Use the Librum ebook reader on Chrome OS
If you use your Chromebook for reading ebooks, you might want to consider installing Librum. It’s an elegant, free, and open-source ebook reader designed for Chrome OS. Here’s a guide on how to utilize it on your Chromebook.
How to enable Linux
To install Librum, you need to have Linux support enabled in Chrome OS. To enable Linux support, start by clicking on the clock in the Chrome OS dash. After selecting it, find the gear icon and click on it to access the Chrome OS settings area.
Within the Chrome OS settings area, navigate to the “Advanced” section, and click on the arrow to unveil its options. Examine the options available and select “Developers.” Within the “Developers” section, locate “Linux developer environment.”
In the “Linux developer environment” section, locate the “Turn on” button and select it. This action will initiate the download and installation of the Debian Linux container for Chrome OS. Alongside the Debian Linux container, Chrome OS will also download a terminal and automatically launch it.
Once the Chrome OS terminal app is open, search for “Penguin” and select it. Clicking on “Penguin” will grant you access to the Debian Linux container that you can utilize. Once inside the terminal, execute the apt update command.
sudo apt update
Once everything is up to date, you’ll need to install the upgrades into the container. You can accomplish this by using the apt upgrade command.
sudo apt upgrade
With everything up to date, you’ll be ready to use Linux apps on your Chromebook, including Librum.
How to install Librum on a Chromebook
The Librum book reader app is available for Chromebook users via the Linux Flatpak packaging system. However, you’ll need to enable it first before you can proceed with the installation of the software. To start the installation process, open the Chrome OS terminal app.
Once the Chrome OS terminal app is open, search for “Penguin” and click on it using the mouse. Selecting “Penguin” will provide you access to the Chrome OS terminal system.
Within the Chrome OS Linux terminal, employ the apt install command to configure the “flatpak” package. This particular package is responsible for running Flatpak apps like Librum.
sudo apt install flatpak
Once you’ve installed and enabled the Flatpak runtime on your system, the next step is to configure the Flathub app store. The Flathub store is where you can access Flatpak packages, including Librum. To activate the Flathub store, use the following flatpak remote-add command.
flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
With the Flathub app store now enabled on your Chromebook, you can easily install the Librum application via Flatpak using the following flatpak install command:
flatpak install flathub com.librumreader.librum
Once you have successfully installed the Librum app on your Chromebook, you can launch it by either accessing the “Linux apps” folder in the Chrome OS app menu or using the following flatpak run command:
flatpak run com.librumreader.librum
How to use Librum
To use Librum, open the app through the Chrome OS app menu. Once the Librum app is open, you’ll see a “Welcome” screen. On this screen, you’ll be asked to create an account. This account is for authentication and is stored securely. You cannot use the Librum ebook reader without an account, unfortunately.
After signing up, click the “Let’s start” button. Selecting this button will begin the Librum configuration process. After clicking on the button, you’ll receive an email confirmation. Check your email and confirm your account to start using Librum.
Log in to your Librum account now that it’s confirmed. When you’re logged in, you’ll land on the Librum “Home” page. From here, find the “Add books” button and click on it with the mouse.
Once you click “Add books,” a pop-up window will appear. Use it to browse for ebook files on your Chromebook. Remember, you’ll need to place ebook files (epub, mobi, pdf, etc.) in the “Linux files” folder in the Chrome OS file manager before adding books.
Once your books are added to Librum, you’ll see them on the home screen. Select any book with your mouse (or touch gestures) to start reading. To bookmark your place in the ebook, click the bookmark button in the top-left corner.
