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I found an app that is apparently only for the iPad called the "Air Book Reader" but it is basically exactly what I want to use, just I want to do it for the Android. http://www.airbookreader.com/features.aspx

I tried calibre, but it doesn't offer an option to "stream" the ebooks; only to allow to download to the device. Same with moon Reader and the other popular ebook readers on the Google Play store.

I have a MASSIVE ebook collection of almost 100GB and there is no possible way to simply copy them to my Android device.

Also I will only be using it at home, so I only need to stream through my local network, from Windows computer to my Android tablet.

Note: I'm only talking about streaming ebooks to read. I already have apps to stream all my video files over the local network, and also I already have an app for audio files streaming.

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Everyone please, keep it polite. You've brought up fair points about the validity of streaming eBooks, but please leave it there. I think this consitutes a valid problem and isn't quite your basic off-topic app recommendation; however, droidaddict, your refusal to accept valid solutions that don't require syncing more than a book at a time, for no apparent reason, has pushed it into that territory. This site is for solving Android problems, not for searching for apps for a specific solution you've decided is a must. – Matthew Read♦ Sep 22 '12 at 19:37
I've cleaned up the comments here. Please use chat or Meta for any further discussion/proposals regarding this question. – Matthew Read♦ Oct 29 '12 at 5:34

closed as not constructive by Matthew Read♦ Sep 22 '12 at 19:41

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.

6 Answers

up vote 4 down vote

Why not use Dropbox? You can put all your ebooks into the Dropbox folder on your local network, then using the Dropbox app you can open whichever book you choose at the time. You don't have to actually load the book to your Android device to view it. If you decide you want to load it to your device, you have that option as well.

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Or Google Drive. Or Box. Or SkyDrive. ad infinitum – Al Everett Sep 13 '12 at 14:22
4  
The entire file is still downloaded when you open the file, so again this technically isn't streaming. – cjk Sep 14 '12 at 9:18
up vote 3 down vote

There is no such thing as "streaming" a book. What you need is a smart management of the locally download copy of the book. In any most ebook reader, this would take manually deleting the ebooks that you've finished reading. Most ebook reader that I knew that were attached to a book store lets you to redownload books you've deleted from your device. Some lets you partial download of only the pages you needed instead of the whole book, reducing bandwidth and the first delay until you can start reading; I think Google Books did this, and I'm pretty sure others does too.

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No. ............................. – droidaddict Sep 19 '12 at 3:39
4  
@droidaddict Care to fill in the reasons instead of "......."? Why are you so set against downloading a book? Is there a particular problem you are trying to solve? Because currently it looks like you're simply shopping for an app and are having others do the legwork. In this case the question is off-topic according to the FAQ. – Chahk Sep 19 '12 at 17:40
up vote 3 down vote

There is an app called Calibre Companion that allows you to sync your device with Calibre remotely over your wifi. This means you can keep your books on your PC and only pull books to your phone as you need them. It will still download the entire book, but once you have finished it you can delete it from your device.

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No. ............................. – droidaddict Sep 19 '12 at 3:39
4  
@droidaddict Why not? – Richard Borcsik Sep 19 '12 at 12:20
up vote 3 down vote

Create a shared folder or drive on your home pc, then access the files using ES File Explorer.

I'm not sure if this technically streams the files or if it downloads the whole thing and stores it temporarily. Either case is functionally identical, so I believe this should be an acceptable solution to your problem.

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up vote 2 down vote

If you're rooted, I suggest you export your library as a filesystem share from your Windows computer, mount the share on your Android system, and then use the ebook reader of your choice on the Android device. This will transfer only the required parts of your files to your device.

Popular solutions for mounting Windows shares on Android include Mount Manager and CifsManager. My favourite ebook reader is FBReader, but YMMV.

See also: How to mount SMB/CIFS Network Shares on android device?

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up vote 1 down vote

Check this out: http://www.fbreader.org/content/fbreader-local-opds-scanner

It works with Calibre using your local network.

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protected by Matthew Read♦ Oct 29 '12 at 5:33

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