We’re pleased to announce that eBooks.com now supports Thorium Reader, a free desktop reading app for Windows, Mac and Linux.
This is an important step in our move toward a simpler, more modern ebook experience. For many years, customers who wanted to download protected ebooks to a computer had to use Adobe Digital Editions. That option is still available where needed, but Thorium Reader gives eBooks.com’s customers another, better path: one that is modern, accessible, and much easier to use.
What is Thorium Reader?
Thorium Reader is a free ebook reading application developed by EDRLab, the European Digital Reading Lab. It is designed for reading ebooks on a desktop or laptop computer, and it supports EPUB, PDF and other digital reading formats.
It is also built with accessibility in mind. Thorium Reader includes adjustable reading settings, keyboard navigation, screen reader support, read-aloud features, bookmarks, search, navigation through the table of contents, and other tools that make reading more comfortable for a wide range of users.
In short: it is a serious ebook reader for people who read seriously.
Why we are supporting Thorium
At eBooks.com, we are working to improve every part of the reading experience: our online reader, our mobile apps, and the way customers download books to read offline.
Supporting Thorium Reader is part of that larger project.
Thorium is based on open reading standards and supports Readium LCP, a newer content protection system that is designed to be much less intrusive for readers than older DRM systems. With Thorium and LCP, customers do not need to create a separate Adobe account simply to open a book they have already purchased.
That matters. Buying an ebook should not feel like solving a technical puzzle. Our goal is to make the process as straightforward as possible: buy your book, download it, open it, and read.
Better for accessibility
Accessibility is one of the strongest reasons to support Thorium Reader.
Many people need more than a fixed page on a screen. They may need larger type, different fonts, better spacing, keyboard controls, screen reader compatibility, read-aloud support, or a cleaner navigation structure. Thorium Reader has been developed with these needs in mind.
Thorium is accessible for visually impaired and dyslexic people. It is fully usable with keyboard alone and supports navigation and reading with popular screen readers like JAWS, NVDA, Narrator and Voiceover. Other accessibility features include support for high-contrast, customizable font including dyslexia font), color themes, text size and Text To Speech (TTS) read aloud.
This aligns closely with our own direction at eBooks.com. We want our reading platform to work well for as many people as possible, including readers who are blind, have low vision, have dyslexia, have mobility impairments, or simply prefer to adjust the reading environment to suit their needs.
No single reading app is perfect for every person, but Thorium is a substantial improvement over many older desktop reading options.
What this means for eBooks.com customers
When you download an ebook from eBooks.com to your computer, you can now open it in Thorium Reader.
For many customers, this will be the easiest and best desktop option. Thorium is free, regularly maintained, and available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
If you’re new to Thorium Reader, the basic steps are simple:
- Install Thorium Reader on your computer.
- Go to your eBooks.com account and download your ebook.
- Open the downloaded file in Thorium Reader.
- Start reading.
We have also prepared help articles to guide customers through the process.
What about Adobe Digital Editions?
We know that some customers still rely on Adobe Digital Editions, especially those who use older e-ink devices that require Adobe software to transfer ebooks from a computer to the device.
For that reason, we are not removing Adobe Digital Editions as an option. If your reading device still depends on Adobe Digital Editions, you can continue using it where it is supported.
But for customers who read on a desktop or laptop computer, who want a modern, accessible reading experience, we recommend Thorium Reader.
A step toward a more open ebook future
The ebook world has been too fragmented. Different stores, different reading apps, different accounts, different restrictions. All of this creates friction for readers.
Thorium Reader and Readium LCP point towards a better model: one based on open standards, accessibility, interoperability and convenience.
We are pleased to support that direction.
This is one more step in our broader work to modernise the eBooks.com reading experience across web, desktop and mobile. We want our customers to have more choice, less friction, and better tools for reading the books they buy.
We hope you enjoy using Thorium Reader with eBooks.com.
