Do you read books on your phone? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago by CarlLandry357@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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If so, how do you do it? Do you use Google Play books or use apps like PDF file readers? I'm only 19 and I'm interested to start my reading hobby. Though I can also grab some books on a close bookstore nearby, I am also interested to do it digitally.

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[-] Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] osanna@thebrainbin.org 1 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] artifex@piefed.social 1 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] Sakurai@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

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 😅

[-] CarlLandry357@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

Kobo? I did a google search and it looked interesting. Thanks for the info. I think I might try that app.

[-] otter@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I think they meant the physical device

https://www.kobo.com/ca/en

They can be a bit pricy if you're young and on a budget.

If you're trying to read on your phone only, I'd recommend these apps:

Readest: The app is on both mobile and desktop, it's a nice experience, and it's free/ open source. I found it to be stable but I've seen comments about bugs: https://github.com/readest/readest
Moon Reader: It's paid / proprietary, but well known and customizable: https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Moon%2B&hl=en-US

As for sourcing the files

see if your library does any digital lending
check out free sources like Project Gutenberg and Internet Archive

Some comments brought up a home server, but you don't really need that if you're starting out with the hobby and it's just for yourself. That's more for managing large libraries of books and access by many users.

[-] osanna@thebrainbin.org 1 points 1 week ago

I did indeed mean a physical kobo. they're great little devices, and pretty much completely repairable.

[-] bmk_cbr_xx@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] BitsAndBites@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

No, that's why I bought a Kobo last year and it's been great. The phone is for audiobooks.

[-] sefra1@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

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.

[-] CathyBikesBook@piefed.zip 0 points 1 week ago

No. I'm on my phone more than enough. When I read books, I read physical hard copy books.

[-] Sakurai@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

That’s my preference too but it’s a privilege a 19yo might not be able to afford on top of their phone bill, unless they have a secondhand bookstore nearby.

[-] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 0 points 1 week ago

Libraries are the GOAT.

[-] Sakurai@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

True. The O.G., if you will.

this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2026

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