Open Library Reader

I really like being able to read from my phone, but the app is incredibly frustrating sometimes. It’s basically impossible to scroll through pages. The bar at the bottom has a tiny hit box and it doesnt scroll when you hold it. It also resets your progress through the book if another person checks it out (or sometimes just randomly for some reason). I’ve also been logged out for no apparent reason multiple times.

I honestly really love OL. I read books while at work, and can actually pick them up on my phone instead of having to go to the site, so this is really nice. I only recently downloaded this so I don’t know how previous versions were, but my main thing is when you’re on single page mode you need to scroll. Normally scrolling to the next page wouldn’t be bad if it was more of a swipe up and you were on the next page, but you have to scroll and center the page yourself. It’s not bad, but kind of annoying, especially mixed with the fact the pages don’t stay centered when you have it zoomed in to fill the screen. My other thing is full screen mode. I wish I didn’t have to adjust the page size before going into full screen mode, and that when I went FS it would just automatically adjust to my screen. If someone needs text to be larger, then I understand why you need to adjust, but you should at least be able to enable / disable it.

Open Library by Internet Archive has thousands of books to borrow for free, but the reading experience on mobile devices is not good. This app changes that, especially with the full screen reading mode, sortable shelves, and search. It is already the best way to enjoy Open Library books on iPhone and iPad, and should only get better with continued improvements and developments.