Ham-ha, café-goers! Lately, I’ve been running into issues getting ePub files I downloaded on the Internet Archive to open in iBooks which made me curious. What application do you use to read eBooks? And what kind of device do you read them on?
I’ve been using Libby to access ebooks from my library, but in my efforts to branch out from my library’s collection, I attempted to use my iPad’s built in reader formerly known as iBooks. The key word here is attempted. The file wouldn’t even open, likely due to some automatic copyright shenanigans. The book I snagged from the archive is a fan scan and not a rip of an official ebook, though. I am wondering if iBooks just doesn’t like files without some sort of DRM or other certificate. Shrug!
I’m using a third party app now, but it’s really not ideal. This is why I am soliciting my fellow forum lurkers for ebook reading preferences! It’s A-OK if it’s not iPad compatible as I’m curious regardless if I can personally use it or not.
My beloved old Kobo - I don’t know what version it is, but it was £18 second hand - is perfect for my needs. It’s not part of Amazon ecosystem, and you can update it using a physical cable from Calibre.
It’s been a lifechanging possession for me, in terms of how easy it is to access books. I would not be reading anywhere close to as much as I do without it.
I use both Kobo and Kindle. Kobo is my default reader but sometimes an ebook is only available on Kindle. I like them both but I prefer the Kobo store on the web which is uncluttered compared to Amazon’s website.
I have a 10yo Kobo Aura HD that still works mostly like a charm (the touch sensitivity is kinda fucked in one corner and it’s definitely slower than when I first got it but not to the point of causing any disruption in the reading experience) and I think once you switch to a dedicated e-ink device you never go back.
It’s just so much more convenient for distraction-free reading + not tiring my eyes too much.
Alas I have no suggestions for your use case because me and the Apple ecosystem live on different planets
I am stubbornly still using my Kindle Keyboard 3 because I really like the physical page buttons. If you’re interested on getting the low down on e-readers and apps, I highly recommend the Mobileread Forums. This message board has been going on forever and covers everything related to e-books: devices, formats, programs (like Calibre). It’s an old school forum but still fairly active.
So interesting that everyone who has replied thus far uses a dedicated reading device. I had never heard of a Kobo until now. I had a hand-me-down Kindle of some sort when I was in high school, but because I was a broke kid, I never had money for ebooks. I’m happy that ‘legit’ services like Libby are more widespread than even just 10 years ago. Though I would really prefer to just read on my iPad, maybe I’ll give a dedicated e-ink device another try some day.
Thanks so much for this resource! I ended up poking around the forums and found some great options for iPad. I ended up downloading the free version of MapleRead, and so far, it’s met all my needs! It was able to import my fan scan ePub just fine, and there are tons of customization options. I prefer to read in landscape mode with each half of the screen serving as a page, similar to a ‘real’ book. It was able to do that plus lots of options for customizing the font, page color, font, etc.
After reading more of this forum, it seems that discussion of media acquisition grey areas are acceptable to talk about, so I’ll link what I’m reading if anyone else is curious! It’s a fan scan of the Last Wish which is the first book in the Witcher series. The text isn’t formatted at all, and there are errors here and there, but hey, it’s free! I’m reading through this copy until my hold on Libby comes in… several weeks from now lol.
device-wise, i have an old nook that i got used for really cheap! it does what it needs to do (reads ebooks) and nothing else hahaha. no apps or wifi or anything. i really like e-ink displays, i wish i had an e-ink screen for my laptop too!
i haaaaate reading stuff on the computer and my phone, i can’t focus on it at all, so i don’t have app/program recs! (i printed out all my reading in college, otherwise it didn’t get done)
i use calibre to strip drm/change formats so i can put stuff on my nook and typeset stuff; i don’t think it has an app version, though!
I recently moved from a Kobo Clara to a Libra 2. I haven’t read too many ebooks lately, though, as I do most of my reading in audio format.
I love how I can sync books borrowed through my libraries ePlatform ePukaPuka will sync books to the Libra. It also syncs my Pocket feed to it so I can read long-form articles on the e-ink device. Love it.
However, on the odd occasion when I travel, I get stuck into a good ebook!
Pocketbook Verse Pro - no accounts or Internet connection required, so I can just load EPUBs and PDFs over a USB cable. And, a rare thing: the devs have actually implemented a couple of my suggestions into OS updates.
I either use MoonReader on Android (with book font set to UnifontEX though this doesn’t affect PDFs) or I use my old modded Kindle Touch largely with KOReader but tweaked to use UnifontEX via editing the lua files.
I’m happy that ‘legit’ services like Libby are more widespread than even just 10 years ago. Though I would really prefer to just read on my iPad, maybe I’ll give a dedicated e-ink device another try some day.
It was able to do that plus lots of options for customizing the font, page color, font, etc.