I just set this up on my Kobo Clara and Forma (both from 2018). I'm very happy with it so far! For anyone that wants details: The installation was super easy. I used the semi-automated method...
KOReader is a document viewer for E Ink devices. Supported fileformats include EPUB, PDF, DjVu, XPS, CBT, CBZ, FB2, PDB, TXT, HTML, RTF, CHM, DOC, MOBI and ZIP files. It’s available for Kindle, Kobo, PocketBook, Android and desktop Linux.
I just set this up on my Kobo Clara and Forma (both from 2018). I'm very happy with it so far!
For anyone that wants details:
The installation was super easy. I used the semi-automated method detailed here which basically has you download a specific zip file, plug in the device to your computer, and then run a script which sets everything up. Took like, maybe two minutes per device?
I also have an old 2011 4th gen Kindle that Amazon has officially disavowed. I was going to try KOReader out on it just to see how it would work, but I got to the significantly more complicated Kindle install instructions and decided against it (I wouldn't actually use it anyway as the device's battery is shot).
Anyway, once installed, the Kobo will still boot into its regular interface, but there's an extra button at the bottom that can get you into KOReader. Once you're in KOReader it stays there even between sleeps, going back to the Kobo menu only if you reboot. KOReader can control your WiFi and backlight and whatnot directly, and it automatically rotated the screen when I flipped my Forma, so it's easy to just "live" in KOReader mode nearly all of the time on the device. I don't feel limited by it at all.
The zip file used for the automated install method that I did is a little out of date, so once it's up and running, you have to tell KOReader to update itself. The hiccup here is that it kept saying that it couldn't reach the server despite my WiFi being on and active, but there's an option to change the download server so I did that and it went through without a hitch.
Vanilla KOReader follows the Calibre method of doing things in that it's very powerful, very customizable and extensible, but not especially pretty or user friendly. After using vanilla for a bit, I installed the SimpleUI plugin which does exactly what I want and makes the device look better.
I also didn't love the built-in dictionary choices you can use (and they were also giving me download errors), so I grabbed the English one from here and simply loaded it on via USB. The site makes it look like you have to pay, but that's only for language-to-language dictionaries. Single language dictionaries are free. Just make sure you download the StarDict version, not the Kobo one, as StarDict is what KOReader uses.
It's also worth noting that KOReader won't de-DRM books for you, so it can't read the books you download from Kobo directly. Instead, you have to sideload them. This is easily doable via USB, though it's also supported by a lot of the self-hosted libraries out there (e.g. BookOrbit, Grimmory, Kavita). I personally use BookFusion which is paid, closed-source, and not self-hosted, but it still works great. Only downside is that browsing my library isn't done natively via KOReader but via a pop-up from a menu option, but I honestly don't really browse my library on an ereader much anyway and instead simply use it for reading.
For that, KOReader works flawlessly, and the plugin keeps everything synced so I can pick up a book right where I left off on any device.
I'm excited that I resurrected my two old ereaders, because now with three total, each one can live in its own specific place around my house where I'm likely to read (couch, desk, bed). This is going to sound super lazy of me, but I'm genuinely going to get more reading done because there are times that I'll park it someplace intending to read, realize I don't have my ereader with me, and just like, do something else instead rather than getting up and grabbing it.
Also, sometimes my dog parks it on top of/beside me before my lack-of-ereader realization occurs, and I can't ask him to move -- not when he's already so cozy and comfortable. So, having a device already chilling in the places I spend my time will be a nice quality of life improvement.
Anyway, if anyone else uses KOReader, I'd love to hear your experiences as well as any tips and tricks. I'm only just dipping my toe in the water right now, but the KOReader lake clearly goes much, much deeper. I'm also curious as to how it fares on a Kindle versus a Kobo, since I know Amazon locks those down a lot more.
Can I ask - what do you like about KOReader? What makes it worth going through all the work to get it installed and set up instead of just using the default kobo? I have a kobo and have never had...
Can I ask - what do you like about KOReader? What makes it worth going through all the work to get it installed and set up instead of just using the default kobo?
I have a kobo and have never had any real complaints with the interface but now I’m wondering if it’s just all I’ve ever known…?
If you're in the Kobo ecosystem and happy with it, then KOReader doesn't really have anything to offer. In fact, unless you've already de-DRMed your library, it won't do anything but add friction....
If you're in the Kobo ecosystem and happy with it, then KOReader doesn't really have anything to offer. In fact, unless you've already de-DRMed your library, it won't do anything but add friction.
Personally, I never liked the fact that my DRM-free ebooks from places like Project Gutenberg and Humble Bundle weren't ever going to be integrated in my library the same way as stuff I'd bought through Kobo. I also read on a variety of different devices in different settings, so cloud syncing them was essential for me, but Kobo will only do that for the books they sell.
As such, as my library grew, and I got more and more books from places other than Kobo, I ended up seeking out a platform (the aforementioned BookFusion) that let me upload all of my books and have them live under one roof with equal treatment.
The main downside to doing this was that I couldn't access BookFusion on my Kobo devices directly. KOReader is what lets me do that now. It's "worth it" in the sense that I swapped out the Kobo ecosystem for BookFusion.
So, its utility is really only for people who manage their own library of books.
Ironically, I still buy a lot of books through Kobo, so my workflow now looks like:
Buy book from Kobo > de-DRM it > upload it to BookFusion > download it back to my Kobo through KOReader. Full circle!
Roundabout and complicated? Yes. Worth it because I can do that just as easily for a book I bought as one I got off of Standard Ebooks? Absolutely. The special sauce is having my ENTIRE library under one roof getting all the perks and features, rather than only some of the books.
I should also add that, with any bring-your-own-media setup like KOReader, there's a huge but mostly unspoken understory that the service is usually excellent for people who pirate their media. Something like BookFusion/KOReader will never advertise this, and a lot of the people who do use it that way won't necessarily say that openly, but it's the truth of the matter. I think that's a big thing that makes it "worth it" for a lot of people as well.
I'm not saying this as a wink-wink-nudge-nudge "I'm actually a pirate" endorsement, by the way. In fact, I'm doing this on hard mode by insisting on actually buying books I could more quickly and easily download for free.
(not the original commenter but) Great explanation, and the cloud syncing of non-Kobo books is definitely an advantage in your case. As someone who both buys and pirates a large amount of books,...
(not the original commenter but) Great explanation, and the cloud syncing of non-Kobo books is definitely an advantage in your case.
I never liked the fact that my DRM-free ebooks from places like Project Gutenberg and Humble Bundle weren't ever going to be integrated in my library the same way as stuff I'd bought through Kobo.
As someone who both buys and pirates a large amount of books, I'm curious what you mean by integration here exactly. I use a Kobo with standard software, and adding DRM-free books to it make them appear as part of my library in essentially the same way as purchased books. If you convert them to Kobo EPUBs (with tools like Kepubify or Calibre which should convert them on the fly when transferring) they will have the additional features like time tracking and adaptive page counts.
This could not come at a more relevant time for me! I've been getting back into using an ereader and using KOReader. I have a jailbroken kindle paperwhite that's ~10 years old now that I intended...
This could not come at a more relevant time for me! I've been getting back into using an ereader and using KOReader. I have a jailbroken kindle paperwhite that's ~10 years old now that I intended to use KOReader on but I never really got used to the interface.
It's taken a fair bit of work, but I finally have a setup I can enjoy using. I set up calibre web automated so I can just drag and drop books into it to convert them and then download them from KOReader later. I know it's silly, but actually having to go grab the device and a micro usb cable was just enough friction to make me not bother. This way I just add books to calibre whenever I find one of interest, and then can browse that library from the ereader.
I'll have to take a look at that SimpleUI plugin, as that's still a minor pain point. At the end of the day, though, it's not like I'm looking at the UI while reading, so it doesn't matter too much.
I just set this up on my Kobo Clara and Forma (both from 2018). I'm very happy with it so far!
For anyone that wants details:
The installation was super easy. I used the semi-automated method detailed here which basically has you download a specific zip file, plug in the device to your computer, and then run a script which sets everything up. Took like, maybe two minutes per device?
I also have an old 2011 4th gen Kindle that Amazon has officially disavowed. I was going to try KOReader out on it just to see how it would work, but I got to the significantly more complicated Kindle install instructions and decided against it (I wouldn't actually use it anyway as the device's battery is shot).
Anyway, once installed, the Kobo will still boot into its regular interface, but there's an extra button at the bottom that can get you into KOReader. Once you're in KOReader it stays there even between sleeps, going back to the Kobo menu only if you reboot. KOReader can control your WiFi and backlight and whatnot directly, and it automatically rotated the screen when I flipped my Forma, so it's easy to just "live" in KOReader mode nearly all of the time on the device. I don't feel limited by it at all.
The zip file used for the automated install method that I did is a little out of date, so once it's up and running, you have to tell KOReader to update itself. The hiccup here is that it kept saying that it couldn't reach the server despite my WiFi being on and active, but there's an option to change the download server so I did that and it went through without a hitch.
Vanilla KOReader follows the Calibre method of doing things in that it's very powerful, very customizable and extensible, but not especially pretty or user friendly. After using vanilla for a bit, I installed the SimpleUI plugin which does exactly what I want and makes the device look better.
I also didn't love the built-in dictionary choices you can use (and they were also giving me download errors), so I grabbed the English one from here and simply loaded it on via USB. The site makes it look like you have to pay, but that's only for language-to-language dictionaries. Single language dictionaries are free. Just make sure you download the StarDict version, not the Kobo one, as StarDict is what KOReader uses.
It's also worth noting that KOReader won't de-DRM books for you, so it can't read the books you download from Kobo directly. Instead, you have to sideload them. This is easily doable via USB, though it's also supported by a lot of the self-hosted libraries out there (e.g. BookOrbit, Grimmory, Kavita). I personally use BookFusion which is paid, closed-source, and not self-hosted, but it still works great. Only downside is that browsing my library isn't done natively via KOReader but via a pop-up from a menu option, but I honestly don't really browse my library on an ereader much anyway and instead simply use it for reading.
For that, KOReader works flawlessly, and the plugin keeps everything synced so I can pick up a book right where I left off on any device.
I'm excited that I resurrected my two old ereaders, because now with three total, each one can live in its own specific place around my house where I'm likely to read (couch, desk, bed). This is going to sound super lazy of me, but I'm genuinely going to get more reading done because there are times that I'll park it someplace intending to read, realize I don't have my ereader with me, and just like, do something else instead rather than getting up and grabbing it.
Also, sometimes my dog parks it on top of/beside me before my lack-of-ereader realization occurs, and I can't ask him to move -- not when he's already so cozy and comfortable. So, having a device already chilling in the places I spend my time will be a nice quality of life improvement.
Anyway, if anyone else uses KOReader, I'd love to hear your experiences as well as any tips and tricks. I'm only just dipping my toe in the water right now, but the KOReader lake clearly goes much, much deeper. I'm also curious as to how it fares on a Kindle versus a Kobo, since I know Amazon locks those down a lot more.
Can I ask - what do you like about KOReader? What makes it worth going through all the work to get it installed and set up instead of just using the default kobo?
I have a kobo and have never had any real complaints with the interface but now I’m wondering if it’s just all I’ve ever known…?
If you're in the Kobo ecosystem and happy with it, then KOReader doesn't really have anything to offer. In fact, unless you've already de-DRMed your library, it won't do anything but add friction.
Personally, I never liked the fact that my DRM-free ebooks from places like Project Gutenberg and Humble Bundle weren't ever going to be integrated in my library the same way as stuff I'd bought through Kobo. I also read on a variety of different devices in different settings, so cloud syncing them was essential for me, but Kobo will only do that for the books they sell.
As such, as my library grew, and I got more and more books from places other than Kobo, I ended up seeking out a platform (the aforementioned BookFusion) that let me upload all of my books and have them live under one roof with equal treatment.
The main downside to doing this was that I couldn't access BookFusion on my Kobo devices directly. KOReader is what lets me do that now. It's "worth it" in the sense that I swapped out the Kobo ecosystem for BookFusion.
So, its utility is really only for people who manage their own library of books.
Ironically, I still buy a lot of books through Kobo, so my workflow now looks like:
Buy book from Kobo > de-DRM it > upload it to BookFusion > download it back to my Kobo through KOReader. Full circle!
Roundabout and complicated? Yes. Worth it because I can do that just as easily for a book I bought as one I got off of Standard Ebooks? Absolutely. The special sauce is having my ENTIRE library under one roof getting all the perks and features, rather than only some of the books.
I should also add that, with any bring-your-own-media setup like KOReader, there's a huge but mostly unspoken understory that the service is usually excellent for people who pirate their media. Something like BookFusion/KOReader will never advertise this, and a lot of the people who do use it that way won't necessarily say that openly, but it's the truth of the matter. I think that's a big thing that makes it "worth it" for a lot of people as well.
I'm not saying this as a wink-wink-nudge-nudge "I'm actually a pirate" endorsement, by the way. In fact, I'm doing this on hard mode by insisting on actually buying books I could more quickly and easily download for free.
(not the original commenter but) Great explanation, and the cloud syncing of non-Kobo books is definitely an advantage in your case.
As someone who both buys and pirates a large amount of books, I'm curious what you mean by integration here exactly. I use a Kobo with standard software, and adding DRM-free books to it make them appear as part of my library in essentially the same way as purchased books. If you convert them to Kobo EPUBs (with tools like Kepubify or Calibre which should convert them on the fly when transferring) they will have the additional features like time tracking and adaptive page counts.
This could not come at a more relevant time for me! I've been getting back into using an ereader and using KOReader. I have a jailbroken kindle paperwhite that's ~10 years old now that I intended to use KOReader on but I never really got used to the interface.
It's taken a fair bit of work, but I finally have a setup I can enjoy using. I set up calibre web automated so I can just drag and drop books into it to convert them and then download them from KOReader later. I know it's silly, but actually having to go grab the device and a micro usb cable was just enough friction to make me not bother. This way I just add books to calibre whenever I find one of interest, and then can browse that library from the ereader.
I'll have to take a look at that SimpleUI plugin, as that's still a minor pain point. At the end of the day, though, it's not like I'm looking at the UI while reading, so it doesn't matter too much.