The Google Play Books library view.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

Originally, Google Books was only good at doing one thing: reading content from the Google Play Store. This meant you could read free books, or the ones you purchased -- and that was it. When the update allowing your personal files to be uploaded to Google Books came along, the app made a giant leap forward. Now Android devices could be even more competitive with traditional e-readers that allow side-loading.

Unfortunately, the upload feature was limited to your Web browser. This meant navigating to the Play Books Web site on a computer, or within the mobile browser, to upload your content. Clearly, there was a disconnect in the process.

With the most recent update to the Play Books app, the ability to upload PDF and EPUB files directly from Gmail or the Downloads folder has been added. However, you will need a copy of the latest Play Books app on your device. If you haven't received the update, you can install a copy from here, provided by AndroidPolice.

After you download the APK, locate it in your Download folder and man... [Read more]

With your in-laws criticizing your carving skills, Grandma Edith getting into the Port, and the tree catching on fire, Christmas can feel so predictable. Mix things up without the melodrama with Download's favorite festive holiday music apps.

Björk: Solstice (iOS)

(Credit: Screenshot: Josh Rotter) We know that Bjork is far out and maybe that's why we love her. Based on the track "Solstice" from the Icelandic singer's "Biophilia" (2011) album, this free app allows users to pull rays out of a sun to create harp strings that are then plucked by orbiting planets. With a tilting motion, your creation morphs into a 3D Christmas tree kissed by falling snowflakes. What's more, you can also send a touching Solstice eCard directly from the app.

Christmas Music ~ 10,000 FREE Christmas Songs + Downloads!(iOS)

(Credit: Screenshot: Josh Rotter) Christmas music can be joyous and heartwarming -- until you've heard the same dozen songs on repeat for a month -- particularly Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You." That's why Christmas Music ~ 10,000 FREE Christmas Songs + Downloads!, which offers a seemingly endless supply of new and holiday classics by lesser-kno... [Read more]

It'll be more of a blue Christmas than a holly jolly holiday if you're stuck suffering through the same old songs that your parents have been playing on the gramophone for as long as you can remember. So spice up your next holiday get-together with Download.com's list of our 10 all-time favorite holiday hits from the last 40 years.

(Credit: Vibol Peou)

Some of our picks, such as "Frosty the Snowman" and "We Three Kings," are perennial classics that have been reinvented in interesting ways by some of our favorite artists. Others, like "Christmas Wrapping" and "Christmas in Hollis," push the boundaries of traditional Christmas music to create something truly awe-inspiring. We hope you enjoy them all at your next holiday gathering.

1. The Waitresses, "Christmas Wrapping" (iTunes, Amazon)

2. Cocteau Twins, "Frosty the Snowman" (iTunes, Amazon)

3. Wham, "Last Chr... [Read more]