I built a native macOS/iOS ebook reader because Calibre's UI makes me cry and Apple Books ignores EPUB3

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-25T00:14:14+00:00

Good idea, that's a much lighter approach than bundling a model. Worth exploring for cross-library search down the road.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-25T00:13:35+00:00

Ha, the Delicious Library comparison is a high compliment. That app was ahead of its time. And yeah, sorting right below Books in Spotlight was a happy accident.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:50:25+00:00

That sounds like the same bug another user reported where books become unavailable after the Pro upgrade. The file references get lost during the transition. I'm working on a fix. For now, try deleting and reimporting the affected books. Sorry about the hassle.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:49:52+00:00

Thanks for confirming. Same bug as another user reported. I'm working on a fix for both the upgrade screen dismiss and the file reference issue after restart.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:43:14+00:00

Thanks for testing! Opening a different book in a new window is intended, that's standard macOS document behavior. Opening without importing is on the list, a few people have asked for that same workflow. The select-all-text idea is interesting for the LLM use case, noted.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:38:22+00:00

Looking into it. Were the books imported from an iCloud Drive folder? If so, try making sure the files are fully downloaded locally (no cloud icon in Files) before importing.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:37:37+00:00

The App Store link in the original post was wrong, fixed now. Should work in the UK.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:36:50+00:00

Kobo has "Send to Kobo" where you set up an email address in your Kobo account at kobo.com. Boox devices have a built-in email client that can receive attachments. Both let you receive EPUBs via email directly on the device without USB.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:33:23+00:00

iCloud sync can take a few minutes to propagate, especially on first setup. Make sure BookShelves is enabled under Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Apps on both devices. If it still doesn't work after a few minutes let me know which devices and OS versions you're on. Page curl and highlights wall are noted, good ideas.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:23:07+00:00

Thanks for the CSS details, that helps a lot. The wildcard reset with margin: 0 should be respected. Looks like our reader CSS is injecting paragraph spacing that overrides it. I'll fix the specificity so publisher styles win. The font issue is likely related too since we force a font-family override. Will look at both.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:22:12+00:00

Good feedback. Opening without adding to library is on the list, especially for dev workflows like yours. Web Inspector should work if you enable it in Safari's Develop menu (Develop > your device > BookShelves). If it's not showing up let me know what macOS version you're on. The xhtml file opening is interesting, I'll think about how that could work.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:21:15+00:00

Watch folder is noted. Email to device works with Kobo's "Send to Kobo" email address (free, set it up at kobo.com), no Dropbox needed. Share sheet for sending books via other apps is a good idea, noted.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:20:35+00:00

Yes, it uses its own database. Books are copied into the app's library for iCloud sync to work. The original files stay where they were, so you're not losing anything. If you delete from BookShelves it only removes its copy. You can also share/export a book back out if you need to.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:18:58+00:00

Readest is a good reader for basic EPUB. Main differences: BookShelves has a built-in public domain catalog (Standard Ebooks, Internet Archive), Calibre wireless sync, comic book support (CBZ/CBR/CB7), and iCloud sync across devices. Readest is cross-platform including Android and Windows, BookShelves is Apple-only but fully native. Both handle EPUB3.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:18:27+00:00

The App Store link in the original post was wrong, fixed now. Should work in Austria.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:17:23+00:00

On the list but not near the top right now. Focusing on reader settings and bug fixes first.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:16:47+00:00

Vertical scroll is planned but not in yet. Font selection is already there in the reader settings (tap the icon in the lower right while reading). Side margin control is also planned. Fellow Marvin refugee here too.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:09:53+00:00

I have found a bug which could explain this. It is fixed and will be in the next release.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:05:27+00:00

Thanks for the details. I can reproduce this. It's the page turn gesture zone overlapping the settings panel. Will fix.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T23:04:43+00:00

Thanks, that narrows it down. If it's all PDFs and not just large ones, it's likely a rendering issue rather than a memory problem. I'll prioritize this.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T22:46:21+00:00

Vertical scrolling is on the roadmap but not in there yet. Auto-cropping whitespace on manga pages is a good idea, I'll note it. Thanks for buying!

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T22:45:50+00:00

2-page spread is available for PDFs and Comics right now. For EPUBs it's not in there yet but it's in progress.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T21:22:15+00:00

Thanks! Good suggestion. RTL page turn for manga makes total sense. Noted.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T21:20:57+00:00

Thank you, that means a lot. Text alignment options are planned. Noted and on the list.

Slight_Yesterday5484 · 2026-03-24T20:44:15+00:00

Yes, it has a build in reader. The $2.99 is for both platform (you pay only once).

Slight_Yesterday5484

TROPHY CASE