This post is sponsored by Oyster
I did lots of reading on last week’s beach vacation. Naptimes were glorious!! I converted to a huge fan of digital reading after buying a tablet while I was pregnant. I love that I don’t have to carry around a tote bag of books (especially on airplanes when space is tight!), and I love that I can download a new book a second after finishing one. Or if the book I “brought” isn’t what I am in the mood for (which happened at the beach!) then I have a new one at my fingertips in a hot second.
New to the ebook world is Oyster. Oyster is a subscription based app that gives you access to unlimited ebooks for $9.95 a month. Think of it like Netflix for books! Oyster houses over half a million books in every genre from classics to new releases and continues to add new titles every day. The app is accessible on any operating system like Apple, Android, Kindle, etc. Best of all, your first 30 days of reading are free!
VIDEOS
There are a ton of different genres to browse. This was my favorite part – if you’re in the mood for a light, summery novel while at the beach it’s easy to find them. Check out the complete Oyster library here and learn more about the app’s features here.
I’m a sucker for romance novels, so just listen to the categories you can browse:
- Love & Vampires
- Love in the Wild West
- Time Traveling Lovers
- Around The World Romance
- Valentine’s Day
- Online Dating
- Historical Romance
- Supernatural Lovers (!!)
- Sex in the City
- Urban romance
- Good & Bad Love Stories
- Unfaithful
- and lots, lots more!
Seriously – with all those categories you’re bound to find a romantic book you’ll love!
There are also HEALTH books, COOK books and CHILDREN’s books!!
Here are some of the popular titles on Oyster. And there are lots of hand-picked editor lists with suggestions too:
The app has multiple view settings and was very easy to read. Look at all the theme options:
I especially loved the quick “night reading” button that changed the screen to dark and dim with just a single touch.
It’s a really gorgeous app to use:
So what’s on my reading list? Quite a few titles I’ve been wanting to read for a while along with some new ones I found while browsing around:
Life of Pi by Yann Martel {Gotta read the book before I can see the movie!}
Keeper by Kathi Appelt {About mermaids – perfect beach read}
The Motion of the Ocean by Janna Cawrse Esarey {a struggling couple lives on a sailboat and travels the world}
The Mighty Gastropolis of Portland by Karen Brooks {Sounds delish…!}
Ice Cream Social by Brad Edmondson {All about Ben & Jerry’s!}
The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels and Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond {I’ve been waiting a while to read this!}
Guests on Earth by Lee Smith { <—she’s an author from my hometown who I have met!}
Wheat Belly by William Davis {I want to skim this and see what it’s all about}
Lip Service by MJ Rose {this was recommended in the seductive romance section!}
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo {my dear friend is going to be in this performance this fall and I would love to read it}
Beach Lane by Melissa de la Cruz {a light read set in the Hamptons!}
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood {one of my favorite authors, I bet this is good}
The Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay Nixon {I bet there are great recipes in here!}
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin {it’s been on my to-read list for a while}
And a few favorites I recommend!
The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell {We read this in by book club!}
The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman {one of my favorite books EVER!!!}
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb {I loved this! So real}
Little Bee by Chris Cleave {a really good but serious book!}
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier {great book, great movie}
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood {another favorite!}
Your first 30 days of reading are free, so there’s no reason not to get started on a new book today!
I’d love to hear some of your favorite books and authors – especially great summer beach novels!
This post is sponsored by Oyster
I read Little Bee (in paperback form)! I love reading & haven’t been doing so enough. I just started a book yesterday, though tirled ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ by Mark Haddon. I hope it’s good! I read that it was banned from school reading lists simply because it has two cursewords. Very sad to sensor a book like this but allow children access to so much blatant trash on tv, etc.
It was a great book @Kori. Definitely no reason to be banned from any reading lists.
Margaret Atwood is one of my favorite authors as well! I got to meet her when she came to speak at my college and she is an incredibly smart woman and also hilarious! I don’t know if you’ve read her MaddAddam trilogy but I’ve heard HBO is making a series based on it and I can’t wait! Oyster sounds perfect – I’m about to take a beach trip myself. Also this is a great list of books. Thanks for the recommendations!
Atwood fans, holla! I heard about the HBO series — it’s high time Atwood’s fiction gets a quality adaptation.
I might try that. I was going with the Amazon Prime for the same amount. I’ve never read the Harry Potter Books but love the movies and I’m sure there are things in the books not in te movies that I’m missing. Also game of thrones too.
What a cool suggestion – when I go on vacation I can read a ton of books so I’m going to save my free trial for that (no sense in paying for it now when I have no time to read !)
Also – I read The Hand That First Held Mine in the first few weeks after having my daughter and loved it! It captured the complexities of motherhood so well!
I wish I was more of a reader. I have good intentions but…yeah. *blush* I’m definitely passing this along to my book lovin’ friends though!
If you have the chance to watch the movie for Life of Pi – do it! It’s great! (Even better if you watch it in 3D 🙂
Amazon just launched something similar – how does it compare?
I’m not sure and haven’t heard of that new program yet
Did you know Oyster was founded by a Duke student from South Carolina?
No awesome!
Looks like a great app! Love the free trial! Just a reminder to all book lovers that you can get free audiobooks and ebooks from your local library. Two apps that libraries use are overdrive and hoopla.
I love discussing books! My favorite present-day author is Gillian Flynn. If you can handle dark, depressing, and suspenseful, I highly recommend her three novels. I can’t wait for the two movie adaptations of her books! Where’d You Go, Bernadette is a much funnier mystery. I’m currently reading S. by JJ Abrams, but it’s something you have to read in classic book format. Same with House of Leaves (creepy!), another all-time favorite. Other recs: Flannery O’Connor stories, The Road, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Time Traveler’s Wife (now THERE is a romance, and way better than the movie, as are all books), The Hobbit and LOTR, … I could go on and on! Happy reading!
Ooh, not all books are better than the movies. Psycho, The Godfather, Jaws, The Exorcist are better films, to name a few examples. I’d suggest The English Patient too.
Great suggestions! I just read The Rosie Project (fiction) and Brain on Fire (non fiction). Would recommend both!
Haha I love those categories! Amazon actually just came out with the same unlimited thing for kindle, so I’m trying that out. I’m curious what the selection will be like!
Can you download them ahead of time or do you need wi-fi to access and read the books?
You can download.
I was tempted when I heard about the amazon service but I have a nook, so it’s moot, and then I remembered my library app that allows me to read as many books per month for free!
Allison, completely agree! I LOVE my library e-book app and I try to tell everyone about it–you have to wait a bit sometimes for the more popular titles but the Overdrive app (which is free) gives you access to so much including on iPad and iPhone as well as other devices. I’ve read a lot of the books on Kath’s list through the library app all for free! I get very evangelistic about these types of services because I think it’s a shame that people neglect their local libraries, which are incredible free services and community centers, to spend more. You have to cultivate some patience for it, but it saves a lot of $$ and you’re contributing to a local knowledge resource.
I’ve read through the library too but I’ve had to wait a really long time so it’s not ideal if you want to read books on demand
I agree, the public library, much like the public park is one of the best assets in a community!! I’ve had to wait for books too, but there is always something to read while you wait. If I’m dying for something, I’ll buy it.
I’m the same way…if I really want to read something I’ll just buy it. I’m really glad to see that there are other library readers out there! We are a dying breed.
Libraries also have other free resources. We just got a free day pass for our local children’s museum. Had to wait a bit, but worth it. Ask your librarian what unadvertised resources they have available.
Would love to read the Ben n Jerry’s story!! The Happiness Project is a must!!! Loved it!
You’re from Grundy?! I thought you grew up in NC? So exciting to know there’s another SWVA girl in C’ville! I just adore Lee Smith and pretty much all writing about Appalachia. But I think I’ll just stick with the free e-books from our awesome library.
She lives in Hillsborough! (Unless she moved in the last year? )
Oh, right! I just don’t think of her as being from there since Appalachia is so important to her writing. Happy reading!
I just read about Amazon’s new service like that. I love, love, love my Kindle, but I was spending a lot of money, so I got myself a library card instead. I’m working my way through Jodi Picoult’s books this summer.
I’ve never heard of Oyster before but I am all over this! I love that the price per month is the price of one book I’d buy from iTunes. I’m definitely checking this out!
The Penelopiad is good. I highly recommend Atwood’s novel Alias Grace; that’s one of my favorites.
What a beautiful app! And great idea. I am reading Gone Girl right now and absolutely love it…it’s an easy read and hard to put down – recommend!
Hi Kath. Just curious why every single comment is positive in regards to this post/product. I hope you are being authentic to your readers by posting both positive and constructive feedback. I have noticed this alot recently, therefore today I felt the need to ask. Thanks for the response 😉
The only “criticism” this seems to be getting is that the library is free. A valid point!
I think because reading should never be criticized. It’s one of those things, like exercise, that no matter how you do it it’s a good thing.
I adore The Light Between Oceans. I read a part that I found to be particularly sad on a plane, and found myself practically sobbing in between two strangers. So great!
Right now I’m reading The White Queen — historical fiction with a little romance. Plus I’m learning some things, as all the characters are (were) real!
This sounds really cool! I do not have a tablet, but I am planning to let my mom know about this. I am sure she would love it!
FYI, you can read on your smart phone and computer too!
That’s an awesome service! I love reading but never actually go out to buy the books, so this sounds perfect.
Oh man, I wish I had some free time to read! There are tons of books on my reading list – but right now I am reading about interactive modeling and the first 6 weeks of school in preparation for the upcoming school year because we are implementing a new behavior management system. With my twins, I am barely finding time to that reading. This service looks great, though!
Read Brain on Fire and The Goldfinch…both SO good!
What a wonderful app!
Some of my favorite books:
The Theory of Opposites (Allison Winn Scotch)
Ten Girls to Watch (Charity Shumway)
Skipping a Beat (Sarah Pekkanen)
The Baker’s Daughter (Sarah McCoy)
Baby Proof (Emily Giffin)
The Help (Kathryn Stockett)
Atwood is one of my all time favorites. If you haven’t read the Madd Adam Trilogy yet, you’ve got to check it out. It starts with Orax and Crake. It’s different than anything I’ve ever read!
I’m reading that now for book club!!
The reviews in the google play store (via my nook) weren’t very positive. Anyone who has experience using this on a nook?
Also, I love overdrive! I rarely to never re-read a book, so borrowing from the library has always been my preferred method.
I tried Oyster a few months ago, but they didn’t appear to have a large variety of books! They also really didn’t have any new releases. Did you find this to be an issue at all?
I thought the variety was large but new releases weren’t as plentiful. I imagine that will only get better with time and subscribers.
Everyone should read The Fault in our Stars by John Green. I know it’s a teen book, but it’s a wonderful book. If you have a tween or teen, read it at the same time your kid is reading it. My sixth graders last year “pushed” this book on every kid. “Pushing” is when we recommend a book to a buddy. When everyone has read it, we talk about it. It’s not a school assignment; the kids are passionate readers and want to share their ideas. Another book that’s very similar to this one is James Patterson’s First Love.
I love Charles Frazier- have you read Nightwoods? Also great- such beautiful imagery.