8 ms·

I really like that this exists, but I found the menus and UI to be rather non-intuitive. My main use case was to sync reading progress between my Kobo and my iP

by gejose 2mo ago

I really like that this exists, but I found the menus and UI to be rather non-intuitive. My main use case was to sync reading progress between my Kobo and my iPhone. I was able to do this using KOReader on the Kobo & the Readest app[1] on iPhone (also open source). Ultimately I decided to get rid of KOReader because it felt a bit laggy. The gestures (eg: swiping up on the left side to increase frontlight brightness) didn't work well either. I eneded up writing my own software to sync progress from Kobo to a KOReader Sync server[2] which my Readest app also connects to (love that unlike the Kindle, the Kobo is quite an open system). You can even set it up so you can SSH into it[3]. [1] https://github.com/readest/readest https://github.com/readest/readest [2] https://github.com/koreader/koreader-sync-server https://github.com/koreader/koreader-sync-server [3] https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=254214 https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=254214

Lalabadie 2mo ago
I really appreciate that KOReader is an option. On my older Kindle (first-gen Paperwhite), the default reading experience had declined until page turns take several seconds. Firmware update and factory reset wouldn't fix it. Using the default reader just wasn't a viable scenario. I jailbroke it, launched KOReader, and it's like I have a new e-reader. The amount of customizability gets kind of in the way, but once it's set up I don't really think about it from one month to the next. I also didn't feel the need to upgrade my original install either.
- Thews 2mo ago
  Amazon bricked the first gen paperwhite, so I went on a similar journey. I started out making a single rust app on it, then went down the rabbit hole of trying to replace the shell/launcher. https://github.com/justinledwards/ferrink-home-assistant https://github.com/justinledwards/ferrink-home-assistant and "ferrink" is the launcher. It is pretty snappy on the paperwhite for what it is.
InsideOutSanta 2mo ago
I tried to set up KOReader multiple times and always got stuck figuring out where all the settings are and how exactly they work. It seems very complete, but I'm just too dumb to actually use it.
- mrandish 2mo ago
  I went through the same on my 10-inch Android tablet. The key is just sticking with it long enough to get it set up for your needs and prefs. I'm glad I did because it's really great. While the docs are quite good, if you get stuck just use an LLM. Once you get it configged, you won't be using the UI much. KOR is both complete and very capable. It can very probably do everything you'll ever want but, as many people observe, the UI is just a bit weird. That's not to say the UI is broken or inconsistent, its simply that its approach is a little different than you'd expect. Once I got familiar with the main flow of the UI, it hasn't been an issue for my daily-use needs. If you care about flexibility, control, features and having it "your way", I think it's well worth the one-time effort to set up. It's also extensible with plug-ins and the UI is entirely user-moddable with Lua scripts. I use several found here: https://github.com/sebdelsol/KOReader.patches https://github.com/sebdelsol/KOReader.patches. (Edit to add a few other collections of mods I've seen recommended: https://github.com/SeriousHornet/KOReader.patches https://github.com/SeriousHornet/KOReader.patches, https://github.com/joshuacant/KOReader.patches/tree/main https://github.com/joshuacant/KOReader.patches/tree/main, https://github.com/joshuacant/KOReader.patches/tree/main https://github.com/joshuacant/KOReader.patches/tree/main.
- jbl0ndie 2mo ago
  There's a search function hidden near the help menu. That was handy whenever I lost a menu item, which was frequently. I do like it now it's set up and it accurately reports the battery level, unlike the Kobo reader which says 40% then 0%.
BoingBoomTschak 2mo ago
https://github.com/baskerville/plato https://github.com/baskerville/plato might interest you. I've yet to try it, personally.
j45 2mo ago
It's good to have options. Most software has compromises. KOReader seems to have functionality in one place in one reader app that other e-reader apps don't.
WhyNotHugo 2mo ago
I also found all existing e-reader software to be lacking, and all I really wanted was a basic reader. I ended up writing my own with Rust and MyPDF (the latter doing all the heavy loading). The hardware is great, but the software is pretty lacking. Apparently a lot of the tools out there are from folks in similar situation: had the hardware, but the software to drive it was lacking.
ajot 2mo ago
I use the Project:Title[1] addon, I think someone else here on HN suggested it a few months ago. The only catch is that you need to update it manually each time after updating KOReader [1] https://github.com/joshuacant/ProjectTitle https://github.com/joshuacant/ProjectTitle
- nonninz 2mo ago
  Looks pretty nice, thanks I'll check this out. I was a bit dumbfounded by the original KoReader browsing UI, I would have expected something more organized, but I thought "maybe it's just a setting I haven't discovered yet". It looks like I need one of those instead. Will do when I have some time. Does this support collating books of the same series together?
  - ajot 2mo ago
    I think it does if the books are all in a same, unique folder. If they are scattered around your main/home books directory, it doesn't
Infiniti20 2mo ago
Would you consider publishing this software?
- gejose 2mo ago
  Will definitely consider this after I clean things up. Note that it's completely vibe coded though.

by gejose 2mo ago

Lalabadie 2mo ago

I really appreciate that KOReader is an option. On my older Kindle (first-gen Paperwhite), the default reading experience had declined until page turns take several seconds. Firmware update and factory reset wouldn't fix it. Using the default reader just wasn't a viable scenario. I jailbroke it, launched KOReader, and it's like I have a new e-reader. The amount of customizability gets kind of in the way, but once it's set up I don't really think about it from one month to the next. I also didn't feel the need to upgrade my original install either.

Thews 2mo ago
Amazon bricked the first gen paperwhite, so I went on a similar journey. I started out making a single rust app on it, then went down the rabbit hole of trying to replace the shell/launcher. https://github.com/justinledwards/ferrink-home-assistant https://github.com/justinledwards/ferrink-home-assistant and "ferrink" is the launcher. It is pretty snappy on the paperwhite for what it is.

InsideOutSanta 2mo ago

I tried to set up KOReader multiple times and always got stuck figuring out where all the settings are and how exactly they work. It seems very complete, but I'm just too dumb to actually use it.

mrandish 2mo ago
I went through the same on my 10-inch Android tablet. The key is just sticking with it long enough to get it set up for your needs and prefs. I'm glad I did because it's really great. While the docs are quite good, if you get stuck just use an LLM. Once you get it configged, you won't be using the UI much. KOR is both complete and very capable. It can very probably do everything you'll ever want but, as many people observe, the UI is just a bit weird. That's not to say the UI is broken or inconsistent, its simply that its approach is a little different than you'd expect. Once I got familiar with the main flow of the UI, it hasn't been an issue for my daily-use needs. If you care about flexibility, control, features and having it "your way", I think it's well worth the one-time effort to set up. It's also extensible with plug-ins and the UI is entirely user-moddable with Lua scripts. I use several found here: https://github.com/sebdelsol/KOReader.patches https://github.com/sebdelsol/KOReader.patches. (Edit to add a few other collections of mods I've seen recommended: https://github.com/SeriousHornet/KOReader.patches https://github.com/SeriousHornet/KOReader.patches, https://github.com/joshuacant/KOReader.patches/tree/main https://github.com/joshuacant/KOReader.patches/tree/main, https://github.com/joshuacant/KOReader.patches/tree/main https://github.com/joshuacant/KOReader.patches/tree/main.
jbl0ndie 2mo ago
There's a search function hidden near the help menu. That was handy whenever I lost a menu item, which was frequently. I do like it now it's set up and it accurately reports the battery level, unlike the Kobo reader which says 40% then 0%.

BoingBoomTschak 2mo ago

https://github.com/baskerville/plato https://github.com/baskerville/plato might interest you. I've yet to try it, personally.

j45 2mo ago

It's good to have options. Most software has compromises. KOReader seems to have functionality in one place in one reader app that other e-reader apps don't.

WhyNotHugo 2mo ago

I also found all existing e-reader software to be lacking, and all I really wanted was a basic reader. I ended up writing my own with Rust and MyPDF (the latter doing all the heavy loading). The hardware is great, but the software is pretty lacking. Apparently a lot of the tools out there are from folks in similar situation: had the hardware, but the software to drive it was lacking.

ajot 2mo ago

I use the Project:Title[1] addon, I think someone else here on HN suggested it a few months ago. The only catch is that you need to update it manually each time after updating KOReader [1] https://github.com/joshuacant/ProjectTitle https://github.com/joshuacant/ProjectTitle

nonninz 2mo ago
Looks pretty nice, thanks I'll check this out. I was a bit dumbfounded by the original KoReader browsing UI, I would have expected something more organized, but I thought "maybe it's just a setting I haven't discovered yet". It looks like I need one of those instead. Will do when I have some time. Does this support collating books of the same series together?
- ajot 2mo ago
  I think it does if the books are all in a same, unique folder. If they are scattered around your main/home books directory, it doesn't

Infiniti20 2mo ago

Would you consider publishing this software?

gejose 2mo ago
Will definitely consider this after I clean things up. Note that it's completely vibe coded though.