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Comment by loloquwowndueo | Hacker News Reader

Which ebook reader works well with standard ebooks in 2025?

(More concretely my reader is a 2nd-gen kindle which is basically useless these days and I’d love an idea of something that can display standard ebooks with all their advanced formatting)

Thanks!

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I read on an old Kobo, using Kepub files. Their Kepub renderer is quite good.

I think Kindle's renderer hasn't changed significantly for many years, and it had always been pretty bad. I always say that Kindle seems to have been created by people who hate books.

The best renderer around is iBooks on an iPad, which as far as I can tell uses an up-to-date Webkit.

Thanks! I don’t like reading on a backlit screen (hurts the eyes) so iPad is a no-go, but a kobo would probably work!

Kobo Libra 2 is a great e-reader. Works well one-handed (screen rotates for left/right hands), has buttons for page turns. Integrates with Overdrive (what Libby uses). Drawbacks are Kobo's bookstore is weaker than Amazon/Apple. Screen is also not flush which means some dust can collect in the recess.

I'd suggest KOReader, on various devices, as the best renderer and interface.

I read standard .epub files with KOReader on my Kobo Aura H2O. It's faster, nicer-looking, and more customizable than the stock reader, and the installation instructions were complete, correct, and easy to follow.

I also use a Kobo and occasionally an iPad. Do you know if it's possible to sync progress between the two.

I've been meaning to try calibre-web, but I'm doubtful iBooks will support OPDS.

A note for Kobo users: a lot of us (myself included) use Calibre to manage and upload our ebooks. Something about Calibre messes up Kepub files and strips out a lot of the formatting (including the book’s cover).

If I want to appreciate a nice Kepub from Standard Ebooks, I upload it directly to the Kobo.

A Kobo would be a great choice. I use a Kobo Libra 2 and love it a lot more than my old Kindle Paperwhite that got stolen: https://gl.kobobooks.com/products/kobo-libra-2 The Kobo Sage is also good because it has an 8" screen.

Standard eBooks offers kepub format for Kobo devices and files, they use their advanced Webkit-based renderer: https://standardebooks.org/help/how-to-use-our-ebooks#kobo-f...

What did you do with purchased books you had in your kindle? Rebuy them? Just “let them go”?

Thanks for the recommendation!

Fortunately, I had them backed up to a cloud folder. I remember almost deciding not to go to the trouble to back them up, but isn't that how it always works with backups? The Kobo also works with epub.

I recently purchased a Pocketbook Era. It is pretty much the perfect device for me - supports open standards and does not require any cloud account signups to start using it. It is not hostile to the user, 3rd party applications such as Koreader can be simply dropped in and they appear in the menus without any shenanigans like jailbreaking or custom launchers needed.

In my ideal world all devices would be like this.

Piggybacking: for computers, what is a good epub viewer?

What I'm personally looking for:

- Linux and/or OS X

- No ‘import’ requirement (a viewer, not a collection manager)

- Single page or continuous (no forced double spread)

- No required animations

- At least basic control over font size, spacing, margins.

- Keyboard navigation (at least next/previous page)

OS X: FB Reader

Alexandria.

For Linux, Foliate is very nice.

That’s calibre viewer, but it may require some customization to get something nice. Foliate is ok, but it’s a library. i’d say that’s OK because epub is a zip file and you need to extract it to read it.

Apple Books on macOS is pretty nice

Check out Foliate, it's a really nice reader and Standard Ebooks display quite nicely using Foliate IMO.

Zathura is nice. Has vim bindings and a minimal UI.

KOReader for Kindle? https://github.com/koreader/koreader

It does a good job of modernising old Kindles.

For Android, Moon Reader Pro.

Unmatched UI tweaking features which make reading a pleasure. Syncs bookmarks with cloud services, thus across different devices.

My Kindle is 8 years old and works excellent with standard ebooks. I think you can select any device that you prefer and it will be good.

Oh so you have one of the new Kindles!!

For reference my gen 2 kindle is 16 years old.

You are not alone. I know my partner is going to hate it when their antique reader dies and they will need to deal with a touch screen.

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