree” books, audiobooks, and e-books.

This reader is definitely a early version. I prefer the dark setting for reading. When using that setting the beginning of each chapter has a white bar across the top and a white space at the end of the chapter after the words end until the end of the page. I switch between my iPhone X and iPad but Glose does not appear to synchronize my location between the devices. There appears to be a issue with Glose sometimes where it jumps back a few pages when reopening the book. Support for the iPhone X is required. I have flip the page slowly to read one word at a time to read the first line on every page because the iPhone X notch blocks the words. I will say I do like the green bar showing the status of how far you are through the current chapter. Over all Glose needs some upgrades to bring it to the basic level that other common reader apps are at.

This is Glose used by the Wall Street Journal for their complimentary books provided to subscribers. I have a stack of audiobooks saved to Glose that I have never listened to, because it is essentially impossible to listen offline. Unlike other apps, this one gives you no controls on downloading a book. You just open it and downloading supposedly happens in the background. But if you disconnect from the internet and then try to open one of your downloaded audiobooks, an error pops up saying some features are not available, please try again later. This is completely unacceptable and Glose is essentially useless to me if I can’t listen to audiobooks offline, like when I am running or in my car. The free app from my public library is better than this. I am glad I am not paying for this content, but the Wall Street Journal should find a better provider for its member benefits.

It's way too easy to highlight quotes or define words--but only when you don't want to. I just spent a whole minute trying to define a word and couldn't manage it. But other times, my thumb rests on the screen, I guess, and I touch a word and the "define word" window pops up and literally takes up the whole screen. It also happens when I swipe to go back a page, for some reason. I read ebooks all the time in other apps and have never had an issue with it, but with this app you can't avoid it. Because it's so easy to highlight quotes, it's also an effort to bring up the menu. You have to touch the edge of the screen, where in other apps it would turn the page. You can only slide the pages left, or chose the scroll continuously option.

As for the definitions themselves, Glose can't define a word if there's punctuation after it, such as a possessive word or a word with a comma or period at the end.

I have had to tell Glose multiple times that I don't want to see random people's highlights, because apparently it can't remember that.

The normal font size is either too big or too small. I've taken to reading in the dyslexia font because it's a better size.

There are no settings outside of the page's appearance. And turning off public quotes, of course, when it decides to remember.

I’m reading a really good book on a terrible reading app.
It won’t sync between my iPad and my phone. I tried to search for a word I know was in the text and most recently read, and the search feature simply doesn’t work.
You can’t scroll through a break between chapters, it wants the beginning of every chapter at the top of the screen. So you have to read all the way to bottom at the end of the chapter. But you don’t always know when that’s coming, so you think you’re scrolling down a few lines and the next thing you know the entire page is gone.
If you try to stop that from happening by leaving your finger on the screen, as other reviewer’s have mentioned, it immediately switches to definition mode for whatever word you happen to be touching. Constant aggravation while I’m trying to read my book!

Sand and stars. The story is fiction but most of it feel real,The characters are poor plain refugees always on the run hiding. That’s why it feels real. The writer tells two tales weaving them in and out crossing at parts where the map and history touch. The visual descriptions flow with color bringing each scene alive easy to see the picture. This book has it all action adventure , mystery, and it is nonstop. Each page forces the reader to continue longing to know what happens next. I really enjoyed this book and the writer. Don’t miss this adventure.

I love Glose ! I use it for my Harlequin books I get each month. But right now it’s not working and hasn’t been for 2 days now!!! Looked to see if it needed to be updated: Nope!! Even the website isn’t working!! What’s going on with it??? When will it be fixed? I’m ready to read my books again and I’m paying a great deal to get them too and I can’t read them?! What the heck?? Fix it please!!

I really dislike Glose. As a new member of a book publishing site, I was offered a free book. When I attempted to collect it, the page redirected to this app, where I learned that if I want to read the book I chose, I’ll have to read it here. The book is great, but I really do wish I had been allowed to pull it onto my Kindle. I can’t do any of what I normally do, and it’s distracting.

I like to highlight pieces of text that inspire me, and this book happens to be packed with really powerful sentences that I’m struggling to just... highlight! Such a simple thing, but they managed to complicate it. Yeah. Definitely irritated. So irritated, in fact, that I’m tempted to BUY the book elsewhere just so I can read it on my Kindle. 🤦🏻‍♀️

All of the reviews about Glose ’s glitches are true. It will skip ahead 20 pages in the blink of an eye, I have learned to not attempt any of the apps “features” like highlighting or word definition. They don’t work. But what bugs me the most is the battery drain. OMG! Forget to completely close Glose and walk away or fall asleep, and you’ll come back to a dead device. Even if it was fully charged when you started reading. That, more than anything else, makes me hate Glose.

I have to use it for ebooks from a certain publishing house. If not for them, I’d delete Glose and forget it ever existed. It is not worth the aggravation. Stay away if you can.

I’ve gotten so used to the workings of the Kindle app and its ability to even sync across devices that it just seemed keeping your place in a book should be rudimentary for a reader app. this app routinely loses my place and I need to go find it again and the navigation tools are very basic.

Sometimes, Glose just shows a blank screen and it takes swiping Glose out of Glose list and coming back into it to then go find my place. Glose works OK but be prepared to be disappointed compared to other reader apps.

I’ve been using this e-readerfor a few years now, mostly because a particular publisher requires only that tool. I keep hoping that it’s going to improve. Meanwhile it’s a sub-par reading experience.

Currently my main complaints are that 1) the search feature almost never works and 2) the bookshelf or book index is so weak. I’m pretty good about tagging my books “want to read” or “already read” in order to distinguish among the many hundreds on my shelf. When filtering, there are always some that come through regardless how tagged him. It also crashes more often than it should.

Do we need another e-reader on top of all the others out there? This one is clunky and cumbersome and the books purchased can’t be exported/read anywhere else. My options are to read it on my phone or on my laptop, as my iPad isn’t compatible with their website or their app (gen2 iPad). So once I’ve completed my purchased book, it will be that last time I access this app. Good riddance! As an aside, the copy of the book I purchased has someone else’s notes throughout it. Still can’t figure out how to get rid of those. So frustrating! Why would I want to see others comments on a book I’m reading whilst I’m reading through it?

Very glad to have the two-column option for the iPad! I also like being able to change the text size and spacing , as well as right side column flush/not flush. Am hoping though that you will be offering night shift soon? I turn my screen waaay down at night, but still not as effective as the black background with white text offered by iBook. Just a suggestion...thanks!

Unlike my kindle, which opens up to the last page I read on any device, Glose seems to want to be at the beginning of a chapter, so it consistently skips ahead or falls back. when I find where I actually left off, it will often jump me back to where it thought I was. Sometimes several more times. It is also incredibly easy to accidentally touch the page and have Glose think you want to highlight something, and then next to impossible to make the pop up go away. Not an enjoyable way to read

The book was great, I love Chet, he was a real dog.

However, the software needs work. Several times in starting a new chapter, the page would turn, then jump right back to the chapter title page. The first time was chapter 20. After some experimentation, I learned to run the slider forward twenty or so pages, then back to the page after the chapter title. Things would be fine till the start of the next chapter when the same problem would occur.

Don’t waste your money on books from this source until they get the glitches ironed out.

While you are connected to the internet Glose generally works fine, but if you are not connected it falls very short. Even though it says you have downloaded a book, when you are offline it either won’t open at all or if it does Glose doesn’t work right. Examples are: if it opens and you try to turn pages it won’t do it or skips to the next chapter or some other part of the book and if you try to open a book from the downloaded page it just spins, but never opens.

I would like to apologize to the reviewer that pointed out the amazing number of glitches. I thought you were exaggerating. I should have accepted your warning at face value.
Glose works fine for a while and then when you page forward it skips back a page to the one you have just read. I was able to get past this the first two times by changing the font size. Now I am stuck and can progress no farther in the book. I would be more irritated, but it was a free book to entice me into using Glose. Sadly to say it is not worth the nothing I paid for it. Just say no, I wish I had.

I really like Glose but am confused as to how to delete books I no longer want on Glose . When I google it I’m told to use the edit feature on the top right of My Books page to delete but there isn’t an edit on that or any page that I can find. Would appreciate guidance as to how to delete oops without the having an edit feature. Five stars otherwise!

Great book. I loved that the author made all the characters real. I found myself in one of them. Also, I enjoyed the historical facts that were woven in the story. Margaret Sanger...Planned Parenthood, prohibition, right of women to vote, and clothing of the time. I also enjoyed the quotations of famous vaudeville actors at the beginning of each chapter.

I used to really like this app.. However, the last update, rendered Glose useless as it crashes whenever I try to open it. I have tried reinstalling it, and nothing. I can access the website just fine, so it is app that is the issue.

Update- After the Update, Glose is working again. Good to know there are companies that are responsive to their customers, thanks!

There are Apps here that are totally free and all books are also free.
There are Apps that if you follow authors they give you free books.
There are also Apps for free Audio books and a very special one that cost $2.99 one time pay no subscriptions involved and you'll find any audiobook you wish for free, totally unlimited books, when I got it I paid $1.99 years ago and never had to pay again, Glose saved me many thousands of dollars over the years.
Do some searching books are free and by the way if you have a library membership there are Apps for that to.

I was halfway through a book and I set my iPad down for the day. When I picked it up today the settings had changed so there us only a column of maybe 100 words in the middle of the page with two huge margins on either side. There is no available option to correct this and there is no FAQ or help option for Glose. When you come to Glose Store to find help, the link takes you to a page to purchase more books. I won’t be paying for anything for this garbage app. Highly disappointed.

For the most part Glose is very easy to use. However, I had keep closing down Glose for the first third of the book I was reading. I would turn the page and it would revert to the first page of that chapter. Once I closed Glose and then opened it it would go to the correct page and not the beginning of the chapter.

Glose works pretty well, however when I double tap on the ad to shelf button with voiceover, the screen reader built into the iPhone, nothing happens.

Should be able to edit pinned books and remove a book if you accidentally hit read but you didn’t read it yet

It’s rather frustrating that I can barely touch the screen without the highlight bar popping up.

It would also be nice if you could customize what you highlight. There are times where there are a few sentences I’d like to highlight but it isn’t an option. You have to highlight each sentence individually.

I’ve read later Cornwall books and this great too. I love the characters and plots.

Can’t display text in two columns when in horizontal view on iPad?
The highlighting is way too sensitive.
Having to scroll down instead of sliding across to go to the next page. After changing a setting it goes all the way back to the beginning of the book.
Where’s the Bookerly font?
Glose has a long way to go.