Recommendation for an easy to use Android ereader app...

kelemvor · 07-02-2018, 10:49 AM

Howdy,

I'm looking for an easy to use, nice looking, ereader app to put on my kids' tablets. I don't need any fancy features but would like to be able to view things by series.

For example, if I want to put a number of trilogies on their tablet, I want them option of being able to put them in a folder called ABC Trilogy, and XYZ Trilogy, and have the ability to view the Trilogy names without seeing the actual books. Then I can tap the Trilogy name to see the actual books.

Basically we are taking a 2 week road trip and I want to put possibly a couple dozens books on each tablet and don't want to only be able to view a giant list of all the books. I want some way to organize them. If I have to manually create folders/collections/bookshelves/whatever and sort the books by hand, I guess that would work if that's the only option.

Or if there's some other way of viewing books by series, that might work too.

Anyway, let me know if that makes sense.

Thanks,
Kel

ekbell · 07-02-2018, 11:21 AM

I assume you have drm free ebooks, if not then you need to consult apprentice Alf.

The actual ereader app will depend on your ebook format but if you have or are willing to set up calibre on your desktop then I'd recommend calibre companion. Just add the books to Calibre and add series information then transfer the books to Calibre Companion, click on the series tag in the grouping box to see a list of series. Click on a book to open it in a ereader app appropriate to that format.

FBReader will read azw3, mobi and epub, you can add a plugin which will allow it to read pdfs. Many people prefer Moon+ for mobi and epub, it also reads pdfs.

I personally use EBookDroid for pdfs (I like its cropping features), Moon+ for epubs & mobi and FBReader for the occasional azw3 that I forgot to convert.

ZodWallop · 07-02-2018, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kelemvor

Howdy,

I'm looking for an easy to use, nice looking, ereader app to put on my kids' tablets. I don't need any fancy features but would like to be able to view things by series.

For example, if I want to put a number of trilogies on their tablet, I want them option of being able to put them in a folder called ABC Trilogy, and XYZ Trilogy, and have the ability to view the Trilogy names without seeing the actual books. Then I can tap the Trilogy name to see the actual books.

I use an app called Perfect Viewer to read comics on my tablet and it organizes series exactly as you describe. Perfect Viewer can also handle ePub books, though I've only ever used it to read comics. On the upside, it is free without ads.

DNSB · 07-02-2018, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I use an app called Perfect Viewer to read comics on my tablet and it organizes series exactly as you describe. Perfect Viewer can also handle ePub books, though I've only ever used it to read comics. On the upside, it is free without ads.

I'm wondering if this is the same one my daughter tried for her mangas. It's a bit hard to tell since your link seems to be dead -- admittedly, attempting to access the Google Play Store directly from Chrome and Firefox gives "An unexpected error has occurred. Please try again later". For CBR/CBZ/CB7, it worked quite well but for mangas converted to epub or regular epubs, it was not very good since it seemed to disregard most CSS entries.

ZodWallop · 07-03-2018, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

I'm wondering if this is the same one my daughter tried for her mangas. It's a bit hard to tell since your link seems to be dead -- admittedly, attempting to access the Google Play Store directly from Chrome and Firefox gives "An unexpected error has occurred. Please try again later". For CBR/CBZ/CB7, it worked quite well but for mangas converted to epub or regular epubs, it was not very good since it seemed to disregard most CSS entries.

Weird, the link worked for me, even from your quote.

At any rate, it likely is the same Perfect Viewer. It's an old and established Android app.

I only use Perfect Viewer to read CBZ/CBR. I don't know why you (the generic 'you', no offense to you personally) would convert a manga to ePub. I've converted ePub comics to CBZ myself. It seems like a better format for comics.

DNSB · 07-03-2018, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Weird, the link worked for me, even from your quote.

At any rate, it likely is the same Perfect Viewer. It's an old and established Android app.

I only use Perfect Viewer to read CBZ/CBR. I don't know why you (the generic 'you', no offense to you personally) would convert a manga to ePub. I've converted ePub comics to CBZ myself. It seems like a better format for comics.

I've attached a screencap of what I get when I click on the link. Weird and wonderful... Wonder if this is a Canada vs. US Google issue.

theducks · 07-03-2018, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

I've attached a screencap of what I get when I click on the link. Weird and wonderful... Wonder if this is a Canada vs. US Google issue.

Possible 'country' issue?

PeterT · 07-03-2018, 07:56 PM

I'm in Canada and just clicked on that link onmg tablet. Play store opened and I installed perfect viewer

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

DNSB · 07-04-2018, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterT

I'm in Canada and just clicked on that link on my tablet. Play store opened and I installed perfect viewer

Does that mean its me that Google doesn't like?

kyteflyer · 07-07-2018, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

Does that mean its me that Google doesn't like?

Probably! I'm in Australia and the link works for me

Adoby · 07-14-2018, 12:50 PM

Most e-readers handle "folder view". So you can put books in folders and group them on series or whatever way you like. And in the reader you can browse the folders and discover and open books.

I don't know of any Android e-reader that doesn't handle "folder view", including the free ones.

I use Librera Pro. It also has the option of hiding or showing other ways (search/series/author/title/added and so on) of viewing your books. So you can have the tab for folder view very prominent and obvious. I only have the "Folders" tab and the "Preferences" tab visible.

If you browse your library some other way than by folder then you are depending on correct and normalized metadata embedded into the book files. The same name of the series, and numbering, in all books in the same series. The same spelling and initials of authors. And so on. That takes a lot of manual work in calibre to achieve. Grouping in folders is much faster.

Librera can also be used for audio books, but I haven't tried that myself.

And I copy/sync whole folder trees, saved to disk by calibre, over the network from my PC to my reader. So you may need some app for that as well.

JustinThought · 07-17-2018, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

Does that mean its me that Google doesn't like?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

Probably! I'm in Australia and the link works for me

Mexico here. Working just fine.

07-02-2018, 10:49 AM	#1
kelemvor Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2013 Device: Android	Recommendation for an easy to use Android ereader app... Howdy, I'm looking for an easy to use, nice looking, ereader app to put on my kids' tablets. I don't need any fancy features but would like to be able to view things by series. For example, if I want to put a number of trilogies on their tablet, I want them option of being able to put them in a folder called ABC Trilogy, and XYZ Trilogy, and have the ability to view the Trilogy names without seeing the actual books. Then I can tap the Trilogy name to see the actual books. Basically we are taking a 2 week road trip and I want to put possibly a couple dozens books on each tablet and don't want to only be able to view a giant list of all the books. I want some way to organize them. If I have to manually create folders/collections/bookshelves/whatever and sort the books by hand, I guess that would work if that's the only option. Or if there's some other way of viewing books by series, that might work too. Anyway, let me know if that makes sense. Thanks, Kel

07-14-2018, 12:50 PM	#11
Adoby Handy Elephant Posts: 1,736 Karma: 26785668 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Southern Sweden, far out in the quiet woods Device: Thinkpad E595, Ubuntu Mate, Huawei Mediapad 5, Bouye Likebook Plus	Most e-readers handle "folder view". So you can put books in folders and group them on series or whatever way you like. And in the reader you can browse the folders and discover and open books. I don't know of any Android e-reader that doesn't handle "folder view", including the free ones. I use Librera Pro. It also has the option of hiding or showing other ways (search/series/author/title/added and so on) of viewing your books. So you can have the tab for folder view very prominent and obvious. I only have the "Folders" tab and the "Preferences" tab visible. If you browse your library some other way than by folder then you are depending on correct and normalized metadata embedded into the book files. The same name of the series, and numbering, in all books in the same series. The same spelling and initials of authors. And so on. That takes a lot of manual work in calibre to achieve. Grouping in folders is much faster. Librera can also be used for audio books, but I haven't tried that myself. And I copy/sync whole folder trees, saved to disk by calibre, over the network from my PC to my reader. So you may need some app for that as well. Last edited by Adoby; 07-14-2018 at 01:09 PM.

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07-02-2018, 11:21 AM	#2
ekbell Guru Posts: 603 Karma: 12345678 Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Canada Device: none	I assume you have drm free ebooks, if not then you need to consult apprentice Alf. The actual ereader app will depend on your ebook format but if you have or are willing to set up calibre on your desktop then I'd recommend calibre companion. Just add the books to Calibre and add series information then transfer the books to Calibre Companion, click on the series tag in the grouping box to see a list of series. Click on a book to open it in a ereader app appropriate to that format. FBReader will read azw3, mobi and epub, you can add a plugin which will allow it to read pdfs. Many people prefer Moon+ for mobi and epub, it also reads pdfs. I personally use EBookDroid for pdfs (I like its cropping features), Moon+ for epubs & mobi and FBReader for the occasional azw3 that I forgot to convert.

07-03-2018, 07:56 PM	#8
PeterT Grand Sorcerer Posts: 12,162 Karma: 73448616 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Toronto Device: Nexus 7, Clara, Touch, Tolino EPOS	I'm in Canada and just clicked on that link onmg tablet. Play store opened and I installed perfect viewer Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

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