A community for all things related to Books.
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I do most of the reading on my quite old Kindle Paperwhite.
When Amazon changed the rules about downloading your own ebooks, I installed KOReader on it.
Love the customisability I get, and integration with Calibre. I now sync my library and progress with my phone (where I also have KOReader installed) using Syncthing.
I've also switched from Goodreads to Hardcover (there is a KOReader plugin for it).
I prefer to read on the Kindle because it has 0 distractions and it's easier on the eyes.
Well, audiobooks work well enough on both, but a phone is more convenient since I carry it with me all the time anyway.
kindle, which I never told my wifi password. When you're reading, it is good to be offline, too easy to get sidetracked into a backstory or such. You can have all the dictionaries you need and a few bilingual ones if needed and the chapter list, read %. :3
Ohh yeah. I have an ancient kindle with ads. But once it's 6 months or so without internet it will drop them.
And just to be clear I'm not endorsing amazon. Get something else. I'm just wearing that one out.
Mine is 10 years old by now...never had ads...if it connected to the internet it would probably get bricked.
I used to carry my kindle Paperwhite in my lunch bag, reading on breaks at lunch. Upgraded to a fold 7 this week and have been using that instead, it's beautiful and I love it for daily reading and pretty much everything else I can throw at it. The Kindle app makes looking for new titles (unlimited has so many LitRPG) so much easier than on reader or PC. It's truly changed how I do reading on the go.
Having said that at home I still prefer my kindle, not because of the screen, the size, the physical heft, soft leather case, extreme battery life, no those are all good reasons but physically not much different than my phone. No I prefer to use my kindle because I don't get text messages, reminders about ongoing sales, emails, video streaming recommendations, none of that. I just get my book.
I only read ebooks on an e-ink device, in my case it's an Amazon Kindle. I would love to have a more open device but from what I've seen the only really open e-ink device is the Pinenote which I think is just to big for me to use as an e-reader. Also, while the Kindle works I will keep using it, since I was able to install Koreader on it and just keep it offline(I really hope that we will be able to transfer books from our pc to the Kindle without wifi with Koreader in the future).
I think it would be a waste to get a new device just because I dislike Amazon and would like a more open device. If I stumble upon the "perfect" e-reader for me I will probable give this one away and buy a new one.
I've never read books on a phone or a tablet.
Reading on a phone is like fucking on a balance beam. Yeah, you can do it, but you end up straining a lot and not having much fun.
I read on tablets, be they eink dedicated devices or just regular android tablets.
Love the analogy :-)
An image I can’t get out of my head!!
Kobo only. I'll convert long articles to epub and throw them on the Kobo before I'll read them on the phone. Usually, I send them to the desktop, though, b/c it's easier.
Long form reading on a phone sucks; I don't know how people can do it. Oh, great! 7 words per line. That's super comfortable.
Kobo Libra Color for me!! The text is much nice on the eyes because of e-ink. I only listen to audio books through my phone.
I definitely prefer e-reader. Bigger screen, no distractions or notifications, and e-ink means weeks per change and no eye strain. I currently have a Kindle Oasis, but I'll probably trade it in for something else in the future to escape Amazon's ecosystem. Until then, I even save longer articles to Pocket and use p2k (whatever its successor is called now) to send it to my Kindle and read later. I think Pocket's still going away too, so I'll have to switch to something else eventually...
I have both. Phone is fine for on the go. But I prefer e-reader for the rest. I use a boox tab c mini and it's not one I would recommend. The os is finicky about apps and the color e-ink isn't that impressive. But I do like the size and it's got a decent backlight. The better battery life is one of the main reasons I like having an e-reader. Not having to be tethered to a charger while reading in bed or on a long journey is awesome.
Android tablet.
On android? Try Readest! Its FOSS! On github (I dont send links since that can be abused/tracked sorry) It has a very nice ui and can even use your phones built in screen reader to make it an audiobook. I use libgen and openlib for ebook files. If you already own them through amazon or physically its not immoral to download them (VPN recommended or if a non pirate safe country). Hope this helps
I love lemmy cause wow, where did this even come from? I use librera reader but it hasn't been recently updated due to ukraine war. Readest supports every platform while having all the features you can imagine. Like idk when this came out.
Im glad you like it as much as i do. I scowered the internet for hours! Looking for a FOSS ereader that supports customization, text to speech, and as many ebook formats as possible. Remember to star the project and donate to the devs if possible. They update super often and have made something better than apps ive outright paid 5$+ for.
I have been using it for a few hours now and I can see that it's still in quite early stages of development. For some reason it doesn't use system default tts on my tablet. A lot of the menus are laggy(on both android and linux desktop). Has very little options. No way to import a full folder. No opd support yet and no RSVP.
I will stick with Librera for now as it also just started getting maintenance recently.
Understandable, but keep an eye on it like i said its getting updated often and your input could be useful to the dev if you submit reports or suggestions through github. The more users and support the better <3
Both Kobo and Minimal Phone. Either way, they have e-paper displays.
Tend to use the Kobo for heavier reading since it's got a bigger screen, but the Minimal works great too, just smaller.
A phone with e-paper display? Tell us more!
I did a first impressions post a few days ago: https://startrek.website/post/26640050
TLDR is i like it a lot but def not for everybody.
Thanks! 5 years of Android updates sounds good. $400 is not much for a niche device. I hope you get the full 5 years out of it.
A few questions I have not seen answered:
This could be ideal for me. I don't watch videos or "scroll" on my phone. But everything else should just work normally.
BTW there are other good minimal launchers for Android, I think I used one called Kiss Launcher many years ago, should be both on f-droid and the play store.
PS: do get the case asap. I destroyed 2 slippery phones within a year 😢
How does it fare with standard Android or web apps, email, transitions etc.?
Pretty well. It comes with the color correction set to "grayscale" by default, so that helps. Most apps work fine, but a few have color/theme choices that make the text look washed out. Usually that can be fixed by adjusting theme settings. It also comes with animations disabled by default. When one does slip through (like if it's built into the app), it's usually masked by the slow-ish e-paper refresh and only slightly noticeable.
How large is it?
The photo in my post makes it look a bit bigger than it actually is, but it's a bit shorter and a bit wider than an average smartphone. The screen is 4.3" with a 4:3 aspect ratio so it's a bit wider than I'm used to (which I love since horizontal pixels have been stolen from us on mobile lol). The smaller screen is mostly made up for by not having an on-screen keyboard take up 1/3 of it. Approx dimensions (with case) are a bit under 6 inches tall, 3.5 inches wide, and 1/4 inch thick.
is Battery life better than on a normal smartphone?
Depends how you use it. Its battery is small for a smartphone (3000 mAh), but the eink display makes up for that. I can get a full day of heavy use out of it, plus plenty to spare. The less the screen has to refresh / change, the longer the battery lasts.
BTW there are other good minimal launchers for Android
I switched to NeatLauncher on this one. It's like the stock Minimal Launcher but better in every way.
PS: do get the case asap
I 3D printed one last week. Still waiting on the screen protectors to get here, but this homemade case seems like it'll do about as well as the OEM one.
Thank you so much, I couldn't have asked for more!
Phone for light or quick stuff, Kobo for longer stuff
Still rocking an old nook simple touch with glow light. It reads epubs which is all I need. I prefer not to read long form stuff on an LCD.
Both.
eBook reader for when I'm in the middle of a series or something, when I can sit and read.
Phone for on-the-go, or if I randomly feel like reading.
Bonus: tablet for any comics/manta/etc.