Good ebook app for a laptop?

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03-28-2009, 04:43 AM
Taosaur

Good ebook app for a laptop?

I recently got a MSI Wind--lightweight laptop with a 10" widescreen display. It's perfect for reading comic books in .cbr format, and seems like it should be perfect for ebooks, too, but I haven't found a good program.

Minimum, I need a pdf reader with "fit" options for fullscreen (fit height, fit width, best fit, etc). Ideally, I'd like something that can handle the various file formats, or a fairly active open source project, so that eventually it will handle all the formats, and is designed with a book-like experience in mind.

I hadn't paid much attention to ebooks or pdf readers before I got the Wind, so there may well be a common app I'm not aware of.

Any suggestions?
03-28-2009, 02:15 PM
ninja9578

I think Amazon has a good program for ebooks.
03-28-2009, 02:29 PM
Taosaur

Quote:

Originally Posted by ninja9578

I think Amazon has a good program for ebooks.

As far as I can tell, Amazon has no software for Windows. Their ebooks are a device-specific, proprietary format accessible only on the Kindle, iPod/iPhone and Android devices.
03-28-2009, 03:23 PM
Ynot

http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/

Quote:

calibre is a one stop solution to all your e-book needs. It is free, open source and cross-platform in design and works well on Linux, OS X and Windows. calibre is meant to be a complete e-library solution and thus includes library management, format conversion, news feeds to ebook conversion, as well as e-book reader sync features and an integrated e-book viewer.
03-28-2009, 05:05 PM
Taosaur

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ynot

http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/

Thank you, sir. Not sure if this will be my final choice, but it got me pointed in the right direction :)
03-29-2009, 03:02 AM
Taosaur

Well, Calibre was a wash: too bloaty, unintuitive, and really it's designed for organizing, converting and syncing ebooks among peripherals, with the onboard reader slapped together as an afterthought.

It did, however, turn me on to several other apps, with the winner being FBReader. FBReader doesn't cover the proprietary formats (PDF, LIT, MOBI), but the interface is intuitive, attractive, and highly customizable, the app is fast and lightweight, and it gives by far the most book-like experience of the half dozen readers I tried.