Unfortunately, if you buy an epub from Apple, you can only read it via iBooks. This is because of the proprietary anti-piracy coding - DRM - that most booksellers put into their ebooks.
Sorry, but you are in a catch 22 there...
Marilyn
Well that is unfortunate, especially since I considered buying the same book in question from B&N and use their Nook reader app.
Well since we can't talk about DRM removal as a possible solution to this problem (although I think the test with the Apple User Guide above probably worked because it is free since I was able to download and open free ebooks from Apple without issue in iBooks, it is the paid book that gave me the problems) has anyone found a solution that works? Also, I don't get an error message when I try to open the book in question in iBooks. It will usually start to open when I tap on the book, but after the initial "page opening sequence", ibooks will just close within 1-2 seconds.
Maybe it is an additional Cydia software issue that is possibly causing a conflict? In my case, I have several of what I would call the "baseline" Cydia apps for a JB ipad (and why I JB my iPad in the first place), to include:
Activator
CyDelete
DisplayOut
iFile
MyWi 4.0 (w/On Demand)
TruPrint
3G Unristrictor
There are several other, smaller supporting files that come with some of these and/or the JB (I got my list using the "Installed" button in the Cydia store), but these are the main ones. Of note, I know you can do some serious damage with iFile, however, I have been very careful with that program and staying away from system file locations.
So for those of you with JB iPads and no issues buying/opening ebooks w/iBooks, care to share any details about your setup that might shed some insight to this problem?