Getting Started

1. Create an app

In your command prompt, run the following command to create a .NET console app:

dotnet new console -o MyApp

Then, navigate to the new directory created by the previous command:

cd MyApp

2. Install Nuget packages

Install EpubReader package:

dotnet add package VersOne.Epub

Also install HtmlAgilityPack package:

dotnet add package HtmlAgilityPack

HtmlAgilityPack will be used to extract the plain text from the HTML files of the book.

3. Edit the code

Open the Program.cs file in the editor of your choice and replace the content of the file with the following:

using System.Text;
using VersOne.Epub;
using HtmlAgilityPack;

// Load the book into memory
EpubBook book = EpubReader.ReadBook("test.epub");

// Print the title and the author of the book
Console.WriteLine($"Title: {book.Title}");
Console.WriteLine($"Author: {book.Author}");
Console.WriteLine();

// Print the table of contents
Console.WriteLine("TABLE OF CONTENTS:");
PrintTableOfContents();
Console.WriteLine();

// Print the text content of all chapters in the book
Console.WriteLine("CHAPTERS:");
PrintChapters();

void PrintTableOfContents()
{
    foreach (EpubNavigationItem navigationItem in book.Navigation)
    {
        PrintNavigationItem(navigationItem, 0);
    }
}

void PrintNavigationItem(EpubNavigationItem navigationItem, int identLevel)
{
    Console.Write(new string(' ', identLevel * 2));
    Console.WriteLine(navigationItem.Title);
    foreach (EpubNavigationItem nestedNavigationItem in navigationItem.NestedItems)
    {
        PrintNavigationItem(nestedNavigationItem, identLevel + 1);
    }
}

void PrintChapters()
{
    foreach (EpubTextContentFile textContentFile in book.ReadingOrder)
    {
        PrintTextContentFile(textContentFile);
    }
}

void PrintTextContentFile(EpubTextContentFile textContentFile)
{
    HtmlDocument htmlDocument = new();
    htmlDocument.LoadHtml(textContentFile.Content);
    StringBuilder sb = new();
    foreach (HtmlNode node in htmlDocument.DocumentNode.SelectNodes("//text()"))
    {
        sb.AppendLine(node.InnerText.Trim());
    }
    string contentText = sb.ToString();
    Console.WriteLine(contentText);
    Console.WriteLine();
}

4. Run the app

Copy any EPUB file into the MyApp directory and rename the file to test.epub.

Then, run the app using the following command in the command prompt:

dotnet run

The output should look similar to this:

Title: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Author: Lewis Carroll

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
CHAPTER I. Down the Rabbit-Hole
CHAPTER II. The Pool of Tears
CHAPTER III. A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale
CHAPTER IV. The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill
CHAPTER V. Advice from a Caterpillar
CHAPTER VI. Pig and Pepper
CHAPTER VII. A Mad Tea-Party
CHAPTER VIII. The Queen's Croquet-Ground
CHAPTER IX. The Mock Turtle's Story
CHAPTER X. The Lobster Quadrille
CHAPTER XI. Who Stole the Tarts?
CHAPTER XII. Alice's Evidence

CHAPTERS:
CHAPTER I. Down the Rabbit-Hole

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, 'and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice 'without pictures or conversations?'
...