Personally, I’ve had my iPhone for a little more than a year now and have been reading everything from fanfiction to books in html/pdf format on it for a while. However, it was done through a bit of an arduous process and only useful in places where I had access to the internet. I would download a pdf to my computer, upload it to my website, and then point the iPhone browser to the location where it was stored. I called this the long way around. Imagine having to find your place again when reading a long pdf and you had to restart your browser…

Two Options

But now we finally have ebook readers. Thank god. First, there are two main apps to read ebooks on the iPhone/iTouch: iKindle app and Stanza app. And they each have their good and bad points.

I’m sure by now most of you have heard of the Kindle, but Amazon has now also created a Kindle app for the iPhone/iTouch. One good thing about using Amazon and either the actual Kindle or the iKindle app is that the ebooks you can get through Amazon’s Kindle Books are cheaper than the ones you can get through other ebook sellers such as Stanza’s Fictionwise. Really, just look at the two sites and compare. And no, you can’t just buy a book from Amazon and use it elsewhere. Amazon has them locked up tight. ;)

So, then why even bother with using the Stanza app at all vs the iKindle app? Well, Stanza allows you to read pdfs, html, txt, and many other documents through its app,. Whereas if you want to use the iKindle to do the same thing, you’re just out of luck. Well, mostly.

Reading Other Content on iPhone/iTouch

If you have a non-jailbroken iPhone/iTouch, then you only have one option on reading other content besides those bought at Amazon on your device. You’ll have to use the Stanza app and follow this tutorial and use Stanza Desktop to get them on your iPhone/iTouch. I suggest you also get the iKindle app so you can still get new ebooks from Amazon rather than buying from another store.

But if you have a jailbroken iPhone/iTouch you have two options to reading pdfs or other content on your iPhone/iTouch: you can do it either using the way I said with Stanza or in iKindle. To read other content in iKindle on your jailbroken iPhone/iTouch you first have to open the pdf/etc. in Stanza Desktop on your computer. Then, you go to File » Export Book As » Mobipocket and place the file on your computer. Then, you’ll have to use an application on your computer designed to transfer the file from your computer to your iPhone. Some options for this include: i-FunBox, iPhoneBrowser, or DiskAid. I’m sure there are more as well if you search around. You’ll then want to follow these instructions on where to place the Mobipocket file:

The file needs to be placed in Kindle’s eBooks folder, which is found in /var » mobile » Applications » random_hash_number » Documents » eBooks. You’ll have to find out what your Kindle.app’s hash is by comparing it to the date you installed the application.

ETA (3/16): After further thought and testing, while the above method for reading other content on the jailbroken iPhone/iTouch with iKindle still works, Stanza is definitely superior right now for that purpose. It’s too much work to convert to Mobipocket, worry about formatting, and placing it on the iPhone simply to read it in iKindle.  Plus, Stanza currently has more features than iKindle. So, my suggestion, and what I’m currently doing, is to use both iKindle and Stanza on your device. Use iKindle for buying/reading new ebooks off Amazon and use Stanza for reading other formats including html, pdf, and other ebook formats.

Here’s a guide to managing your pdfs/ebooks/etc. library and getting all your documents/ebooks on Stanza.

Sources of Fun

Now, you’re probably itching to get some content on your iPhone/iTouch. Here are some sources for classics, ebooks, etc.:

1001Books
This website was designed to furnish Kindle owners with a single place providing: Links to download the free books on that list, Links to buy the books that aren’t free, Links to request unavailable books be made available.

WebLiterature – Digital Online Literature Library
WebLiterature – online classic literature – is the favorite corner of a book-worm, a place to find and read the best classic literature ever written. WebLiterature aspires to be a free online digital literature library for reading top quality classic literature.

Main Page – Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is the first and largest single collection of free electronic books, or eBooks.

Feel free to leave any questions or comments and I’ll try to answer them.