You know, what I really, really want? A good EPUB/CBZ/PDF viewer. Simple, with scrolling mode that works seamlessly for all three filetypes (yes, including between EPUB chapters), and that doesn’t pretend to be some sort of library or bookmarks system or whatever. It should do that one thing — to show the contents of my ebook — and do it well.
The nearest of that I got was Okular. It would be amazing… if not by a certain little bug, that makes all EPUB/PDF pictures look like arse.
But no, we can’t have that in 2025. Instead we have a bloody book “manager” that was already bloated before the AI bubble, becoming even more bloated so you can ask it what to read next. *sigh*
Koreader maybe? Calibre is intended for library / e-reader device management, the viewer it has is mostly just for a quick preview look and not really intended for actually reading.
I tried it some time ago, and I didn’t like it. Dictionary lookup, Wikipedia lookup, calendar, reading statistics, news downloader, it litters the directory of the file with a subdirectory for “metadata”… too kitchen-sinky.
And as usual, a completely different interface from everything else, that sticks out like a sore thumb, and looks more like something you’d use in a cell phone than in an actual computer. Even Qt plays nicer in GTK DEs and vice versa.
The best one I’ve found was the one Jako³13 recommended, Zathura. Not perfect, but good. But that’s only because Okular is rendering images really bad.
(I guess it’s time I stop being a lazy arse and make my own reader. With blackjack and hookers!)
Have you tried Zathura? It’s a ui-less PDF reader with plugins for a lot of different formats, including the ones you mentioned. All navigation is done via keyboard and once you learn the shortcuts it’s a breeze.
I’m trying it now, based on your recommendation (thank you, by the way!). Had to grab a file from some PPA to enable EPUB support, but it worked. Just Mint things, I guess.
The lack of UI is a bit meh, but I’m okay with it: mouse and keyboard controls work really well. Way better than xreader’s. And unlike Okular, it isn’t ruining the pictures. I’m keeping it, at least until KDE fixes the Okular bug!
That brings me back to the topic. I’ve been using Linux for, like, 15 years? And in Linux nowadays there are lots of options, but they usually boil down to
I don’t need an interface.
Half-working, half-broken. Our alternative is also like this, but the working halves are different, so use both of us together.
I got a kitchen sink~ it plays Merry Christmas, once you send an e-mail through the pipe!
Then I look at my Android phone and it’s the same. And based on what people say about Windows and Mac, it’s the same too. Perhaps I’m being nostalgic, but shouldn’t we (people in general) be rethinking what we want from software?
For example, Calibre. I personally don’t want a library manager, but plenty people do so that’s fine. Which are the features that they expect, that actually improve their experience when reading books? Do they really benefit from plopping an AI system into that? Isn’t this a bit already too outside the scope of what a library manager is supposed to do?
You know, what I really, really want? A good EPUB/CBZ/PDF viewer. Simple, with scrolling mode that works seamlessly for all three filetypes (yes, including between EPUB chapters), and that doesn’t pretend to be some sort of library or bookmarks system or whatever. It should do that one thing — to show the contents of my ebook — and do it well.
The nearest of that I got was Okular. It would be amazing… if not by a certain little bug, that makes all EPUB/PDF pictures look like arse.
But no, we can’t have that in 2025. Instead we have a bloody book “manager” that was already bloated before the AI bubble, becoming even more bloated so you can ask it what to read next. *sigh*
Koreader maybe? Calibre is intended for library / e-reader device management, the viewer it has is mostly just for a quick preview look and not really intended for actually reading.
I tried it some time ago, and I didn’t like it. Dictionary lookup, Wikipedia lookup, calendar, reading statistics, news downloader, it litters the directory of the file with a subdirectory for “metadata”… too kitchen-sinky.
And as usual, a completely different interface from everything else, that sticks out like a sore thumb, and looks more like something you’d use in a cell phone than in an actual computer. Even Qt plays nicer in GTK DEs and vice versa.
The best one I’ve found was the one Jako³13 recommended, Zathura. Not perfect, but good. But that’s only because Okular is rendering images really bad.
(I guess it’s time I stop being a lazy arse and make my own reader. With blackjack and hookers!)
Have you tried Zathura? It’s a ui-less PDF reader with plugins for a lot of different formats, including the ones you mentioned. All navigation is done via keyboard and once you learn the shortcuts it’s a breeze.
I’m trying it now, based on your recommendation (thank you, by the way!). Had to grab a file from some PPA to enable EPUB support, but it worked. Just Mint things, I guess.
The lack of UI is a bit meh, but I’m okay with it: mouse and keyboard controls work really well. Way better than xreader’s. And unlike Okular, it isn’t ruining the pictures. I’m keeping it, at least until KDE fixes the Okular bug!
That brings me back to the topic. I’ve been using Linux for, like, 15 years? And in Linux nowadays there are lots of options, but they usually boil down to
Then I look at my Android phone and it’s the same. And based on what people say about Windows and Mac, it’s the same too. Perhaps I’m being nostalgic, but shouldn’t we (people in general) be rethinking what we want from software?
For example, Calibre. I personally don’t want a library manager, but plenty people do so that’s fine. Which are the features that they expect, that actually improve their experience when reading books? Do they really benefit from plopping an AI system into that? Isn’t this a bit already too outside the scope of what a library manager is supposed to do?