Granthali has developed an app called ‘अॅप’ली ग्रंथाली. This app allows you to read e-books with the help of a full-featured e-book reader that is embedded in it.
The format of the e-books that we have chosen is ePub3 because:
- It is an evolving, progressive, and forward-looking format, which is far superior as compared to PDF.
- It allows audio and video files to be embedded in it. So e-books can come alive like never before!
- It allows interactivity which enables things that are simply impossible in traditional books or in other e-book formats.
To begin with, Granthali has created 125 e-books: 100 Marathi e-books by Granthali and 25 English e-books by APK Publishers. This set of 125 e-books is available for Rs.15,000, and the first 500 buyers will get a MicroMax P680 tab (for reading the e-books) for free, courtesy of Magicworks IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd. To know more about the e-books in this plan,
As a special offer in this first year of launching of the app, Granthali will give two of its latest books for free every month. These books will get deleted at the end of the month. You can download two new books in the next month.
Although the above books are paid, the app itself is free for everybody to download. In the free app, you will get the following:
- Two books per month as mentioned above.
- Magazines: This will include Granthali’s very own शब्द रुची Also, we are in the process of tying up with other magazine publishers and their magazines will be made available through the app very soon.
- Book reviews: These will be for books published by Granthali as well as by other publishers, and will keep you updated about all the best books published in Marathi.
- Articles: There will be articles on various topics.
- News: This will be news about books, book publication functions, and social/cultural events. (Granthali has always been an organization that cares not just about its own books but also about good books published by other publishers. It has also cared deeply about good social/cultural events happening in the society.)
- Poems: These will be poems posted by well-known as well as lesser-known poets. (If you would like to publish your poems through our app, please contact us.)
- Ghazals: These will be ghazals posted by well-known as well as lesser-known poets. (If you would like to publish your ghazals through our app, please contact us.)
- Videos: These will be videos on various topics.
- Reviews and promos of the latest dramas: These reviews/promos will have text as well as audio/visual content, and will serve the purpose of giving publicity to the best in Marathi dramas.
- Reviews and promos of the latest movies: These reviews/promos will have text as well as audio/visual content, and will serve the purpose of giving publicity to the best in Marathi movies.
Installation Instructions
This is what you need to do to install the app:
- Go to “Play Store”.
- Search for “Appli Granthali” or only “Granthali”. (‘अॅप’ली ग्रंथाली will be the first app that you will see.)
- Click on the ‘अॅप’ली ग्रंथाली
- Click Install. (This will install the app on your Android device.)
- Click Open. (This will open the app.)
- Fill up the registration form.
- You will be asked to fill the following fields: Firstname, Lastname, Mobile number, Email address, and Password. (You will be asked to fill the email address and password twice to ensure that you haven’t mistyped it.)
- Please enter the email address that you use regularly. (If you do not have an email address, you will have to create one first.)
- Please enter any password. (It can be different from the one that you use to access your email account. Or it can be the same, which is what many people do to avoid having to remember yet another password. If it is the latter, please rest assured that we won’t come to know what it is.)
You are now ready to use ‘अॅप’ली ग्रंथाली and read the e-books and all the other content that is available on it.
Usage Instructions
This is how you use ‘अॅप’ली ग्रंथाली:
- Click on “Cloud” to see the content that is there on the cloud (the backend server that the app interacts with). You will see the various content categories.
- Click on a category to see the content in that particular category.
- Click on a particular e-book to download it to your device. (All the content that is available is in the form of an ePub e-book.)
- You will be asked to confirm that want to download the e-book.
- Click on “Yes” to download the e-book.
- You can download all the e-books at one time or you can download them one at a time; the choice is yours.
- However, we recommend that you download all the e-books on your device. That way you will be able to read them offline, i.e. when you are not connected to the internet.
- Click on “Device” to see all the e-books that you have downloaded on your device.
- Click on a particular e-book to read it.
- By default, you will see the e-book index.
- Click on the first chapter (to start reading from the very beginning) or on any other chapter.
- When inside a chapter:
- Click in the middle part of the screen to see the menu. Click in the middle part of the screen again to dismiss the menu.
- Click on ← in the top left corner to go back to the index.
- See the top middle part to see the chapter title.
- Click on “aA” in the top right corner to see the “Display” menu.
- Click on “A+” to increase the font size.
- Click on “A-” to decrease the font size.
- Click on “White” to change the background colour to white and text colour to black. (This is the default.)
- Click on “Black” to change the background colour to black and text colour to white. (This is the night reading mode.)
- Click on “Original” to change all the settings to default.
- Slide the slider at the bottom to go to a different part of the book.
FAQs
Why has Granthali developed ‘अॅप’ली ग्रंथाली?
Well, this is where the world is moving, and we will have to do it sooner or later. And being Granthali, we have decided to do it sooner rather than later.
What are the advantages of ‘अॅप’ली ग्रंथाली?
There are advantages for everybody:
- Readers will get books that:
- Are always fully coloured.
- Have other types of content like audio and video embedded in it, thus making the experience a lot richer.
- Can be interactive in nature and improve learning (of languages and concepts). This is particularly true for children’s books.
- That cost less than traditional books despite having all these features.
- Publishers will make at least as much as they make per copy sold today, if not more.
- Authors will get at least as much royalty as they do per copy sold today, if not more.
- The environment will benefit since a lot of paper will be saved.
Is this the final version of the app?
No. The current version of the app is a beta release of the app. The final version of the app will be released on 29th February, 2016.
Which font is used in the e-books?
Granthali developed its own Unicode font called Granthali and all the e-books use this font.
Will books by other publishers made available through the app?
Yes! Currently, apart from Marathi books by Granthali, English books by APK Publishers are already offered through the app. In the coming months, we will tie up with other Marathi publishers and make their books available through the app. So no matter who your favourite publisher is, their books will be available through ‘अॅप’ली ग्रंथाली.
Granthali started out as a reader’s movement which cultivated the habit of reading books and took books to the remotest corners of Maharashtra. In fact, Granthali was the pioneer in getting people to “buy” books; before that, people rented books from libraries and hardly ever bought them. Now, after having developed ‘अॅप’ली ग्रंथाली, Granthali hasn’t forgotten its roots and never will. So books by other publishers will be made available through ‘अॅप’ली ग्रंथाली.
Similarly, magazines by other publishers will be made available through the app.
If you would like to make your book(s) or magazine(s) available through ‘अॅप’ली ग्रंथाली, please contact us.
Do I have to always buy your entire set of 125 e-books?
For now, yes. However, we will soon come up with other plans. Stay tuned for updates.
Can I read your e-books on my Kindle?
As of now, no. Our e-books are in ePub format. Kindle, on the other hand, needs .mobi format. But we do plan to come out with our e-books in .mobi format and make them available on Amazon so that you can buy them and read on your Kindle devices. Stay tuned for updates.
Can I read your e-books on my iPad?
As of now, no. But we do plan to make our e-books available through iTunes so that you can buy them and read on your iPad or other Apple devices. Stay tuned for updates.