We have two app recommendations today because one of them, we know, is only going to appeal to the literature & poetry lovers among us. So let’s start with the universal one: 

Fetch by Big Fish Games -$3.99. Requires iPad 2 or later and iOS 5.0

What it is: Fetch is a very sweet puzzle and adventure game set in what appears to be a bit of a dystopian future for our earth. It tells the story of a boy and his stolen dog. You travel through the world searching for your pup, solving smartly designed puzzles and rescuing other dogs along the way.

Why We Like It: Fetch makes use of what’s great about gaming on the iPad with a variety of mini games using various gestures and taps. Add a well told story and charming graphics, and you have the kind of game you’ll actually want to play till the end. The puzzles are not pushovers, but they aren’t frustratingly intricate either. 

Big Fish is an aggregator — they release games and ports from a huge number of studios, so their titles run the gamut of the quality scale. Fetch is one of the gems in their catalogue, taking its place next to another of our favorites, Fairway Solitaire. 

Now, for those of us who read period novels and wish we had the near encyclopedic knowledge of poetry that Austen and Dickens characters possess, there’s Poems by Heart from Penguin Classics. Compatible with iPhone 3gs or later, iPod touch 3rd Gen or later, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3. Free, with in-app purchases.

What it is: An educational based game that helps you memorize some of the most popular poems of all time — from Edgar Allen Poe to Shakespeare. 

Why We Like It: Well, some of us here are literature nerds, and we know that the best way to enjoy poetry is to read (or hear) it aloud. Each poem is read to you (by a male or female reader, according to your choice), and then you are challenged to fill in the missing words in a quick paced quiz. It may sound a bit like school, but in practice it’s fun, engaging and a bit addicting. Besides, who hasn’t wanted to recite The Jabberwocky from memory? No? Just us? Well, either way, give this one a shot. You may be surprised at how fun it is, and memorization is good brain exercise!