When comparing Google Play Books vs Librera Reader (PRO), the Slant community recommends Librera Reader (PRO) for most people. In the question“What are the best eBook readers on Android?” Librera Reader (PRO) is ranked 2nd while Google Play Books is ranked 12th. The most important reason people chose Librera Reader (PRO) is:
Best app so far.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Allows bookmarking pages, highlighting text, and adding notes
Google Play Books offers many options while reading such as bookmarks, highlights and notes. Making for a good app to use for academic .pdfs and .epubs.
Pro Supports PDF & EPUB uploads
Users can use the Google Play Books webpage or app to upload their own .epubs or PDFs.
Pro Built-in dictionary
Google Play Books has an inbuilt dictionary for users to use to look up unfamiliar words.
Pro Font, font-size, layout and theme can be customized
Margins, text size, line spacing and color theme of the page can be changed to the users liking,.
Pro Syncs across devices
No matter what device one is using the Google Play Books service on it will sync all eBooks and placement into the cloud.
Pro Immersive mode
Google Play Books has built in immersive mode when reading. This allows for the navigation and notification bars to be hidden, allowing the full screen to be used for the eBook.
Pro Responsive interface
Like the majority of Google's apps, Google Play Books has a slick interface that works quite smoothly.
Pro Has light and dark themes
Google Play Books offers a dark and a light theme to make it easier to read in dark or light rooms.
Pro Books can be bought or rented directly from the app
Google Play Books has an in built eBook store within the app, making for a convenient way to purchase titles.
Pro Has text-to-speech support
Text to speech can be used to have an eBook read to the reader aloud.
Pro Has all the functionality one needs - nothing is missing and there's nothing excessive
Best app so far.
Pro Fast animation
Pro FOSS
GPL v.3.
Pro Can read aloud texts
Customize the voice with pitch, speed and do whatever you want with it.
Pro UI and reading customization will blow your mind
You can even customize CSS code to fine-tune display of epub books. The best reader to handle online catalogs and TTS reading!
Cons
Con Lacks library management features
No shelves, categories, or reading lists.
Con External SD card
Google play books doesn't have the ability to save the downloaded books to an external SD card.
Con Free version contains ads
The Pro version has no problem. Alternatively, the fdroid version works as well, though it might be annoying to those who want cloud integration because the fdroid version doesn't have cloud integration.
Con No way to set a "home" folder
You have to press the back button a ridiculous amount of times to exit the app and then browse back to your books when you want to read again later.
Con Cannot reverse PDF reflow to return to normal view without exiting the PDF and opening again
Very annoying when you want to view graphics and tables etc.
Con Some times adds blank pages after an image
Con Flips pages by itself, cannot get it to stop
