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witchkitten · 12-23-2021, 03:38 AM

I didn't realize that Marvin had been abandoned by the developer until yesterday when I came here to try to figure out how to get some fixed format epubs to work. It's the first issue I've had with the software in years. Wanting to find an alternative to Marvin for when the app eventually stops working due to iOS incompatibilities, I've tried out the most popular alternative ereader apps suggested here and none of them work for me. They are all missing critical features or are visually unappealing.

Kybooks comes the closest to having what I want in an ereading app but the library is practically unreadable and customizing the layout of a book is clunky because you have hit apply every time you make a change. I also find the bars at the top and bottom unpolished and visually unappealing but at least it has the chapter length information. Neither MapleRead or FBReader display chapter length and progress through the chapter/how many pages are left in the chapter at the top or bottom of the page, which is one of the most important features to me in any ereading software. It's the main reason Kindle, Kobo, and Nook e-ink readers didn't work for me back when I was shopping for one some years ago and why I ended up with a LikeBook Mars. Moon+ Reader for Android is almost as good, if not equally as good, as Marvin in part because it has the chapter information right on the page while I'm reading among other things, so I specifically looked for a reader that could use the Google Play Store and run Android apps. Unfortunately, they don't make Moon+ Reader for iOS.

Apple Books does show the number of pages left in a chapter but the app doesn't allow me to customize the look of the book overall (margin sizes, line spacing, etc.), which is a dealbreaker. Neither MapleRead or Apple Books allows me to get rid of the page turn animations, which I hate, and FBReader doesn't allow me to connect to Calibre's OPDS server. It's the only ereader app I've used aside from Apple Books that doesn't search for local OPDS servers, but even when I manually type in the OPDS server address it says the URL is not supported. I also find the gray progress bar at the bottom ugly and distracting. Marvin is practically perfect in every way and I'm now going to live in fear of the day it stops working.

12-23-2021, 03:38 AM	#129
witchkitten Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 12026 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: Nook Simple Touch	I didn't realize that Marvin had been abandoned by the developer until yesterday when I came here to try to figure out how to get some fixed format epubs to work. It's the first issue I've had with the software in years. Wanting to find an alternative to Marvin for when the app eventually stops working due to iOS incompatibilities, I've tried out the most popular alternative ereader apps suggested here and none of them work for me. They are all missing critical features or are visually unappealing. Kybooks comes the closest to having what I want in an ereading app but the library is practically unreadable and customizing the layout of a book is clunky because you have hit apply every time you make a change. I also find the bars at the top and bottom unpolished and visually unappealing but at least it has the chapter length information. Neither MapleRead or FBReader display chapter length and progress through the chapter/how many pages are left in the chapter at the top or bottom of the page, which is one of the most important features to me in any ereading software. It's the main reason Kindle, Kobo, and Nook e-ink readers didn't work for me back when I was shopping for one some years ago and why I ended up with a LikeBook Mars. Moon+ Reader for Android is almost as good, if not equally as good, as Marvin in part because it has the chapter information right on the page while I'm reading among other things, so I specifically looked for a reader that could use the Google Play Store and run Android apps. Unfortunately, they don't make Moon+ Reader for iOS. Apple Books does show the number of pages left in a chapter but the app doesn't allow me to customize the look of the book overall (margin sizes, line spacing, etc.), which is a dealbreaker. Neither MapleRead or Apple Books allows me to get rid of the page turn animations, which I hate, and FBReader doesn't allow me to connect to Calibre's OPDS server. It's the only ereader app I've used aside from Apple Books that doesn't search for local OPDS servers, but even when I manually type in the OPDS server address it says the URL is not supported. I also find the gray progress bar at the bottom ugly and distracting. Marvin is practically perfect in every way and I'm now going to live in fear of the day it stops working.