Freading

Library Ideas, LLC

About this app

The Freading application is for reading EPUB books and PDF books. The application was developed for users of the Freading Ebook Service.

The Freading (free reading) Ebook Service was developed by Library Ideas, LLC and is sold to libraries of all types around the world. End users are registered cardholders of participating libraries. Check with your local library for participation.

The end user should use their browser to navigate the library website, then download the book from a library website into this application. Once in the application, the EPUB or PDF book can be explored and read.

The Freading application is designed to lend full support for Adobe DRM and uses Adobe ID for Authentication.

The Freading application includes many features that you would expect for a good reading experience such as tap or swipe to turn pages, remembering the last page read, and selectable text size.

Ratings and reviews

Freading has finally hit the dirt and the creaters finally gave up. You can no longer download a book supposedly due to licensing issues according to the pop up. Which is why them adding new titles is a bit confusing. Many book titles that are on my list are now no longer available and you can't add anymore books to your wishlist. It's a waste of space and time to download and browse.

Only works if the ebook's embedded styles are VERY simple (increasingly unlikely, these days). Otherwise, css presets override the app (should always be the opposite) and usually make the book unreadable. Among the glitches I've seen: main text barely visible with "adjustable" 36-point headers, text the same color as the background, 2-inch margins on the narrow-margin setting, flashing text—all unchanged by the app "controls", The relevant web interface may indicate a book has been downloaded without the ebook file ever appearing and then obstruct an actual download.

I figured there wasn't any way this app could be as bad as the ratings suggest and yet here I am giving it one star. To start with, it forces you to create an Adobe account. I don't like creating accounts I don't really need but I went ahead and did it. After that, there is no onboarding at all. No instructions, no indication of what to do, just a blank red screen. I found where to browse for books, but the navigation seemed broken. I could go in, selecting a book to examine, but hitting the back button returned me to the Adobe login. Going back to the book browser returned me to where I left. I never found out how to return to the listing and just wrote this review and uninstalled the app. It's terrible.

What's new

Improved Pixel 5 support.