How to share Apple Books with family members

The Apple Books app is an excellent way to catch up on some reading, especially if you own an iPad. There are plenty of e-books available on Apple Books, but you cannot donate or pass on a book to someone after you’re done reading it. You’d have to pass on the iPad, which isn’t very ideal. Luckily, Apple allows you to share your digital books with family members thanks to Family Sharing.

In this article, you’ll learn how easy it is to share Apple Books with family members.

Highlight in Books with Apple Pencil on iPad

Also see: How to keep track of books you want to read in Apple Books

Set up Family Sharing for Apple Books

Before you can share your Apple Books with others, you’ll need to set up Family Sharing for Books. Apple allows up to five family members, which is good even for a small book club. Here’s how to set up Family Sharing:

1) Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.

2) Tap on your name at the top of the page and choose Family Sharing.

Settings Family Sharing

3) Confirm your Apple ID, and then add members to the group.

After you’ve set up Family Sharing, everyone part of the family will have access to each other’s Books library. You will be able to download any book that any of you have purchased, and it’ll be accessible on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

How to access your Family’s Apple Books library

Now that you’ve set up Family Sharing, here’s how you can access all the books in the Apple Books library:

1) Launch the Books app.

2) Head over to the Reading Now page.

3) Tap your profile icon at the top right of the screen.

Apple Books Share books

4) Look for Family Purchases, and tap on one of the member’s name.

You will now have access to both Books and Audiobooks that they’ve purchased. Select either one of them to see all the books or audiobooks arranged by genre. You can also tap All Books or Recent Purchases to see the member’s purchases. Download any book that you want and tap the Read button to start reading.

You can also follow our guide on how to manage your Apple Books library to have a better grasp of things.

If you love reading books, then there’s no comparison to actual hardcover books. However, reading on an Apple iPad isn’t so bad either, and it has its own advantages. For example, you can share your books with up to five people for free and access books they purchase. No need to send books or gift books to each other.

We hope you found this guide useful. Happy reading!

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