ABC George vs Other Ways to Read English Books
Hiro · Game Designer @ StudyXABC GeorgeComparison
This post is for learners of English who can manage a simple English sentence and want to read whole books, not only textbook passages. There are several good ways to do that, and ABC George is one of them. Below I set it beside four others, say what each does well, and say plainly where I think another option is the better choice. Prices and plans are as of September 2026.
What ABC George Is
ABC George is a free English reader for iPhone and iPad. The Project Gutenberg catalogue of more than 61,000 English books is bundled in the app, so searching needs no connection. You download a book, and from then on the text, the dictionary, your word book and the quizzes all work offline. There are no ads, no in-app purchases and no account.
The dictionary is WordNet 3.1, with a plain-English learner definition for common words. Long-press a word and tap Look up. Inflected forms resolve on their own, so ran finds run. Every lookup is saved with the sentence you met it in, and quizzes built from those words (fill in the blank, word to meaning, meaning to word, spelling) come back on a five-box Leitner schedule. The page itself stays clean, with no marks on saved words. The interface is in English only, on purpose.
Project Gutenberg in Any E-book App
Project Gutenberg offers more than 75,000 free e-books. You can read them online in a browser or download EPUB, Kindle or plain-text files and open them in the reading app you already use.
What this does well: it is free, it is the same library ABC George draws its English books from, and you keep your favourite reading app with all its habits. Most reading apps can show a definition for a word you select.
Where it differs: a general reading app is built for reading, not for remembering words. The lookups usually do not turn into a quiz, and the sentence you met the word in is not kept with it. ABC George adds the word book, the quizzes and the learner word lists on top of the same books.
Kindle with Vocabulary Builder
Kindle e-readers keep the words you look up in the dictionary in a list called Vocabulary Builder, with the passage each came from, and offer flashcards that show the word in context. You can mark a word as mastered.
What this does well: an e-ink screen is easy on the eyes for long reading, and the Kindle store has modern books, not only public domain ones. If you want to read a novel published last year, this is a far better route than anything built on Gutenberg.
Where it differs: you need the device, and most modern books cost money. ABC George’s quizzes schedule each word on a Leitner system, include a spelling quiz, and add the NGSL and NAWL learner word lists. ABC George runs on the phone you already have.
Graded Readers
Graded readers are books written or adapted for learners at a fixed vocabulary level. The Oxford Bookworms Library is one long-running series, with seven levels from A1 to C1 of the CEFR and more than 270 original and adapted texts. Other publishers have their own series.
What this does well: the language is controlled. At the lower levels you can read without a dictionary, which is exactly what extensive reading is supposed to feel like. For a learner at A1 or A2, I think graded readers are the right place to start, and ABC George is not.
Where it differs: graded readers are simplified, and they are paid books. ABC George gives you unabridged originals for free, with a dictionary for the words the original uses. The two work well in sequence: graded readers until the upper levels feel comfortable, then the Start here shelf in ABC George, which holds thirty short, plainly written classics.
LingQ
LingQ is a reading-based language platform for more than 50 languages. You read lessons from its library or import your own content, highlight unknown words as “LingQs” with translations, and review them with spaced repetition. There is a free tier with limits and a Premium subscription.
What this does well: it is not limited to old books. You can import articles, podcasts and much else, and it covers many languages if you are learning more than one. The translations into your own language are built in.
Where it differs: the full library and tools are on a subscription, and much of the value comes from content you bring. ABC George is free, reads books only, and keeps its dictionary English to English, with Google Translate one tap away in an in-app sheet when you need it.
Side by Side
| ABC George | Gutenberg + e-book app | Kindle + Vocabulary Builder | Graded readers | LingQ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texts | Gutenberg English books, unabridged | Gutenberg books, unabridged | Kindle store books | Simplified, levelled | Its library and your imports |
| Cost | Free | Free | Device, plus most books | Paid books | Free tier, Premium subscription |
| Dictionary | WordNet 3.1, offline | Varies by app | Built in | Usually none | Built in, with translations |
| Saved words keep their sentence | Yes | Varies | Yes | No | Yes |
| Review | Leitner quizzes, incl. spelling | Varies | Flashcards | No | Spaced repetition |
When Another Option Is the Better Choice
If you are at A1 or A2, start with graded readers. ABC George’s interface is in English, and an unabridged classic will be too much at that level.
If you want to read recent books, Kindle or another store is the honest answer. Everything in ABC George is public domain in the United States, which means it is old.
If you want translations into your own language on every word, or you are learning several languages at once, LingQ is built for that.
If you are preparing for a specific exam such as the Cambridge English exams, reading alone will not cover the task formats. I make a separate app for that, AlphaGeorge, which is a structured course with exam-style exercises and a subscription option. The two do different jobs, and it is fine to use both. There is a separate comparison for exam preparation.
If you prefer reading on paper, a library copy and a notebook still work. ABC George does not replace the feel of a real book.
Where ABC George Fits
ABC George fits the learner who is past the graded-reader stage, wants the original text, and wants every looked-up word to come back later without managing flashcards by hand. It costs nothing to try.
The ABC George page has the full feature list. The getting started guide walks through the first session, the tips cover daily use, and who ABC George is for describes the readers it suits. All related posts are under the ABC George tag.
