Read books in the Books app on iPad

In the Books app , you can view the books you’re currently reading, want to read, book collections, and more

The following are available in the sidebar. Tap or turn iPad to landscape view to automatically view the sidebar.

Reading Now: Tap to access the books and audiobooks you’re currently reading. Scroll down to see books and audiobooks you’ve added to your Want To Read collection and books you’ve sampled. You can also set daily reading goals and keep track of the books you finish throughout the year.
Library: Shows all of the books, audiobooks, samples, series, and PDFs you got from the Book Store or manually added to your library. You also see your books sorted into categories, such as Want to Read, Finished, and Downloaded.
My Collections: Shows all of the collections you created, see Create a custom collection and add books to it.

Read a book

Tap or turn iPad to landscape view to automatically view the sidebar, then tap a category such as Reading Now or Want to Read. Tap a book cover, then do any of the following:

Turn the page: Tap the right margin or swipe right to left.
Go back to the previous page: Tap the left margin or swipe left to right.
Go back to where you started reading: Tap the page, then tap the rounded arrow in the top-left corner of the page. Tap the rounded arrow again, but in the top-right corner, to go back to your current location.
Go to a specific page or location: Tap the page, tap , tap Search Book, enter a word, phrase, or page number, then tap a result.
Use the table of contents: Tap the page, tap , then tap Contents.
Tip: To quickly move through a book, touch and hold Contents, then drag your finger left or right; release your finger to go directly to that location in the book.
Close a book: Tap the page, then tap in the top-right corner, or swipe down from the top of the page.

A page of a book in the Books app. At the top of the screen are the buttons for returning to the page on which you began reading and for closing the book. At the bottom right of the screen is the Menu button.

When you finish a book, personalized recommendations appear to help you discover your next read.

Change the text and page appearance

Tap the page, tap at the bottom of the page, tap Themes & Settings, then do any of the following:
- Change the font size: Tap the large A to increase the font size or tap the small A to decrease it.
- Change the font: Tap Options, tap Font, select a font option such as Georgia or Palatino, then tap Done.
- Turn on vertical scrolling: Tap to scroll continuously through a book.
  For PDFs, tap , at the top of the screen then turn on Vertical Scrolling.
- Change the page turn style: Tap or then choose an option (iPadOS 16.4 or later).
- Adjust the display brightness: Tap , then choose an option.
- Change the page background color: Tap a page theme such as Quiet or Bold.
- Make the font bold: Tap Options, then turn on Bold Text (green is on).
- Customize spacing and justification: Tap Options, turn on Customize (green is on), then drag the sliders left or right to adjust line spacing, character spacing, and word spacing. You can also turn Full Justification and Allow Multiple Columns off or on (green is on).
Tap or swipe down to close the menu.
Note: You can choose on which side of the screen the menu button appears. Go to Settings > Books, then choose Left or Right below Reading Menu Position.

To undo text and layout customizations, tap Options, tap Reset Theme, then tap Done.

Bookmark a page

When you close a book, your place is saved automatically—you don’t need to add a bookmark. Bookmark pages you want to return to again.

Tap the page, tap , then tap ; tap it again to remove the bookmark.

To see all your bookmarks, tap the page, tap , tap Bookmarks & Highlights, then tap Bookmarks.

Share a text selection or book link

You can send text selections using AirDrop, Mail, or Messages, or you can add the selection to Notes. If the book is from the Book Store, a link to the book is included with the selection. (Sharing may not be available in all countries or regions.)

Touch and hold a word, then move the grab points to adjust the selection.
Tap Share, then choose how to share the selection.

You can also send a link to view the book in the Book Store. Tap a page, tap , tap , then choose how to share the link.

Helpful?

iPad User Guide

Read books in the Books app on iPad

Read a book

Change the text and page appearance

Bookmark a page

Share a text selection or book link