Help! Looking for mark up app

[hsmom]

I am looking for an app that will allow me to write on a book that I've downloaded. I am going to purchase several "workbook" style books that I would like to purchase on my iPad instead of the actual book, but I need to be able to write directly on the book pages. (I don't want to use the "note" style that Kindle has)

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!

[Faterson]

This cannot be accomplished in standard electronic books (EPUBs).

For this type of task, therefore, I would get the books in PDF versions, and use an app called neu.Annotate. Works very well for marking up PDFs, there are 5 easy-to-activate markers of various colours always at hand on the top toolbar, etc.

[hsmom]

If the book is available through Kindle or possibly an eReader, is it possible to purchase it and then convert to a pdf?

[Faterson]

In theory, anything is possible, because PDFs could be seen as just a collection of pictures... If you make 5 screenshots and join them together, you get a PDF file, but there are bound to be automatic converters, too.

In practice, most people struggle with the opposite direction, trying to convert from PDF files (which are unsuitable for reading electronic books) into EPUB files (which are ideal for reading electronic books). I agree, though, that it's often easier to mark up a PDF file than an EPUB file, because you can freely scribble over a PDF file in apps like neu.Annotate.

[JSWolf]

Before we go any further out into left field here and give you meaningless suggestions, what is the format of this eBook? Does it contain DRM?

[GRiker]

GoodReader allows marking up PDFs and saving the annotations directly to the PDF or separately.

G

[JSWolf]

Marvin allow marking up ePub and saves to an XHTML file.

[Faterson]

But Marvin, although the best software for reading e-books on the iPad, does not allow "to write directly on the book pages", which is what the OP wants. Marvin has the "Kindle style of notes" that the OP doesn't want, although the notes in Marvin are superior over those in Kindle. Unfortunately, "writing directly on the book pages" is incompatible with the standard e-book format, EPUB.

As to GoodReader, it's definitely the best app for simply reading PDF files, but for marking them up, neu.Annotate offers much better, handier tools.

[JSWolf]

I have a solution... put the page up on the iPad screen that you want to write on. Take a screen shot, load it into some app that will allow drawing/writing, and there you have it.

[Faterson]

Yeah, I suggested that above... You can join several screenshots in one PDF file, and then mark up the file in (for example) neu.Annotate.

However, this is impractical to do if the user wants to "edit" many books in this way, or if a book is hundreds of pages long. An automated conversion into PDF would then be preferable.

[hsmom]

I am not very technical, so you have been helpful. I have taken screenshots of pages and used them in notability to mark up, but was wondering if there was an easier way that I was missing.

I will check out other apps that you mentioned for marking.

Thanks!