If you’ve ever been visiting a site that’s offering free .epub files and wished you could just click the link and immediately start reading – with none of that “open with… ” or “download to you computer first” nonsense – then I’ve found exactly what you want. An eReading app that allows quick and easy EPUB reading, right there in your web browser.
EPUBReader is one of the more recent software only EPUB readers and has grown into a very stable and good looking ebook reader since it’s release. The eReader itself is actually an add-on for the very popular Firefox web browser – for those still using Internet Exploer (IE) this is yet another good reason to change over to Firefox.
Once installed all you have to do is visit any website with DRM free EPUB files (why not try some Charles Dickens or Edgar Allen Poe from my own catalogue) and click on the download button. The book will open right there in the browser/reader for immediate enjoyment.
Reading from a computer monitor is not a comfortable practice for everyone, but for those who don’t mind this it’s certainly a great solution.
Please note: you won’t be able to read any DRM encumbered EPUBs with this eReader – I don’t expect that to ever change while it remains a web browser plugin – so let’s hope more publishers release DRM free ebooks in the future.
The software is in constant development and there’s always new features being added so it’s worth keeping it up-to-date. For more information visit the official website (epubread.com) or to install now jump right over to the EPUBReader Add-on page at Mozilla.
> Reading from a computer monitor is not a comfortable
> practice for everyone, but for those who don’t mind
> this it’s certainly a great solution.
Because this ePub reader is running as an Add-on to Firefox, the “computer monitor” does not just mean desktops. It also means laptops and the newer netbooks with screens down to 10 inches. In other words, wherever Firefox runs at this time: Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
They’re also working on a mobile version of FF codenamed Fennec that will be a serious threat to app stores and should make it easier for developers, who won’t have to write apps for different proprietary devices. Just target the browser.
While other ePub readers don’t yet support MathML in ePub, including Adobe Digital Editions, and some are even struggling with basic CSS support, the EPUBReader takes advantage of the strengths of Firefox. Why re-invent the wheel?
MathML support in ePub? Just add the STIX fonts to Firefox. CSS support? Well, that’s a given in Firefox.
If you have simple, text-only ePubs, most readers do a decent job in rendering. But if you do anything more complex, you find out all the limitations of the readers, especially the lack of good CSS support and font scaling. Even ADE offers only limited font scaling, and vertical scrolling is clunky at times.
The EPUBReader just works.
I wholeheartedly recommend this, I agree with the above poster, it just works. It was one of the few readers that actually displayed the book cover image. Love it!