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I really do not like brightness of the screen. Last year I found out how cool paperbacks are (the smaller ones) as I can put them in my pockets. Been reading more in 2025 than i did in the last decade i feel like.
I like the feeling of actually holding knowledge in your bare hands (given you can read and understand the language). Its so cool!
I prefer to read by reflected light, not emitted light. I used to prefer real books (and I do still throughly enjoy them), but I've grown used to the creature comforts like waterproofness, annotations, highlighting, searching, and sheer data density of an ebook reader packed with more books than I could read in a few years. Granted I also highlighted and annotated any books I owned with reckless abandon, but the data hoarder in me loves the other aspects even more. Regarding data density, there is nothing worse than carting along a massive book while traveling only to finish it before you even arrive. If it was a book I didn't mind leaving behind that might be okay, but now I've got to find a new book for the trip home too. I've tried to use my phone to read, but it's uncomfortable given the small size and intense light. Also, reading in full sun on your phone will absolutely cook the internals and drain you battery, not great for something I might rely on for emergencies. So for me I read: new (usually physical) books from Indy authors or graphic heavy books (like baudy poetry from the renn-fest, comic books/graphic novels), previously loved books from thrift stores and used book shops (I absolutely love finding books in which people have left notes in the cover and margins), ebooks read on a cheap e-reader of popular stuff from disreputable sources, and listening to audiobooks from downright shady sources or podcasts on my phone.
Yep.
I use a PDF reader and turn the phone sideways.
I do! Lots of people responding here, but I haven't seen Readera suggested. (Maybe I didn't read far enough) Ive used moon reader and paid for it, but it was really slow op bring some files last time I tried, so I went looking for something else. I prefer to get epub files, pdfs don't resize to my screen. .mobi works too if you want to use the Kindle app. I also really like Libby, but didn't use their built in reader, I would send them to my Kindle app on my phone.
Yes. I use Kindle or Moon Reader +, depending on whether or not I can easily get it outside Amazon's ecosystem. Actual ebook readers are vastly superior to using a browser or PDF.
Mostly I use my phone because it's always right there. I'll spend my lunch break getting another handful of pages through my current book while eating.
I read the entire Dune series on my phone, laying on my belly, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I did it with an app called eBoox, which reads different formats, making it very practical.
My phone screen is too small. I have a separate, larger, e-ink screen for that.
I read them in the browser from the Gutenberg Project.
Yes. I've got a Kobo reader but mostly use the Kobo phone app to read the books I buy there. For my own files, eg from Project Gutenberg, I use ReadEra Premium, which is superior to the Kobo app. It can handle just about any format, including .mobi, which not even Amazon's Kindle app does now. I like it a lot.
Finally, there's Libby, the library app. I use it mainly to read the New Yorker magazine. You need to belong to a library first. Sign up to Libby and you can borrow from the library's collection. Mine allows you to borrow a book for two weeks, so I mainly stick to magazines.
I'm so used to reading on my phone now that I find print books cumbersome and limiting - I always have half a dozen books on the go and can't imagine carting around that many books.
I read a little on my Palm Pilot, then did it on my phone. Switched to an e-ink reader as soon ad it was practical. Of all the devices I've used, phones were by far the less comfortable.
Yes l just started today also l am using librera
I could not imagine reading longer texts on my phone. I always send everything to my iPad and even then, screens are anti-relaxing to me. E-paper is fine but I prefer real books. Alternatively audio books for long car rides but that’s usually reserved for music and podcasts.
My partner does and I have no idea how they stand it, for ebooks, my library works with my kobo so it's either that or epubs. I can do a tablet for ebooks but I find the phone way too small.
Libby is supported by a bunch of library systems on android, used KOReader for ebooks on android too.
No, the screen is too small.
ProseReader is pretty good
Yes.
Project Gutenberg website. They also have files you can download, but I prefer using the website.
Get a Kobo. They're awesome for reading. They feel like paper, like you're reading a real book. And it's pretty simple to sideload books. Plus you only have to charge them every few weeks, up to a month sometimes.
That's step 2. - They want to get into reading.
Step 1 is to do it the cheapest way possible. Which means either real books or on a device they already have.
Then if they find they enjoy it they can/should start spending some money on hardware/software to enhance the experience.
But there's no reason for them to spend any money on tech until they know reading recreationally is for them.
Get a used kobo. An aura or h2o can be had for $50 or less on eBay and will do all that you need, has a battery you can actually replace, and has an active 3rd party software community if you find the default (perfectly good) software lacking.
Plus one for Kobo, mine is almost 10yo and still going strong. Plenty of storage even for long vacations. My partner uses a Kindle and rages against its limitations 😅
If you read in any other languages, the phone is great. I make the type big to avoid eyestrain, and i have a couple of dictionaries installed for unfamiliar words. It’s so much faster than paper dictionaries - i don’t even lose my page.
For books in English: paper.
Moon Reader+ and Calibre. (There are some other suggestions for obtaining material listed that are great). I read 3-4 books a week, sometimes more.
Moon Reader+ has been my epub reader for many years and it's worth the few bucks to buy. The free version is perfectly adequate if you don't want to read pdf files. I don't read on a phone, but prefer a tablet with the larger screen, but have used it on a phone without too much discomfort when my tablet died.
Same here. I've used this app for over a decade now. I'm just now realizing it.
I've used moon+ reader pro for years. Maybe even since it's release. (Admittedly I don't use it as much anymore as I prefer eink devices for reading but am stuck with a kindle for now)
The tons of customization options was my biggest draw. plenty of font/layout and color options to help find what works best for you and your device.
I also love and use calibre, but I'm not sure it's needed by OP at this time. It doesn't sound like they've got a large collection of books so I think it would just be overkill and depending on their tech level might turn them off.
It is a bit of eye strain (pixel 9a) However, I have tried with koreader which kinda makes it like a ebook, also on a tablet. It's still an eye strain. I have however on occasion use librerareader and used the text to speech to 'listen' to ebooks.
I use an ereader that runs googke text to speach which makes any book an audiobook. I listen to about a book a day.
Absolutely! I use the Libby app and a regular library card. They link up so you can read all the ebooks in your library system for free, just like checking a regular book out. Sometimes you have to wait for a popular book, which I usually try to appreciate as a rare exercise in patience but can be annoying of course. But it's actually free, no adds, simple to use.
Anna's Archive or libgen for downloading epub, Librera Pro from F-Droid for reading.
PDF sucks, epub let's you configure everything like font, font size, space between lines and alignment to the left.
I pretty much prefer reading on my phone than physical book.
No, that's why I bought a Kobo last year and it's been great. The phone is for audiobooks.
I always said I'd never do ebooks, mostly because of the screen. Then came eink. I resisted for years but finally got a kobo last year and I fucking love it.
No more carrying 5 paperbacks on a trip, just the kobo with 20+ books queued up and ready to go. Plus, I can read in the dark without disturbing the spouse with the backlight on 1%
I begrudgingly have been won over.
But yeah, screw books on phones with LCD/OLED... eInk only.
When I use/d my phone for reading I always go high contrast - Black background and bright orange text.
Whether LCD or OLED I find that color combo works great for legibility while keeping screen brightness low in the dark (to reduce eye strain) and not having to set brightness as high during the day outdoors (preventing the screen from eating the battery as quickly.)
Moon+ reader as an app for reading on your phone. I've had it on every device since my Galaxy S. And the app is still maintained, receiving regular updates. Nice to be able to read a couple of pages when standing in line somewhere instead of mindlessly scrolling.
I find reading on my phone to be far easier than on paper due to dyslexia.
I use Libera FD, it's a combination eBook, PDF, document viewer that can scan your docs and form fit them to your desired font, size, and density.
As for getting books, annas-archive is my new best friend. I grab every weird fiction and horror I can get my hands on.
There are plenty of apps that can open EPUB files (the format most digital books come in). I use one of those.
I enjoy reading on my phone when other people are around, for instance during lunch at work or at a park or something. If I read a normal dead tree book, I get people asking me what it is I'm reading, what it's about, WHY I'm reading, and so on. If I read on my phone, I'm just another Standard Phone Zombie and can be ignored.
Ha ha, that reminds me of some of the performative reading I did as a teen - ostentatiously reading a "cool" or difficult book to impress people. The joke was on me when I started reading War and Peace. I got swept away by it, loved it, and was condemned to carrying around this massive paperback until I'd finished it.
THAT will teach you.
No, I read books on paper.
I don't. I've tried, but I can't. Between the size, the distractions, and the feeling that it's the wrong device somehow, I just can't.
A tablet is slightly better, but an eink reader is the best hardware; especially with .epub or .mobi files where possible. Google Play is a decent source, but there are DRM-free ebook sources that are better; and Libby (or any library app) is the best source.
I used to before I got my ereader. IMO the way to do it somewhat comfortably is, get an app that lets you display epub files in dark mode (light text on black background), and turn the brightness down until the text is visible but doesn't strain your eyes. Unfortunately PDFs do not play nice with any reader software so you're going to want to look for other formats, or convert them and put up with conversion artifacts.