Blog Posts
HandyReader 1.24.260917 is NOW AVAILABLE!
Hey everyone! HandyReader v1.24.260917 is here! This is a feature-packed release. The headline is the new auto-reading feature, joined by top and bottom info bars on the reading page, a brand-new About page (with a built-in update checker and the list of open-source libraries used), paragraph color options in reading settings, and support for parsing and rendering PRC e-books. On top of that, this version fixes OPDS permission-based login authentication and a crash when accessing Kavita OPDS services.
HandyReader 1.23.260903 is NOW AVAILABLE!
Hey everyone! HandyReader v1.23.260903 is here! This is the release I promised last time — full RTL (right-to-left) support has finally landed. On top of that, this version improves list-style paragraph typesetting, fixes table rendering issues, polishes rich inline styles within paragraphs, and resolves TTS compatibility problems along with the crashes they caused. What’s New RTL (Right-to-Left) Support Handy Reader now properly supports RTL languages such as Arabic and Persian, as well as mixed RTL/LTR paragraph layouts.
HandyReader 1.22.260810 is NOW AVAILABLE!
Hey everyone! HandyReader v1.22.260810 is here! This one is a focused refinement release. It brings a new page-turn direction mirroring option, fixes the dictionary and translation popup panel positioning, and improves the text-selection drag handle. I’ve also laid important groundwork for the upcoming RTL (right-to-left) language support. What’s New Page-Turn Direction Mirroring A new option to mirror the page-turn direction. This is a necessary refinement for the upcoming RTL support — when reading right-to-left languages, page turns should naturally go the other way.
HandyReader 1.21.260725 is NOW AVAILABLE!
Hey everyone! HandyReader v1.21.260725 is here! This one is a focused refinement release. It delivers the typography work I teased last time — cleaner CSS style parsing and rendering within paragraphs, including mixed font sizes in a single paragraph — along with a batch of fixes for the text menu, TTS playback, and general stability. Improvements Refined Paragraph Typography The headline change. I’ve overhauled how CSS styles are parsed and rendered inside paragraphs, which means books with mixed font sizes — inline headings, emphasized text, drop caps, and the like — now typeset cleanly and consistently.
HandyReader 1.20.260718 is NOW AVAILABLE!
Hey everyone! HandyReader v1.20.260718 is here! This one delivers the reading improvements I previewed last time — text alignment, per-book themes, and dual-column layout are all in. I’ve also kept polishing TXT rendering and fixed the cover and database issues some of you hit. What’s New Text Alignment Options A long-requested one, finally shipped. Pick from Left, Center, Right, or Justified — whichever feels right. Per-Book Theme Configuration Each book can now have its own theme.
How's Handy Reader Coming Along in the First Half of 2026?
Looked through the git log — since the New Year, 260+ commits, 13 releases, roughly one every couple of weeks. Half of 2026 already gone. Time to pause and take stock of what’s been done these past six months. Major Feature Milestones March · Rendering Engine Refactor The old page-turning logic was scattered across several classes, getting more coupled by the day — fixing one bug often broke something elsewhere. I spent about two weeks restructuring the layout, rendering, and page-turn animation components with a Facade pattern, combined with a versioned LRU cache, to finally nail the long-standing cache inconsistency issue.
HandyReader 1.19.260710 is NOW AVAILABLE!
Hey everyone! I’m thrilled to announce that HandyReader 1.19.260710 (Build 23) is officially live and ready for download! This release has been a real labor of love. If you’ve ever worried about losing your carefully curated library — your reading progress, bookmarks, highlights, notes, vocabulary, and reading stats — when switching phones or reinstalling the app, this one is for you. The long-awaited full backup & restore is finally here, and it’s everything I wanted it to be.
HandyReader 1.18.260625 is NOW AVAILABLE!
Hey everyone! I’m thrilled to announce that HandyReader 1.18.260625 (Build 22) is officially live and ready for download! And this one’s special — the most-requested feature, book excerpt sharing, is finally here! I’ve also given the entire app a thorough Material You M3 facelift, introduced 10 beautifully crafted reading themes with Dark/Light/Auto modes, redesigned the home screen, and added two new recommended OPDS catalogs. Let’s dive into what’s new! What’s New?
HandyReader 1.17.260618 is NOW AVAILABLE!
Hey everyone! I’m excited to announce that HandyReader 1.17.260618 (Build 21) is officially live and ready for download! This update is a direct response to your feedback. I’ve been hearing the same two requests over and over again, so I made them the top priority for this release: continuous vertical scrolling and in-book text search are finally here! On top of that, I’ve added in-reading brightness control, polished the text toolbar, and squashed some annoying crashes.
Interview with Liang Wenfeng, Founder of DeepSeek
Source: Quantitative Investment & Machine Learning, 2023-05-24 “From a computing power perspective alone, 幻方 (High-Flyer) may have even obtained the ticket to build a ChatGPT-like model earlier than many large tech companies.” Amid the frenzy of companies racing to build large language models, High-Flyer (幻方) is perhaps the most unconventional player. This is a game destined for the few. Many startups began to pivot or even consider withdrawing after large tech companies entered the field.
I Tested 15 OPDS Catalogs While Building HandyReader—Here Are My Honest Findings
Hey everyone! If you’ve been following along, you know that HandyReader 1.16 just shipped with OPDS online library support. Suddenly, you can browse and download thousands of free books directly inside the app. But here’s the thing—once the feature was working, I had to actually test it. So I went down the rabbit hole of public OPDS catalogs. I tried every list I could find, poked at endpoints in a terminal, plugged them into HandyReader, and tried to break them in real-world conditions.
HandyReader 1.16.260604 is NOW AVAILABLE!
Hey everyone! I am absolutely thrilled to announce that HandyReader 1.16.260604 (Build 20) is officially live and ready for download! If you’ve been following along, you might remember that in our last update, I teased a feature that many of you have been asking for. Well, the wait is finally over: OPDS online library support is here! This is a huge milestone for HandyReader, but that’s not all. I’ve also packed in some highly requested file-handling features and under-the-hood performance boosts to make your reading experience smoother than ever.
HandyReader 1.15.260522 is NOW AVAILABLE!
A new version, HandyReader 1.15.260522 (Build 19), is now available for download. This update introduces a brand-new word lookup feature with an in-app dictionary service and optional third-party dictionary support, along with word lookup history for easy review. We’ve also improved the notes list display and text selection experience, and fixed several known issues. What’s New Word Lookup – Integrated in-app word lookup service for quick dictionary searches while reading. You can also optionally launch third-party dictionary apps for more detailed results.
HandyReader 1.14.260513 is NOW AVAILABLE!
A new version, HandyReader 1.14.260513 (Build 18), is now available for download. This update brings highly requested language and translation features, including Traditional Chinese support, built-in dictionary lookup, and an optional AI translation service. Alongside these additions, we’ve also improved ePub and MOBI file handling and fixed several stability issues. What’s New Traditional Chinese Support – HandyReader now supports Traditional Chinese for both the app interface and reading display, offering a more comfortable experience for Traditional Chinese users.
HandyReader 1.3.260509 is NOW AVAILABLE!
A new version, HandyReader 1.3.260509 (Build 17), is now available for download. This update introduces highly requested font management features, improved text selection on the reading page, and important fixes for AI text-to-speech playback and app stability. What’s New Improved Text Selection – Optimized the function of long-press to bring up the selection menu on the reading page, making text selection smoother and more responsive. Font Import & Download – Added font import and download features.
HandyReader 1.12.260428 is NOW AVAILABLE!
A new version, HandyReader 1.12.260428 (Build 16), is now available for download. This update brings exciting new features including a Reading Background Gallery, an offline AI TTS engine supporting 16 AI models, and a refined reading interface for a cleaner, more intuitive experience. What’s New Reading Background Gallery – A new background list lets you choose from a wider range of styles to personalize your reading experience. Offline AI TTS Engine – We’ve added an offline text-to-speech engine that supports 16 AI models.
HandyReader 1.11.260331 is NOW AVAILABLE!
A new version, HandyReader 1.11.260331 (Build 14), is now available for download. This update focuses primarily on EPUB format compatibility and reading experience improvements. We have fixed numerous parsing and loading issues for both EPUB2 and EPUB3 formats, significantly enhancing compatibility with a wide variety of e-books, including those that do not strictly follow standards. Key Fixes & Improvements Fixed parsing and loading issues for EPUB2 and EPUB3 e-books, greatly improving compatibility Fixed app crash issues during long reading sessions (JNI cache not cleaned up issue) Optimized EPUB chapter CSS style parsing and rendering Fixed display issues with images appearing within a line of text Optimized image display for full-image chapters Fixed failure to parse book cover images Fixed bold text not displaying correctly Fixed book title not showing when loading books Fixed missing chapter property fields Improved error handling logic when book import fails Fixed resource path parsing issues in EPUB packages Optimized long-duration background TTS playback stability UI Adjustments Set the minimum value of page left/right and top/bottom margins to 0, allowing users more flexible margin settings Added custom background image support for the reading interface Improved annotation popup display with better height control and theme-consistent colors Summary This version addresses many stubborn issues in EPUB parsing and rendering, significantly improving the app’s compatibility with various e-books and overall reading comfort.
Choices of an Ordinary Person
Reflections on Making Decisions in the Age of AI Introduction Lately, I’ve found myself in a strange state. I think a lot, but act very little. I keep feeling that I haven’t fully figured out the direction, so I keep researching and waiting. But with AI evolving so quickly, the number of choices keeps growing. I’m constantly searching for the best methodology—one that would allow me to make the optimal decision at every crossroads.
HandyReader 1.10 is NOW AVAILABLE!
A new minor release, HandyReader 1.10, is now available for download. This release brings significant improvements to the Text-to-Speech (TTS) experience, along with several user-requested features and important fixes. Highlights Language selection for TTS Speed and pitch setter for TTS Timer for TTS Notification panel for TTS Feedback page update Privacy policy optimize Optimize vertical edge swipe for reading page Fix PDF load issue (OOM) Fix theme change issue Fix reading time statistics issue What’s New This minor release brings significant improvements to the Text-to-Speech (TTS) experience, along with several user-requested features and important fixes.
HandyReader 1.9 is HERE!
Hey everyone! HandyReader 1.9 is officially out! Now supports Android 6.0 and above. Update Contents Features Enhanced color picker with grayscale options for better reading experience Optimized shelf’s books loading - Improved performance when loading books in your library Bug Fixes Fixed sort and filter issue in book management Resolved sorting and filtering problems in library view Platform support extended to Android 6 What’s New in 1.9 Platform Support Android 6.