There are many open-source e-book readers available for all book lovers on Linux-based distributions like Bookworm, Foliate, and Koodo and all of them work beautifully as independent software. But, most of them are limited to the Linux operating system, so you will have to install a completely different application on a different OS such as Windows, macOS, or Android which would result in you dealing with inconsistent UI on different platforms.
The Librum reader attempts to solve this problem of inconsistent user interfaces while offering a synced library across all the platforms. You can download it from Flathub to install on all the Linux-based systems, along with planned Windows and macOS support in the future.
Of course, in order to get your library synced across your devices, you will have to create an online account with Librum and the free tier includes 2GB of cloud storage for your e-books in the free tier. This guide explores the features of this unique open-source e-book reader.
Key Features of Librum: More Than Just an e-Book Reader
Librum is a unique open-source e-Book reader designed for cross-platform compatibility. Available on Flathub for Linux-based systems, it offers a consistent user interface and a synced library across multiple platforms. The free tier provides 2GB of cloud storage for your e-books. Key features include customizable library views, metadata editing, and built-in text-to-speech support. Installation is straightforward, requiring only a few terminal commands.
Librum e-book reader is packed with a lot of useful features, some of which are mentioned below:
- All your E-books are synced using your account across all the devices, along with 2GB of online library space in the free tier (with planned premium tiers with more cloud space).
- The Library is entirely customizable, and you can also edit the Metadata of the books you have in your library.
- Several options such as sorting, filtering by author, tags etc are built into the library section
- An upcoming feature will let you browse through more than 70,000 e-books for free within the application itself along with personalized reading statistics.
- A standard e-book reader is present with all the required features which you will need such as a Table of contents, bookmarking pages as well andKeyboard Shortcuts In Librum an in-built search feature.
- You can also highlight text in different colors and also configure their transparency from the settings menu.
- The Reader allows you to zoom the page at various levels, and it also has built-in text-to-speech support for people who need it.
- Appearance, default zoom in the reader as well as smooth scrolling and other settings can be configured from the appearance settings of this application.
Step-by-Step Guide to Installing Librum on Linux
Because Librum is available as a Flatpak, you can easily install this on any Linux distribution. Just make sure that you have installed Flatpak and enabled the Flathub repository on your system, and then type the following commands in your Terminal window:
flatpak install flathub com.librumreader.librum
Once installed, you can simply launch it from the App Grid/Menu from your desktop.
Final Thoughts: Is Librum the Future of e-Book Reading?
The Librum reader offers a compelling solution for multi-platform e-book reading. By having my library synced on all my devices with different OS installed, I don’t have to transfer all my E-books from one device to another. In this case, even my progress is saved across all the devices.
So I will be able to pick up the same book on my MacBook when I switch off my Linux desktop. All I need is Android support for this reader because Android currently does not have a good-looking FOSS e-book reader, and I’ve been using ‘Librera FD’ for quite some time.
Librum is redefining the e-book reading experience by offering cross-platform support and cloud synchronization. What other features would you like to see in an ideal e-book reader?
