Some books display in all italics on Max 3

Kalas · 11-28-2024, 05:07 AM

I'm having this issue with certain epubs in my Max 3, namely everything from Delphi Classics and some (but not all) epubs made by Retro Reading Time. Somehow it is displaying text that shouldn't be italicized in italics and text that should be italicized normally. If I reboot the Max 3 enough times sometimes that will trick it into displaying the text properly, until it (seemingly at random) decides to italicize everything again. I tried switching to an italic font to trick it, which did not work. Upgraded from 3.3.1 to 3.51, the last firmware update for the Max 3, and that did not help either.

There has to be a way to fix this, right?

Renate · 11-28-2024, 09:59 AM

Yeah, January 3.5.1 was the last update.

It might be weirdness in the EPUB that yours is handling differently?

There's always the "nuclear option". I have a little Windows executable that just strips all the CSS out of an EPUB. It can work with DRM'ed files without un-DRM'ing them. It's named "unduke.exe" after the horrible formatting of "Duke Classics" (with the dog in the corner of the cover). This will leave your EPUB default formatted. It's on my website under Android > Win32 Tools for Android. It's not reversible unless you saved a copy.

Code:

C:\>unduke.exe italicbook.epub

It could also be that they never closed an <i> and whether this affects display is determined by where you have read.

Kalas · 11-29-2024, 07:56 AM

Not closing an <i> seems like something that would be simple enough to fix, so I opened a few up in Sigil to let it tell me where the issue is. No stray <i> tags in any of the files. Since that confirmed nothing was wrong with the file it got me thinking about the software.

Turns out it's a NeoReader issue. There are no issues with any of them when using AlreaderX Pro. I seem to be in the minority of people that actually like NeoReader, to say nothing of the dictionary function being much faster in NeoReader. It comes in handy when you read old books that used words that haven't really been used in 100+ years. Is there a way to update NeoReader without updating the firmware? Or any ideas for settings to tweak in NeoReader? I'll admit to being more a user than a power user when it comes to ereaders.

Renate · 11-29-2024, 08:00 AM

I still think that there is probably something strange with the EPUB itself that other readers handle better.

Kalas · 12-07-2024, 10:33 AM

After 9 days of the same OP sitting on the Boox forums they asked for a copy of the epubs in question and logs from my Max 3, so they should at least be looking into the issue.

Kalas · 12-10-2024, 04:23 PM

Got a reply from Boox saying that NeoReader does not support italic fonts. That doesn't seem to make much sense, as both epubs I sent them use standard Times New Roman and/or Serif fonts and italics are controlled with style.css rather than using a different font. Or am I misunderstanding what the Boox guy said?

11-28-2024, 05:07 AM	#1
Kalas Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2024 Device: Boox Max 3	Some books display in all italics on Max 3 I'm having this issue with certain epubs in my Max 3, namely everything from Delphi Classics and some (but not all) epubs made by Retro Reading Time. Somehow it is displaying text that shouldn't be italicized in italics and text that should be italicized normally. If I reboot the Max 3 enough times sometimes that will trick it into displaying the text properly, until it (seemingly at random) decides to italicize everything again. I tried switching to an italic font to trick it, which did not work. Upgraded from 3.3.1 to 3.51, the last firmware update for the Max 3, and that did not help either. There has to be a way to fix this, right?

11-28-2024, 09:59 AM	#2
Renate Onyx-maniac Posts: 3,684 Karma: 15675331 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Nook NST, Glow2, 3, 4, '21, Kobo Aura2, Poke3, Poke5, Go6	Yeah, January 3.5.1 was the last update. It might be weirdness in the EPUB that yours is handling differently? There's always the "nuclear option". I have a little Windows executable that just strips all the CSS out of an EPUB. It can work with DRM'ed files without un-DRM'ing them. It's named "unduke.exe" after the horrible formatting of "Duke Classics" (with the dog in the corner of the cover). This will leave your EPUB default formatted. It's on my website under Android > Win32 Tools for Android. It's not reversible unless you saved a copy. Code: C:\>unduke.exe italicbook.epub It could also be that they never closed an <i> and whether this affects display is determined by where you have read. Last edited by Renate; 11-28-2024 at 10:03 AM.

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11-29-2024, 07:56 AM	#3
Kalas Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2024 Device: Boox Max 3	Not closing an <i> seems like something that would be simple enough to fix, so I opened a few up in Sigil to let it tell me where the issue is. No stray <i> tags in any of the files. Since that confirmed nothing was wrong with the file it got me thinking about the software. Turns out it's a NeoReader issue. There are no issues with any of them when using AlreaderX Pro. I seem to be in the minority of people that actually like NeoReader, to say nothing of the dictionary function being much faster in NeoReader. It comes in handy when you read old books that used words that haven't really been used in 100+ years. Is there a way to update NeoReader without updating the firmware? Or any ideas for settings to tweak in NeoReader? I'll admit to being more a user than a power user when it comes to ereaders.

11-29-2024, 08:00 AM	#4
Renate Onyx-maniac Posts: 3,684 Karma: 15675331 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Nook NST, Glow2, 3, 4, '21, Kobo Aura2, Poke3, Poke5, Go6	I still think that there is probably something strange with the EPUB itself that other readers handle better.

12-07-2024, 10:33 AM	#5
Kalas Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2024 Device: Boox Max 3	After 9 days of the same OP sitting on the Boox forums they asked for a copy of the epubs in question and logs from my Max 3, so they should at least be looking into the issue.

12-10-2024, 04:23 PM	#6
Kalas Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2024 Device: Boox Max 3	Got a reply from Boox saying that NeoReader does not support italic fonts. That doesn't seem to make much sense, as both epubs I sent them use standard Times New Roman and/or Serif fonts and italics are controlled with style.css rather than using a different font. Or am I misunderstanding what the Boox guy said?

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