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.
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.
My wife does, she went through like 15 of them in 2025.
She just uses the Kindle app on her phone.
I’ve read some, I get tired quite fast though, too much scrolling. An ebook is much more comfortable and then there’s regular books for the full tactile experience.
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.
I really should read it again… 😅
The books I tend to consume on my phone are in the form of audiobooks via Libby from the libraries I have access to. My local library also has Hoopla, but the app feels more clunky and overwhelming and it costs the library more so I try all other options before turning to Hoopla. I do most of my book and manga reading an e-ink android device.
I prefer how text flows on my device’s stock reader more (Neoreader for Onyx/Boox devices), but KOREADER is a very cool project and the community for plugins is phenomenal. It’s available on tons of devices from the big name eink devices (Kindle via modding, Kobo, Pocketbook) to arm linux based gaming handhelds via portmaster. It’s like the rockbox of reading software lol
I also want to bring up the Queer Liberation Library. I don’t know if this is a useful resource for you specifically but it is there. Wait times tend to be longer compared to my more local libraries, but I find it to be a great curation and it’s an invaluble resource for those who need it!
Komikku is my tachiyomi/mihon fork of choice for manga that’s scanlated (or if I can’t bother torrenting), but if I need image dithering I swap to neoreader after downloading.
Congrats on wanting to get into reading more btw! /genuine
For me audiobooks are key. I pour through them when doing mundane tasks, traveling, or just sitting to “read”. They aren’t for everyone, but also don’t let anyone tell you they don’t register the same way as regular reading. They do.
Downsides include resell (you can’t) and people around you not realizing you’re into a book the same as if you had one open. Also, if you zone out it keeps going without you.
I love ‘em though. I was never an avid reader until I got into the audio versions.
I do almost all of my reading on my phone and have for more than a decade. There are many excellent book reading apps, but your source for material will probably limit those options. I prefer books in the ePub format when possible. PDF files also work fairly well, although they are not as convenient to read because they have built-in page breaks that don’t correspond match up with phone screens. Standard ePub and PDF files do not include any DRM (copy protection), although there are variants which do.
If you buy books from Amazon you have to use their Kindle app (unless you use tools to strip the DRM). Borrowing books from your library is a great option, but that will also limit your reader options. Many use OverDrive, which has its own reader. Fortunately Kindle and OverDrive both work pretty well.
Personally, I use various tools to remove the DRM from the eBooks that I buy, then I convert them to ePub. I do believe in authors getting paid for their work, so I don’t share them.
Have you done any DRM stripping recently? I bought books back in my Kindle days that are now trapped there. They made changes last year so you can’t easily transfer files on to your Kindle reader and I think they tightened the DRM too. I tried via Calibre, which used to work but doesn’t any more.
DRM is always a moving target. For a long time I used the free DeDRM tools in combination with Calibre to remove it from Kindle books, but that software is no longer supported. There are several commercial options. The only one I’ve found that has really kept up with the changes is EPubor Ultimate.
When the big change hit, almost nothing worked for a while. EPubor got their DRM-removal working again in a month or so. Since then, I don’t think they’ve ever been more than a week behind in updating their software to deal with the changes.
I hate DRM. I pay for everything I use and feel that I should be treated as a valued customer and not as a probable thief.
Thanks! For me, finding books I’d bought and paid for locked away underlined the stupidity of DRM. If they were print books, I could lend them to people, sell them, give them away. Because they’d belong to me, I bought them. No fuss about intellectual property rights or whatever.
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.
I also use this method. Very easy, no fuss.
There are plenty of apps that can open EPUB files (the format most digital books come in). I use one of those.
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.
No. I’m on my phone more than enough. When I read books, I read physical hard copy books.
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.
Libraries are the GOAT.
True. The O.G., if you will.
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.)
Nice. I also recently added an ebook with some games to play with a standard deck of cards. So I can bring my kobo and a deck of cards since I have some games queued up to learn.
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.
I use an ereader that runs googke text to speach which makes any book an audiobook. I listen to about a book a day.
