Important! How to Get Books To download books into IndieBound Reader, you must first purchase them from a participating independent bookstore website. Visit your local bookstore’s website on your iPhone or iPad, and sign in with your Google Account. Here you will see all your purchased Google eBooks. (If you are already signed in, visit the 'My Account' link, and then click on 'My eBooks'.) Click the Download link to the right of any book to open in IndieBound Reader. The book you’ve downloaded will automatically open into IndieBound Reader.

Welcome to IndieBound Reader

IndieBound Reader™ is created by the American Booksellers Association, the national trade association representing independent bookstores throughout the U.S, and Bluefire Productions, an independent software company in Seattle, WA. This app was created to give book lovers a choice to read ebooks while supporting their local, independent bookstores.

IndieBound is a community-based local first movement begun by the ABA. It brings together booksellers, readers, indie retailers, local business alliances, and anyone else with a passionate belief that healthy local economies help communities thrive. Successful local, indie businesses help dollars, jobs, diversity, choice, and taxes stay local, creating strong, unique communities and happy citizens.

Google eBooks™

Google eBooks are cloud-based, digital books that allow readers to access their libraries on almost any device from one single repository.

Independent bookstores have partnered with Google because of its open and accessible platform, so indies can provide an easy way for their customers to discover, read, and buy ebooks at while supporting local business. Google eBooks are sold directly through independent bookstore websites (see How to Get Books).

Google is offering hundreds of thousands of titles for sale, ranging from new releases and bestsellers in every category to classics in the public domain.

How to Get Books

To download books into IndieBound Reader, you must first purchase them from a participating independent bookstore website. Find participating indie bookstores at IndieBound.org.

On your chosen bookstore’s website, visit the My Account page, and select the My eBooks tab. Here you will see all your purchased Google eBooks. Click the Download link to the right of any book to open in IndieBound Reader.

You will be asked to link your Google account to IndieBound Reader in order to authorize your books. Sign in with the same account you used to purchase your Google eBooks.

The book you’ve downloaded will automatically open into IndieBound Reader.

How to read

Tap the Library button in the Main Toolbar to view a list of the items that have been added to your IndieBound Reader. There are two views within Library: the Covers View and the List View. The Library can be sorted by tapping on the sort buttons at the top of the screen. There are three sort orders: most-recently read books, author name, and item title.

Tapping on a cover image or book title in the library opens a book for reading. Swipe left or right to navigate between pages.

Bookmarks and notes

You can make bookmarks and take notes in the IndieBound Reader. When the screen is tapped, a title bar appears at the top with a Bookmark button to the right. When the Bookmark button is pressed, a Notes screen appears. Take a note on the page you have selected, or leave the field blank to bookmark the page. To bookmark or note a specific piece of text, press and hold on a word to select it, then drag the selection to encompass a range of text.

Deleting a book

To delete a book from the Library, open the book, choose the Info screen, and press the Delete button. The info screen can also be accessed from the Library when in List view, by clicking the circular button to the right of any book. Additionally, the Edit button in the upper right-hand corner (with an image of a pencil) allows the customer to delete several books at once.

Please note that the book will be deleted from the device, but not your Google Account. Any Google eBook can always be re-downloaded or accessed from the My eBooks page on your account at any participating indie bookstore’s website.

To view additional information about a book, tap on the blue, circular button to the right of the item in the List View of your Library.

Changing Google Accounts

To change Google Accounts, select the Info button from the Main Toolbar. On the Info Screen, press the Deauthorize button. This logs your Google Account out of the application entirely and deauthorizes any downloaded Google eBooks (note that this does not delete those books from your library). Press the Authorize button to log in and authorize the application as another user.