Good e-book manager/reader for android?

[Star_Eagle]

Hi everyone,

I recently got my first Android smartphone and I'm looking for a good e-book manager/reader for it, I really don't know much about what's available in the way of apps for mobile devices but I would, if possible, like to have one that can link with my Calibre libraries on my laptop.

I now about the Calibre Companion app but life has taught me not to always go for the obvious choice first so I'de like to explore the options before picking one.

Does anyone here have a favourite e-book reader app they'd recommend?

Many thanks for your time.

[Patchicat]

I'm working on getting away from Barnes & Noble after my latest Nook developed problems which became annoying. So, I purchased a Lenovo Tab M10 Plus (3rd Gen) and downloaded eboox fromt the Play Store. So far, it does everything the Nook app does but better. Don't think it's open source, but I've been pleased with it so far.

And yes, I do use Calibre to manage my library, but I have that on my computer. I don't read books on my phone at all. The screen is too small.

[Star_Eagle]

OK thanks for the recommendation. I get what you say about phones being small for reading but I spend alot of time out of the house and I found larger devices weren't really easy to use while waiting for a bus ect, so I found a phone with the biggest screen I could. So far I've used the web browser to read a few ebooks and its be and OK experiance.

[eluyasa]

Use Aldiko Next

Play Store link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...aldiko.android

To connect to Calibre, start calibre content server as you usually would. In Aldiko Next, you'll find a "Catalogs" tab. In there, you add the server address of your calibre content server. Don't forget to add /opds after it. Mine, for example,is:

http://192.168.1.7:8080/opds

And if you connect your server and your phone to the same network, it should access your calibre books, which you can save and read in the app.

I love Aldiko because it respects the book's CSS, ie, it shows the book as the publisher intended. It is based on Readium-kotlin, which works closely with w3c and will generally have the best experience.

It isn't perfect, of course. Some issues I have with it are that it doesn't have an offline dictionary. Another is that it doesn't have the ability to zoom in on images in epub. However, I have reported this and they have responded that they are working on it. I previously have reported some issues which they fixed quickly, so I like the devs, too.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by Star_Eagle

Calibre Companion
.......
Does anyone here have a favourite e-book reader app they'd recommend?

I don't know anything better

[Quoth]

Lithium: Don't need to import ebooks, can use them at existing location, such as an SD card folder called ebooks. Good if updating the same ebook from Calibre.

Aldiko Basic and old Bluefire seem to work on older and newer Android.

Pocketbook: Seems best for TTS.

All of these respect embedded fonts and CSS, but have various degrees of over-ride.

KOReader can be installed direct from site as an APK, if you enable that ability on a phone. It has many overrides to suit badly made epubs.

All of these can use files loaded by Calibre via USB.

[Quoth]

Calibre Companion no longer supported.
Moon Reader is complex and difficult to get it to respect CSS. KOReader (free) is a better choice for that kind of thing.

Manage with Calibre and transfer with USB, while charging…

[fronflower]

Here are some good ebook reader apps to consider for Android that integrate with Calibre:

- Moon+ Reader - Supports syncing wirelessly with Calibre libraries. Allows different formats, theming, translation, TTS. Free with pro upgrade.

- Aldiko - Connects to Calibre via WiFi and integrates seamlessly. Customizable reading experience. Free version available.

- Cool Reader - Open source app with Calibre library integration via plugins. Lots of format support. Highly customizable.

- FBReader - Popular free app that can access Calibre through the FBReader sync plugin. Supports ePub, PDF, etc.

- Gitden Reader - Calibre integration and syncing. Has different reading modes, decent format support. Free version available.

- BookFusion - Accesses both Calibre and Google Play Books. Offers reading challenges, recommendations, cloud storage.

I'd also recommend trying the stock Google Play Books app. It integrates nicely with the OS and supports uploading from Calibre. See which reading experience you like best before picking a dedicated third-party app.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by fronflower

Here are some good ebook reader apps to consider for Android that integrate with Calibre:

- Moon+ Reader - Supports syncing wirelessly with Calibre libraries. Allows different formats, theming, translation, TTS. Free with pro upgrade.

- Aldiko - Connects to Calibre via WiFi and integrates seamlessly. Customizable reading experience. Free version available.

- Cool Reader - Open source app with Calibre library integration via plugins. Lots of format support. Highly customizable.

- FBReader - Popular free app that can access Calibre through the FBReader sync plugin. Supports ePub, PDF, etc.

- Gitden Reader - Calibre integration and syncing. Has different reading modes, decent format support. Free version available.

- BookFusion - Accesses both Calibre and Google Play Books. Offers reading challenges, recommendations, cloud storage.

I'd also recommend trying the stock Google Play Books app. It integrates nicely with the OS and supports uploading from Calibre. See which reading experience you like best before picking a dedicated third-party app.

Of these, Moon+ Reader, Cool Reader, FBReader, and Gitden Reader are all garbage. They do not work well and they do not respect the CSS well enough.

I do not know enough about Aldiko to know if it is any good.

The best one in this list is BookFusion. It respects the CSS.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Calibre Companion no longer supported.

Yes and? It still works, but I wouldn't buy it because of that

[dumining]

I am a long term Moon+ Reader Pro from Jan 2015 to now and it has always kept me happy. As per original poster my key criteria is for the book to look good on my Android Phone, which means being easy to read despite the limited screen realestate. I also use the TTS function for when I am occassionally on the bus - sadly reading makes me carsick. The other feature that just works is the Net Library.
Note I only read non-fiction - the majority are epub, with some pdf. For me the publishers CSS issue quoted by our pro's hasnt been an issue for me.
Also I added a Lenovo Ideapad Duet 10.1" to the mix, and Moon+ works great on that also.
PS the closest I get to fiction is an Opera Libretto ;-)

[JSWolf]

A good program for reading ePub is one that respects the CSS well enough and IMHO, Moon+ is not one that does.

[Pajamaman]

Alreader Pro X for eink. Probably doesnt sync with calibre and for sure JSWolf will declare it to be garbage.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Pajamaman

Alreader Pro X for eink. Probably doesnt sync with calibre and for sure JSWolf will declare it to be garbage.

That depends. How well does Alreader Pro X respect the CSS?

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That depends. How well does Alreader Pro X respect the CSS?

It doesn't by default, but that can be activated from within the settings. One may also choose which aspects of the css to respect.