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Version: 2.x

Playing Readalouds

There are many ways to read or listen to your Storyteller aligned books. Of course, we think the best way is with the custom Storyteller apps, but they can also be read on the web or with other apps that are capable of playing EPUB 3 ebooks with Media Overlays.

Storyteller mobile apps​

There are Storyteller apps on the iOS App Store, and on the Google Play Store.

When you first install the Storyteller mobile app, you will need to configure your server URL in the app settings. This should be set to the base URL for your web interface.

After you've configured your server URL, you'll be asked to log in. You can then view all of the books in your chosen library in the Browse tab, and download any of them to your device.

Be sure to keep the app open and in the foreground during the download (support for background downloads is on the roadmap!). Once your book is downloaded, you'll find it on your Bookshelf, where you can start reading or listening!

Storyteller web reader​

Available under an experimental flag!

Other apps​

BookFusion​

  • Free and paid plans
    • Free plan allows:
      • Unlimited local-only books
      • Up to 10 uploaded books, synced across up to 3 devices.
    • Paid plans are scaled by total storage size (note that Storyteller books contain the entire audiobook, and so are sometimes large!)
  • Android, iOS, Desktop, Web
  • Limited audio playback controls
  • Supports annotations/highlights with integrations to Notion, Obsidian, etc
  • To add a Storyteller book
    • Local only: Download your book via the Storyteller web interface. Open the book from your downloads and choose to open it with the BookFusion app.
    • Saved to cloud (available for cross-device syncing): Download your book via the Storyteller web interface. Open BookFusion and click on the "upload" button in the top right corner. Select your downloaded Storyteller book from your Downloads folder.

Colibrio Reader​

  • Free
  • Android app and Web app
  • Focuses on preserving authors, publishers and designers original visual style.
  • No cross-device syncing
  • Limited audiobook support
  • Absolute best highlight vs page turning.
  • To add a Storyteller book: go to your Storyteller web interface, download the book files you wish to read, and then open the book with Colibrio by choosing Browse and selecting the downloaded file.

Calibre​

  • Free and open source.
  • Reader is part of the Calibre ecosystem.
  • Their support for immersive reading is fairly new and limited.
  • If you are already a Calibre user this is a great choice as Calibre also has a server so you can use Storyteller to sync your books but continue to use Calibre to manage them.

Thorium Reader​

  • Free and open-source
  • Windows 10 and 11, macOS, and GNU/Linux
  • To add a Storyteller book to Thorium Reader: Download your book via the Storyteller web interface. Open the book with Thorium Reader either from a file manager or by pressing the "+" button in the Thorium Reader interface. To start listening to the book, press the "Activate Readaloud" button (speaker icon).

Suggestions Are Welcome!​

If anyone finds any other apps that have support for EPUB Media Overlays and allow users to supply their own book files, please let us know!