Ask Lemmy

I use the Jellyfin app, I get books from Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/ and https://www.smashwords.com/

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.

Yes.

Project Gutenberg website. They also have files you can download, but I prefer using the website.

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, that's why I bought a Kobo last year and it's been great. The phone is for audiobooks.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Yep.

I use a PDF reader and turn the phone sideways.

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.

yeah i occasionally do this with epubs from shadow libraries. it's not foss but i use Lithium (com.faultexception.reader) for it. only works for epub, but it's very lightweight/fast and not privacy invading. there's a pro version but the free one seems to work fine, and i couldn't find any cracked versions. having my volup btn for next page is very useful for one hand reading in mass transit.

My local library uses overdrive for ebooks, which you can check out and either download for kindle, download as epub, or read online in your internet browser. I usually download to an eink reader, but if I'm reading on my phone I use the read in browser option.

Suggestion: if you plan to read on your phone, look in the settings to set the background and text color of whatever app you choose to something that doesn't strain your eyes.

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.

There are plenty of apps that can open EPUB files (the format most digital books come in). I use one of those.

I read them in the browser from the Gutenberg Project.

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 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.

No, the screen is too small.

ProseReader is pretty good

I have an old android tablet that’s too slow to do anything useful, so I repurposed it as an e-book reader. I use Moond Reader to open epub format files.

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.