Thorium Reader icon
Thorium Reader icon

Thorium Reader

Thorium Reader is a free, open source multi-language EPUB reader for Windows 10, MacOS and Linux. It's privacy aware and highly accessible for visually impaired and dyslexic people.

Thorium Reader screenshot 1

Cost / License

Application types

Platforms

  • Mac
  • Windows
  • Linux
3.8
Good8 ratings
23likes
9comments
0articles

Features

Properties

  1.  Support for Themes

Features

  1.  Ad-free
  2.  Bookmarks
  3.  Full-Text Search
  4.  Fullscreen support
  5.  Portable
  6.  No registration required
  7.  Works Offline

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Comments and Reviews

   
Top Positive Comment
xielian
1

I guess I was the target audience, I tested many ebook readers and this one had the best UI I could find. I personally like it a lot

Top Negative Comment
superstickynotemealt
-1

You can't have a book open without having the library window open in a Separate window. If you try to close the library window, it closes the book you're reading. Which means you just can't simply click on the icon on the dock to switch between things and you have a useless window all the time in your task switcher.

Otherwise it seemed good, but to me this is completely workflow breaking and is a complete show stopper.

Saskia Ostermann Toutatis
0

Excellent for EPUB

Review from a new or low-activity account — shown here, but not counted in the app rating.
Indiana Lake
0

Loads fast, clean interface. Opens individual files in separate windows which can be a hindrance for those just wanted to switch, but I’ve found they’re useful for split and or comparative reading. I do this all the time; I need different versions of the Holy Bible opened at all times so this default ‘separate window’ mode comes in handy, but I understand the frustration of the lack of a setting for ‘open in same window’ as default mode. Suggestions: (1) add ‘open in same window’ mode as a default opening option in Settings; (2) add ability to set unified display across all files, i.e., same font size, style, paper color, etc., for all publications in Settings; (3) add folder and or equivalent library categorization features where users can group and organize books into sections, blocks, genres, etc., based on tags [the current ‘catalogs’ doesn’t seem to be made for this, and if it was, instructions are unclear]; (4) add ability to edit books’ properties (e.g., titles, series, genres) on ‘About Publication’ page; (5) add option to continue reading last read book at app opening in Settings [not individual file’s setting] to ease continuous workflow. Overall, it does the job for me. Sure, there are things I wish it had as default, but that isn’t a dealbreaker. It doesn’t feel archaic or cluttered with unnecessary buttons and options, which is what I’m looking for—core functionality with minimalistic design. Waiting for those suggested features and more.

Žilvinas Badaras
0

Nice one! Quick, simple and functional without too much unnecessary settings. For a moment my favorite.

Jo Roberts
5

I would like to offer a glowing review for Thorium, because I feel other reviews have not been left by its target audience. Thorium isn't the best EPUB reader for the average user, but is the undisputed best option for those with reading disabilities.

I've tried using a wide variety of EPUB readers, but none have been customizable enough to accommodate my dyslexia. Thorium's custom font options, precise controls for editing the spacing of words and lines, and even choice in terms of how you move through pages are unbeatable.

Though Thorium is not the best in its class overall, it is the best in terms of accessibility. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in EPUB as an accommodation for dyslexia.

Alabaster3632
0

It's cool but not the best choice, you need to select dark theme for every book, it doesnt have any fancy features, if you need any. Not feels like a complete app when compared with Calibre or Sumatra PDF. Shame, it have a good UI actually.

7 of 9 comments

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What is Thorium Reader?

Thorium Reader is a free, open source multi-language EPUB reader for Windows 10, MacOS and Linux. It's privacy aware and highly accessible for visually impaired and dyslexic people. This application is free, with no ads and no leaks of private data.

This desktop reading app is based on the Readium Desktop toolkit and is developed by the European Digital Reading Lab (EDRLab), a non-profit development laboratory based in France.

Why developing Thorium Reader?

Until now there was no modern EPUB 3 compliant reading application usable on Windows, OSX and Linux, properly accessible for print disabled people, with a good support for the LCP DRM and capable of browsing OPDS catalogs.

EDRLab decided to build such an application and release it for free, in order to provide users a great way to enjoy on a large screen EPUB publications, comics / manga / bandes dessinées, audiobooks, LCP protected PDF documents.

Print disabled people now benefit from an EPUB 3 reading app which supports screen readers like Jaws and NVDA on Windows, Voice Over on Mac.

Technology

Thorium Reader is based on the set of open-source chrome-less modules, a toolkit named Readium Desktop. Thorium Reader and Readium Desktop both rely on Electron.js, node.js and typescript, which are efficient cross-platform technologies. Thorium is also using React components based on HTML 5/CSS 3.

Official Links

Thorium Reader information

  • Developed by

    FR flagEuropean Digital Reading Lab (EDRLab)
  • Licensing

    Open Source (BSD-3-Clause) and Free product.
  • Written in

  • Rating

    Average rating of 3.8
  • Alternatives

    50 alternatives listed
  • Supported Languages

    • English
    • French
    • Portuguese
    • Swedish
    • Russian
    • Lithuanian
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Dutch
    • Spanish
    • German
    • Finnish
    • Chinese
    • Korean
    • Georgian

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GitHub repository

  •  2,831 Stars
  •  232 Forks
  •  172 Open Issues
  •   Updated  
View on GitHub

Our users have written 9 comments and reviews about Thorium Reader, and it has gotten 23 likes

Thorium Reader was added to AlternativeTo by RemovedUser on and this page was last updated .