CalibReader: an EPUB and PDF reader for iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo

[CalibReader_]

Hi everyone,

I'm a solo developer, and CalibReader is the app I built because I keep my books in calibre and wanted that library on my phone, readable offline, without moving it into anyone else's cloud. It's an EPUB and PDF reader for iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo. It's on the App Store now: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6777391511

Every setup I tried split this into two apps: one to sync the calibre library to the device, and another to actually read in. CalibReader is both, finally in one app: your calibre library, synced and browsable the way you organised it, plus the best reader I could build, one that feels like reading a real book.

I'd like to hear from calibre users trying it on their own libraries, especially if you have an iPhone Duo.



LIBRARY: your calibre library, synced

• Point it at the folder that holds your calibre library (the one with metadata.db): Dropbox, OneDrive, a NAS or home server over SMB, or a folder on the device or in iCloud Drive.
• You choose at setup: copy your whole library to your device for offline reading, or copy just the catalogue, with each book downloading when you open it. Later syncs only pick up what changed.
• Series and series index, tags, ratings and publisher come across as you set them in calibre.
• Reading positions and read status sync between your devices through a small file in the library folder. Start reading on your phone, and later when you pick up your iPad to continue, you're exactly where you left off.
• Read status, % read and last read can go back into calibre with a free desktop plugin, CalibReader Sync, which is in calibre's plugin index: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=375871
• Home shows what you're reading and what you added recently. Grid, list and series views, every series in order with your progress, filters you can stack (read status, author, genre, series, tags) and search.
• The full synopsis, page count and publish date for every book.
• Cover picker: swap in another edition's cover, or bind any book in leather. Books with no cover get one found automatically.
• Light or dark mode for the whole app.
• Single books can also be opened from Files, Mail or AirDrop.
• No account, no uploads, no subscriptions.
• Tested and working with 40,000-book libraries.

READER: built to feel like a book

• Two pages side by side on iPad and iPhone Duo, a single page on iPhone, or continuous scroll.
• Real page curls, forward and back, or a simple flip. Turning back curls the previous page in from the left, as smoothly as turning forward.
• Every book opens on a title page that turns over like a real one.
• On iPhone Duo: unfold it and the book is a two-page spread; close it and the book's cover is on the outside, and the line you were reading stays put through every fold.
• Calm controls: on iPhone, a slim bar at the top shows the chapter and your progress, with Back, Contents and Aa in a small bar under the text. Tap the middle of the page and they all disappear.
• Font, size, line spacing, margins and justification, applied live, with proper hyphenation for justified text.
• A "Book's own formatting" switch for when you want the publisher's styling.
• Parchment, sepia, black and navy themes, or any colour you like.
• Table of contents, chapter navigation, a clock and a progress footer.
• A built-in dictionary that works offline: long-press a word and tap Define.
• In scrolling view, the end of a chapter is a firm stop; tap the edge to carry on.
• Your place is kept to the line through crashes, app updates and library switches, and leaving the app never moves you.
• PDF support: two-page spreads on iPad and iPhone Duo, and it remembers your page.
• Use external reader: open MOBI, CBZ and other formats in another app of your choice.

Price
You can import and browse your whole library and read any 3 books in full for free. After that it's $9.99 once to read everything. No subscription, no account, no ads.

What it doesn't do yet

• It's iPhone and iPad only for now. Android is close behind, and Android foldables will get the same two-page spread.
• Google Drive isn't supported on iOS, but it will be in the Android version.
• It doesn't connect to the calibre Content Server or OPDS catalogs, or act as a calibre wireless device. It reads your library folder directly, so no server is needed.
• Your own custom columns don't show in the app yet, and ratings, highlights and annotations don't go back to calibre yet. Highlights and notes are next, saved into calibre's own annotations.
• Read status uses a Yes/No column named read_status. Choosing your own column is coming; until then the plugin shows how to copy yours over once.

Website: https://calibreader.com
Help pages: https://calibreader.com/help/
Demo on iPhone Duo: https://youtu.be/aPAax-0lJsI
The screenshots use public-domain books from Standard Ebooks, but the design really pops with real modern book art.

I'll be reading this thread every day and would like to hear what breaks, what's missing, and what you'd change.

CalibReader is an independent app and is not affiliated with calibre.

Mike

[JSWolf]

Does it have a header to show how many pages left in the chapter along with the chapter title and the footer to show how many pages left in the book along with the book title? Does it have ADE/RMSDK page numbers and if not, can you please add them?

In the animated GIF, there's too much wasted space at the top and bottom of the screen.

Does this have the ability to add your own fonts? Does this have the ability to adjust the font weight?