Hack Your Read

At first sight, KOReader [1] looks disappointingly bare bones. But behind its unassuming interface hides a powerful application with an impressive array of features, from extensive gesture support to a built-in SSH server. Combined with a handful of hacks and a bit of creative thinking, you can use KOReader to unlock the full potential of your ebook reading device.

Installing KOReader

Although KOReader is available as an Android app and a Linux desktop application, its natural habitat is e-ink devices. How you install KOReader depends entirely on the ebook reader you have. Fortunately, the project's wiki [2] provides detailed installation instructions for all supported devices. Normally, installing KOReader requires copying files in the appropriate directories in the ebook reader's filesystem, so the process requires neither deep technical knowledge nor effort.

First Things First

While KOReader comes with sensible defaults, there are several settings you'll want to tweak for an optimal reading experience. The first thing to do is add custom fonts to KOReader, which is a rather straightforward affair. KOReader supports TrueType fonts (TTF), so all you have to do is to copy a folder with .ttf files to the koreader/fonts directory on the ebook reader. To enable any of the added fonts, open KOReader, tap on the upper edge of the screen to open the top bar, and choose Document | Font (Figure 1). To set the desired font as the new default, long tap on the font's menu entry and tap the Set as default button.

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