# Open Book Touch

13 Hacker News commenters recommended Open Book Touch and 8 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Open-source e-ink e-reader that people like for its openness and pocket size; the most common caveat is its small 4.3-inch screen and lack of page-turn buttons.

## Why people recommend it

- Open, thoughtful project appeals (3 comments): "I absolutely love the idea and passion behind this project." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48956000)) "I really like the thinking of openness behind this device." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48954570)) "Looks like it's a well thought project." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48953715))
- Pocketable size for reading (3 comments): "It's not too small, great for carrying in pocket, I've been reading articles on it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48969395)) "small enough to be pocketable is an important form factor" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48955895)) "I've read multiple books on it so far front to back." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48960932))

## What people warn about

- Screen too small (5 comments): "Half the thickness and ~2x the screen size and it would've been an instant buy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48958110)) "I wish it had a bigger screen and buttons, though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48953443)) "The screen seems a little small. And buttons would be good too." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48955190))
- No physical page-turn buttons (3 comments): "You shouldn't be aloowed to call it an e-reader if it doesn't have physical turn page buttons" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48957784)) "The screen seems a little small. And buttons would be good too." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48955190)) "I wish it had a bigger screen and buttons, though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48953443))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Kobo e-reader](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kobo-e-reader.md): 154 recommend
- [Onyx Boox e-reader](https://hackerapproved.com/p/boox-e-reader.md): 48 recommend
- [Kobo Clara](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kobo-clara-bw.md): 38 recommend
- [Kindle Paperwhite](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kindle-paperwhite.md): 34 recommend
- [Kobo Libra Color](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kobo-libra-colour.md): 26 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Open+Book+Touch+e-reader&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Open Book Touch", https://hackerapproved.com/p/open-book-touch-e-reader/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).