QuireHow to read EPUB books offline on a computer
Short answer: any reader that works on a downloaded .epub file works offline. That includes Apple Books, calibre, Thorium and Quire EPUB Reader in Chrome. The part that needs a connection is getting the book onto your computer, so do that before you go.
Readers that keep books online, such as the Google Play Books website, are the ones to check.
Updated 15 October 2026. Quire’s offline behaviour checked in Chrome for Testing 153 on a Mac with the network switched off.
Read offline in Chrome with Quire EPUB Reader
Quire is our extension. It has no account and no server, so once a book is in its library nothing about reading it needs the internet.
- Open each book once while you’re online
In Quire EPUB Reader, click the .epub link or drop the file on the library page. Quire saves a copy of the book in its library, in your Chrome profile.
- Check the library
Click the Quire icon in Chrome’s toolbar. Every book you’ve opened is listed with its cover and progress.
- Read with no connection
Click a book in the library. It opens from the saved copy, at your last position, with your bookmarks. Whole-book search works too.
We checked this with the network switched off: a book added earlier reopened from the library with its text, and a whole-book search returned results. What won’t work offline is opening a new book from a website link, because the site can’t be reached.
Two things to know: the library lives in this Chrome profile only, and removing the extension deletes it. Keep your original files somewhere safe as well.
Other readers that work offline
- Apple Books on a Mac. Books you import from files are read from your Mac. If you sync Books through iCloud, open each book once before you travel to make sure it is downloaded to this Mac.
- calibre and Thorium. Both are desktop apps that read files from your disk, on Windows, macOS and Linux, so they need no connection to read.
- Library loans. A loan downloaded into Adobe Digital Editions or Thorium can be read offline until it expires. The Internet Archive, for example, returns loans “within 14 days”.
What needs a connection
- Google Play Books on the web. Google’s help describes offline reading in the Play Books apps for Android and iOS, not in a web browser. On a computer, plan to be online, or keep a copy of the EPUB for another reader.
- Books you haven’t downloaded. A link to a book is not the book. Download it, or open it once in your reader, before you go.
- Authorizing DRM software. Adobe Digital Editions has to contact its servers to authorize a computer and to download a book from an .acsm file. Do both before you leave.
A quick check before a trip
Turn off Wi-Fi for a minute and open the books you plan to read. Anything that doesn’t open is better found at home than on the plane.