Can you recommend a good free ebook reader for PC?

[pashlit]

Hello,
I d like to get an eReader for my PC but cant find a decent one. I tried Microsoft Reader and couple others but didnt really like em. I just need a good simple ereader to browse my library in different formats. Calibre is too big and I wouldn't like to install it on my work PC. Any recommendations? Thanks.

[DixieGal]

Get Kindle For PC at Amazon. It works like the device, nice and easy, and you will be able to take advantage of all of the free ebook promotions.

I use Kindle For iPad, and almost every book i read was a freebie. There are two very dedicated members of this forum who report daily on all new freebies. The trick is to grab them quickly, because it seems like the best books are only free for short periods, sometimes even just a few hours.

[pashlit]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Get Kindle For PC at Amazon. It works like the device, nice and easy, and you will be able to take advantage of all of the free ebook promotions.

I use Kindle For iPad, and almost every book i read was a freebie. There are two very dedicated members of this forum who report daily on all new freebies. The trick is to grab them quickly, because it seems like the best books are only free for short periods, sometimes even just a few hours.

Can I read ePub with that as well as other formats? Tnx.

[GeoffC]

Have a look here for a wide choice ...

[wvcherrybomb]

Originally Posted by pashlit

I just need a good simple ereader to browse my library in different formats. Calibre is too big and I wouldn't like to install it on my work PC.

In order to browse your entire library in all different formats you will have to either have multiple readers or Calibre.

Calibre is large, but I would give up many other things on my hard drive to have it. If I remember correctly, there is a version of Calibre that can be installed on a USB flash drive with your collection and then run on any computer. I will try to find it again in the help file and edit to post a link.

[wvcherrybomb]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Have a look here for a wide choice ...

Wow!! You may very well find something good in this list. I see a couple that even handle .mobi, which I thought would be the one you needed a seperate reader for.

Here is the link to how to install Calibre on a USB flash drive.

[pashlit]

Originally Posted by wvcherrybomb

Wow!! You may very well find something good in this list. I see a couple that even handle .mobi, which I thought would be the one you needed a seperate reader for.

Here is the link to how to install Calibre on a USB flash drive.

Thanks guys. That link was really helpful. Calibre for USB is a good one. I also tried Stanza. Nothing fancy. Works good with Epub i opened. But also requires install.

[dmspen]

I use uBook from www.gowerpoint.com. The newest version handles zipped epub files.

[CazMar]

For EPUB books I just use the EPUBReader which is an add-on for Firefox - you only have to use your browser. And for work - well let us just say you could quickly flick back to that boring page on government legislation when the boss is on the prowl.....

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by pashlit

Hello,
I d like to get an eReader for my PC but cant find a decent one. I tried Microsoft Reader and couple others but didnt really like em. I just need a good simple ereader to browse my library in different formats. Calibre is too big and I wouldn't like to install it on my work PC. Any recommendations? Thanks.

What to get depends on what you plan to read. The problem is that there's no single ebook format everyone supports. Amazon uses the Mobipocket format for the Kindle and Kindle apps. The Barnes and Noble nook and Sony Reader use ePub. There are other formats out there, like the .LIT files used by the Microsoft Reader.

You might want to look at FBReader, a free, open source ebook viewer. It's cross-platform and available for Windows, Linux, Mac OS/X and an assortment of other platforms. There is also a version called FBReaderJ written in Java for an assortment of cell phones.

Supported formats include ePub, Mobipocket, FB2 (defacto Russian ebook format), HTML (limited), plain text, and an assortment of other things.

A particular win for me was support for the format used by the Plucker offline HTML viewer for Palm OS, as I have about 4,000 volumes in Plucker format I can now read on my PC as well as my PDA.

It does not support DRM, so you'll have to strip DRM from commercial ebooks to read them with it, and support for the formats it reads is not as good as a dedicated viewer. But it does well enough to be useful, and the price is right.

See http://www.fbreader.org/about.php for details.
______
Dennis

[G J Lau]

Calibre does it all with overhead. I have Kindle PC for free or sample Amazon downloads. Firefox has a very good ePUB reader. Nitro pdf reader is also good to have lying around.

[smg927]

I like FB Reader. You can find it at http://www.fbreader.org/

[Keryl Raist]

Of all the for pc free aps I've tried Kindle does the most consistently good job of letting me read my books. However, you end up with only .mobi.

ePub on my pc tended to be buggy. Like it wouldn't hold bookmarks or notes. Not the end of the world or anything, but it was annoying.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Keryl Raist

ePub on my pc tended to be buggy. Like it wouldn't hold bookmarks or notes. Not the end of the world or anything, but it was annoying.

Which ePub viewer(s) did you try?
______
Dennis

[Hatgirl]

I like Ibis Reader. It's online, so you can read your books on any PC, smartphone etc. It only reads DRM-free ePubs, but you can just use your home Calibre setup to convert everything you have to epub format and then upload it. It's just so handy and flexible and free...