Update the app, perhaps clear any cached data
Google offers a vast library of audiobooks, ebooks, and other readable content with the cross-platform Play Books & Audiobooks app. However, it has struggled for consumers’ attention against more notable marketplaces like Barnes & Noble and Amazon-owned Audible. Both of these providers had a very public disagreement with Google over its revised billing system last year, leading the two to direct users to make purchases through their respective websites rather than Google Play. Still, the app has remained a sound offering for most users. More recently though, it seems some of them have been reporting crashes right after opening Play Books. A quick gander online doesn’t reveal much in the form of complaints — nevermind, the company has acknowledged the bug and is taking care of it.
A post by the Google Play Product Support Manager on the company’s support page details the issue at hand.
If you are having issues with your Play Books app crashing upon opening please be aware that the team is aware and has implemented a fix.
As for the remedy, users are simply asked to update the app to the latest version and, if need be, clear the app’s cache and data from their Android device’s system settings. You can then proceed to reopen the app and it should be working fine.
More than 350 people have confirmed that they are going through the same issue, so it seems Google has gotten ahead of it before it really started taking off. Frequent users of Play Books will certainly welcome the update, though the app usually doesn’t see a lot of them. The last major update that made its way to the app was in March last year when it received its Material You widget following a long wait. You can either hit the Play Store on your phone to check for an update or pull the latest version manually from APK Mirror.
