Recently, I went down another DS game-related rabbit hole while looking for a Kindle alternative. First, it was The Sims games, then Cooking Mama spin-offs, and now it’s a one-off title: HarperCollins 100 Classic Book Collection.
Yes, you read that right, a Nintendo DS game that has one hundred instances of classic literature for you to read on your teeny, tiny handheld like it’s a little book. I have this TikTok by jjump4joy to thank – as soon as I saw it, I knew I needed to see if the game was real, and I needed to buy it. So I did, and then I thought, why on earth are there no e-reader apps or book collections for the Switch?
The HarperCollins collection features classic titles from its catalog with everything from Jane Eyre to Oscar Wilde, to Shakespeare. There’s no Frankenstein, but you do get Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for a good old sci-fi time. You can change the font size, and even pick some background music to accompany your reading. The Kindle could never. To read the books, simply open the game, scroll through the library menu, tap a book, and get going. You can just tap your screen to turn the page. You can bookmark pages to come back to, as well.
It turns out that this isn’t the only book compilation on the DS. there’s a collection of games by Flips that brings together series like Artemis Fowl and Percy Jackson in a handy format, and even has puzzles to solve as you go through the books collecting clues. There are even more ways to read books on a DS or 3DS, by homebrewing the console, but I’ve never tried and to be honest, I’d be scared of doing it.
We all know the DS, 3DS, and 2DS era was quite something, and very experimental. But so is the Switch era with the likes of Labo and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. This hasn’t really translated to apps – Discord seemed keen a few years ago, but an app never came. There don’t seem to be as many experimental options on Switch as there were on previous handhelds.
There could easily be a reader app, I think. I may not be a tech whiz but I doubt that the technology is much different, and you could easily put a database of works on a cartridge again or as a downloadable option from a cloud service. Funnily enough, as I was writing this, editor Tatsuki Waki of Coro Coro Comic magazine announced an official manga reader app for Switch. Waki stated that the service will launch on March 13 in Japan, and allow people access to manga right on the handheld – this led me to discover InkyPen, which is a manga subscription service on the Switch already.
Did you know that a Switch fits just fine into most Kindle stands and holders? I have a bendable gooseneck stand that I use for my Kindle and Switch. Also, you could so easily use a Joy-Con like a clicker. So many Kindle readers own a clicker for a proper hands-free experience, and the Switch already has that built in. Though, Lite owners wouldn’t get this option, sadly. The size of a Switch screen isn’t even that different from that of e-readers already. So what am I getting at here, exactly? I’m saying that it makes sense and that the console is ready for a Kindle app right now.
It doesn’t have to be Kindle specifically. There are other e-reader options like the Kobo and Pocketbook, and plenty of different file types that e-books are available in. I’m sure someone out there has figured out how to put these files on a Switch already, but I’d like a legitimate way of doing it.
I have a Nintendo Switch, and I’ll be getting a Switch 2, I also have a Kindle and a phone that can use the Kindle app, along with a 3DS, too. But say I want to go away for a week and take entertainment – that’s a lot of devices to stuff into one bag. Sure, I could read books on my phone – though the blue light is horrendous compared to the Kindle’s soft screen – but what if I could simply take one item? I mean, I could take my DS with a copy of Nintendogs, HarperCollins’ 100 Classic Book Collection, AND a GameBoy Advance game, but you get my point.
So, come on book publishers – now’s the time! HarperCollins could resurrect the collection for the Switch or Nintendo Switch 2, or we could get other imprints doing their own games given that there are about 20 versions of Pride and Prejudice on any bookstore’s shelves by the likes of Chiltern, Sirius, and Canterbury Classics.
Well, I’m off to go and read Phantom of the Opera on my Nintendo DS, absorb some classic literature, and live in the hope that we get an announcement of an upcoming Switch game involving reading. In the meantime, you can check out these easy games for a relaxing time instead.