justRead – Native iOS EPUB Reader (Built for Power Readers)

[petrjahoda]

Hi and thank you for the support. in justread you just select the directory, where books are and that's all of it. If something changes in that directory (let's say you update metadata, add book, etc.) you just refresh the app (standard swipe down) and that's it.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by petrjahoda

Hi and thank you for the support. in justread you just select the directory, where books are and that's all of it. If something changes in that directory (let's say you update metadata, add book, etc.) you just refresh the app (standard swipe down) and that's it.

I hadn't looked into file storage on my iphone before, but downloading the Files utility from Apple, I see that there's a "CalibreSyncICloudContainer" folder that contains all the downloaded ePubs.

I'll be interested to try out justRead when available. (Is the lower case 'j' a tip of the hat to calibre?)

[JSWolf]

Does justRead work with the iPad? If so, I may sign up.

[petrjahoda]

Hi, sorry for the delay, I was confused, where is my response and today I found that there is second page to my post :-).

Answer to pdurrant, the directory selection is simple (I hope), it works like this
1. You have got books saved (in my case) in icloud folder called Books
https://postimg.cc/1fqL7VZs
2. When you open the app, you see there are no books yet and you have to select the folder, where books are
https://postimg.cc/nCBPG8vs
3. So you select that folder in the justRead app
https://postimg.cc/14NCyx70
4. It processed the files and you have the books in the app
https://postimg.cc/ZvrxpSXf
5. If you change something in that folder (for example change cover using calibre), you just refresh the library by standard: pull down

My goal here was: at the first start of the app point to the directory with books and refresh when you want to.
I managed to make it more performant than before, so 5000 books are analyze in about 15 seconds.

[petrjahoda]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Does justRead work with the iPad? If so, I may sign up.

Hi, as I stopped the Android development, my colleague went right for ipad. Ipad version was originally planned to Q1 2026 (and to have a margin it still is), but with android development stopped, my guess is Q2-Q3 this year.
We still want to wait for the response from users and as there will be in-app feature voting, we would like to release PROPER ipad version with as little changes as possible.

I am writing proper, because this version for iphones will work on ipad too, but won't be "UI optimized" for ipads.

[petrjahoda]

Also I forgot to mention I made a comparison between justRead, Apple Books, Kindle a Book Fusion: https://medium.com/itnext/justread-v...n-00e93199eb95

[petrjahoda]

Hello, just to keep you updated about the progress: just post a new article about a feature, that will be included in the app from the start: https://itnext.io/why-most-apps-feel...t-e8d8c825bf7c

TLDR; the app will be shaped by you, users.

[pdurrant]

I have around 5,600 books in my calibre library. They're synced to my iphone using Calibre Sync, and when I direct justRead to that folder, they do get loaded in.

Observations so far:
* When loading from the folder, behind the dialog giving import progress was a page saying "No ePubs Found". This was a little confusing
* In the library view, it seems the only option is alphabetical by author. There seems to be no quick way to scroll to a starting letter. If I want to get to the books written by (say) John Scalzi, I'd have to scroll through over 4000 books.... In Apple's Contacts app, for example, there's an alphabet down the right hand side that allows swift scrolling to the right place in the alphabet
* when I try to find a book by searching, the app crashes.
* All the books seem to be marked as "new".
* on trying to read a book, if seemed to freeze and then crash.

I look forward to trying the next release

[petrjahoda]

Hello pdurrant, thank you very much for the response.

- dialog in the background will be removed for loading (to be precise I will implement lazy loading, so books will popup right in the library with a small loading indicator at the top)
- in a next version, there will be a "quick alphabet" on the right to quickly navigate big lists, just like in Contacts
- crash while search will look into it
- all the imported books are marked as new, that's right... I suppose you are expecting something different... can you please specify, what would you expect?
- about that freezing book: you are a second person with a specific book, that hanged, is it possible to send me that file to support@justread.app for analysis?

Thank you very much again and just a little info:
Actual test build will be there for continual testing and use, I will wait another two days for another feedback from others. Then I am going to fix all the things there are to fix and add things I got feedback on (like on/off to show iphone status bar at top, on/off to show page count while reading, etc.) and planning to make another testflight round next week.

The overall response is surprisingly good, with few nasty errors I like to (and have to) fix.
But that's what testflight is for and thanks Apple for that opportunity and you and another testers for testing the app.

Also I would like to give all active testers lifetime version for free, as I owe you very much for your work.

[pdurrant]

I'll try with some other books.

I suspect my wish for initial load is impossible. But here it is:

In calibre, I have a "Read" boolean column, that is False when I haven't read a good, True when I have.

Calibre Sync, when it syncs with calibre, is also able to sync this column, so in Calibre Sync I can see which books I've read and which I have not (&, indeed I can mark books as read in Calibre Sync and that will transfer back to calibre).

Ideally, I like my existing read flags to be found and read. But I have no idea where calibre sync stores that kind of data. And I suspect your desire to have justRead be independent of other software will mean this is not a feature that you'd bee keen to explore.

That's OK. I haven't explored a lot yet, so maybe there's a way to mark all existing books as not-new. If not, consider this a feature request.

[pdurrant]

I've just tried another book, and another. It crashed both times. One was a Douglas Adams 0- The Salmon of Doubt. The other was a Patricia Cornwell - Kay Scarpatta #3

I've sent both crash reports. I don't think it's tied to specific books. My guess would be the size of my library.

[petrjahoda]

Hi pdurrant, can we please stick to the proper channel of communication, either via testflight, or better via email?
I got information from your testing in here, in emails and in testflight.
Thank you very much.


As for that flag read in calibre, I am going to find out where Calibre stores it.

[peaceridge]

My requirements are simple (I think).
1. I want to tap on the right and left to go forward (both not either - not both at the same time), swipe to go left.
2. page number and total pages for entire book showing on bottom.
3. name of book, date and time, at top.

Thanks, looking forward to the app.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by petrjahoda

Hi pdurrant, can we please stick to the proper channel of communication, either via testflight, or better via email?
I got information from your testing in here, in emails and in testflight.
Thank you very much.


As for that flag read in calibre, I am going to find out where Calibre stores it.

Sure, I'll stick with email, apart from automated reports

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by peaceridge

My requirements are simple (I think).
1. I want to tap on the right and left to go forward (both not either - not both at the same time), swipe to go left.
2. page number and total pages for entire book showing on bottom.
3. name of book, date and time, at top.

Thanks, looking forward to the app.

As for page numbers, please make the the same as that used by Adobe Digital Editions are that gives you a sense of how long the book is.