Leave a Review hoopla Digital
Good app, so so accessibility features
I like most of the features of this app, but as someone who uses apple’s accessibility features this app’s bad support for them makes me dock it two stars.
I rely on Apple’s “Spoken Content” accessibility feature and it is very tedious with this app. While I can use the “speak screen” setting and have words read to me, anything else I am out of luck. For example the page on the screen doesn’t follow the words being read, so the app thinks I’m at the beginning of the chapter, Which means if I have to pause the reading for any reason I have to start the chapter over because I cannot have speak screen start from the middle of a chapter (this is after I have guessed if I found the right page in the chapter to continue since the app doesn’t follow the speaking.)
Another issue with this same feature is that once the chapter ends speaking doesn’t continue on to the next chapter, it just stops, but I cannot quickly enable speaking again because the app didn’t flip to the end of the chapter, I have to use the table of contents to flip forward to the next chapter.
Fix these major issues and the app would be great.Show lesssteveymacjr
Problems
Originally I liked the Hoopla app. Now not so much. It seems to be having what I consider insurmountable annoyances. It first started with the app freezing right in the middle of a book. I switched from using the app to read a book to just clicking on read now without using the app. That worked for a while but is now doing the same thing. Very frustrating when you have only so much time to read and then it freezes and you can’t. It isn’t my device at fault either since it happens not only on both tablets I use but also on my phone.
I’ve written to them twice with no response about this problem. I was sure they would fix it but no such luck.
Also it doesn’t sync between devices. The other library apps like Overdrive will pick up whatever page you’re on when you change devices. Not Hoopla. I’m sorry to say. This means endless scrolling page by page in order to get to your current page.
Oh and the latest annoyance is after reading maybe 10 pages a banner pops up and you have to click out of the book, it comes up with the download page and you then have to click on resume in order to keep reading. It’s almost enough to quit using this app. The only reason I come back to it occasionally is they have some books that the other services do not..if you want to try an app that works the way it should try Libby. They’ve got their act together.
Merry Christmas one and all. Hope the powers that be read this and fix these basic problems.Show lesscasa viejo
Great selection but quirky app
I love the selection of books available. Often books that have very long waits on other library apps are available here. I also love the three week checkout. Unfortunately, the books and audio are quirky. The books do not show page numbers only how
Many pages left in the chapters. The audio does not show chapters at all so if you are reading and listening, which I often do, I have to search for a long time to find where I am in the audio after having read a few chapters. I finally gave up reading and listening because I was spending too
much time finding my spot. It would be great if the books and audio worked together.
Also, the book pages don’t fit great when I read on my iPad because there is a bottom bar showing how many pages left in the chapter. It often covers up the last line on the page and it does not seem to go away.
These are minor issues for a free lending service so don’t be deterred by them but it would be excellent if they were fixed! Enjoy reading!Show lessGseivert
Changing Libraries
It works fine until you want to change your library. The text overlays with the buttons you click and I literally had to put in my card number for my new library seven different times each time I went to the screen because it kept erasing and then I couldn’t scroll down half the time to see the library card # and pin # boxes. Also once I switched it said, “error” that is already had that card but when I logged in and out it still showed my old library but then my new card in settings. What? And I tried looking for a book my new library has but my old once doesn’t and I’m still stuck in the old not in name on the display only but also in terms of what I can borrow. Logged out and uninstalled and reinstalled the app but seriously why the delay? Does the app consist of solos of information that don’t talk well to each other? With overdrive and Libby I can switch between libraries like a breeze. Hoopla is not a UX friendly app when it comes to changing libraries—atm it is glitchy and frustrating.Show lessheyitseru
No Audiobook Preview
Recently started using Hoopla for my audiobooks (previously using Libby). While the selection is plentiful and the app is easy to use, there are several issues that will most likely send me back to using the Libby app. The first issue is the inability to listen to a brief preview before borrowing the audiobook. If the narrator is someone I am unfamiliar with, I need to hear them read a bit first ... there have been audiobooks I have returned to both Libby and Audible because, to me, the narrator was unlistenable. If I borrow an audiobook from Hoopla and find the narrator not to my taste, if I return it then I assume that counts against the number of “borrows” I am allowed for the month. Can we get a preview button? Also, it would be great is the app would allow the user to adjust the jump forward/jump back times. 15 seconds isn’t much (especially if you fall asleep while listening in bed). Audible lets you adjust in increments and Libby lets you swipe for longer jump back times. Both of those things would be great, but for me —/a preview before borrowing is essential! Thanks much. Otherwise a very nice appShow lessBadDiver
Mostly good
Hoopla was recommended by my public library and I’ve mostly liked it. It’s frustrating that unlike other audiobook apps, there isn’t a way on Hoopla to listen to a preview of a book before borrowing it. So a few times I’ve gone ahead and borrowed but have been disappointed. I’ve sometimes given the book as much as a 20 or 30 minute chance, but a couple times I had to stop much sooner, largely due to the narrator or the production quality. Sometimes, while the book is probably good and the story or characters are appealing, the person chosen to be the narrator is simply bad or inappropriately cast. Sometimes the audio levels are all over the place, varying in volume and quality. I know no audiobook is read all in one recording session, but most manage to maintain consistent levels and some sound like there’s suddenly a different microphone or sound engineer or he narrator was having a bad day.
In any case, I wish Hoopla allowed a short preview. The way it is, I have to borrow the book, thereby using up one of my monthly allotment of books and then have returned it within a few minutes because I was disappointed in some way with the book. I’m glad I discovered the option to give the book a rating, but it would also be extremely helpful to be able to write a review. That way I could tell prospective readers which books (and narrators) I really like enjoyed a lot and caution readers about the books (or narrators) I found to be not worth my time.Show lessTV All the Time
Developer Response
Hi! We are looking into adding previews to our audio books in the future, stay tuned! If you have any further questions reach out to us at feedback@hoopladigital.comUsed to love it a lot
I used to enjoy hoopla a lot and only wished I could check out more than 8 books/audiobooks a month. I even liked it better than Libby because it had more audiobook selections. But lately, I keep having difficulty with it. Sometimes it won’t download or open an audiobook. Today it won’t let me borrow an audiobook even though I have four more books available. I don’t know if it’s because I recently discovered Karen Kingsbury and enjoy listening to her books or what. I even tried to download a different author and it wouldn’t let me. It keeps telling me there’s an error and I can’t borrow more books until tomorrow because the collective daily borrows have been reached. I didn’t even borrow any books today or in almost a week. When I first signed up for hoopla a year ago I borrowed my limit in less than a week when I discovered audiobooks.
Last week when I had problems I just deleted the app and reinstalled it but it didn’t work this time. I’m so disappointed because I took the week off to clean for an open house so I have all the time to listen while I clean but I can’t. Leaving later this month on a trip and hopefully can download stuff for the drive and plane ride. I hope they fix the app soon.Show lessChriscddo
Convenient but borrowing limit & PAGES STICK
Pros: I don't have to go out to the library (spending time and gas) to get a book. I don't have to worry about damaging the book, losing it, or late fees. It also saves my place in a book with roughly 80-90% accuracy. And, it offers books I otherwise would not be able to get from my library.
Cons: It's not easy to check different pages for something because you swipe to turn a single page at a time. (I can't find a menu or "how to" section to see if there's another way.) Sometimes pages stick (pages stick way too often), have a black spot, go halfway off the screen, etc. so text is unreadable. I would hit the X to go out and back in, but that is often missing too. To fix, I have to power my device off and back on. It's a real pain, but it ultimately works. Finally, there is also a monthly borrowing limit unlike the limitless books I can check out from my library per month. (My Hoopla limit is 10/month.)
Honestly though, I would rather have a physical book in my hand for the ease of checking different pages and not having to be tied to a charger, but I am glad to have access to titles that my library doesn't physically have (even if the pages do stick infuriatingly so). (Seriously though, please fix the page sticking. Thanks.)Show lessMom w/ Migraines
Developer Response
Please reach out to us at feedback@hoopladigital.com so we can help you with any issues you are experiencing!Get hoopla now!
I have always like audio books. I am a young girl, and I am dyslexic. I have always struggled with reading despite my best efforts. I eventually found out about audiobooks, and convinced my parents to get me a radio so that I could listen to the cds at the library. It helped so much, and I started making progress with my reading and reading comprehension. However, a radio would always lose my spot when I unplugged it to bring around the house with me, and I eventually ran out of books I liked to listen to. I can still recite most of the lines from Harry Potter from how often I listened to them. Anyways, one day, I was at the library, and I say a sing for hoopla. It was exactly what I needed. I downloaded it onto my phone, and fell in love with it. Hoopla’s free and easy to use. I listen to hoopla daily, and it’s a perfect way to read books while getting dressed, driving, or even just so you can follow along. You can even adjust the speed of the book depending on your reading level. If you are looking to have this for a child, you can put restrictions on. Since I got hoopla, I have also gotten Overdrive. I am so happy to have a site that has free audiobooks, and doesn’t even require WiFi.😁Show lessNina Evans
Developer Response
We are happy to hear that you are enjoying our service! Thank you for your support of hoopla & your local library! If you ever have any questions feel free to contact us at feedback@hoopladigital.comGetting worse
While on the whole, hoopla is a nice app to have, to easily borrow books from your library, constant glitches make it frustrating to use. Consistently it zonks out-after a couple of pages and especially after the end of a chapter, the app just stops. One has to click done, go back to menu and reopen the book. Updating the app has not helped. I am also not a fan of the 10 books per month limit. I prefer the “five books at a time” limits posed by other digital reader apps like Overdrive and Axis 360.
Update: Borrowing e-books and videos is easy. But videos have an extremely short check out time. On the negative side, the book selection tends to be too heavily leaning on the romance/family genre, and most bestselling authors will not be found here. I had previously given this app three stars, but the glitches have become too annoying to use the app. You have to read the book in portrait mode. Landscape is not available. The page will not reorient itself nor can you set it in one mode over another. They updated the app to give you a page turning experience, but after once or twice, you will not be able to proceed to another page. You will need to shut down the app and restart it. Additionally, it will also shut down on its own while you are reading. There are many readers on the market now. I find overdrive and cloud work best with my library. Hoopla—give it a miss.Show lessVS Raine
Developer Response
Hello VS Raine, We do plan on releasing landscape mode in the near future. For the rest of your concerns, would you mind contacting us at feedback@hoopladigital.com? Hopefully we can better troubleshoot the issues you are experiencing. Thanks!
