LIT (Microsoft Reader)
Also known as: .lit file, Microsoft Reader ebook, MS Reader format
LIT is the ebook format of Microsoft Reader, a discontinued e-reading app. A .lit file holds a formatted book, sometimes with DRM, but Microsoft Reader was retired, making LIT a legacy format you usually convert to EPUB.
- Microsoft Reader ebook format (discontinued)
- May carry DRM; legacy and unsupported
- Convert DRM-free files to EPUB to read
What LIT is
Microsoft Reader was an early ebook app, and .lit was its format — a packaged, reflowable book based on Microsoft’s e-book technology. Some titles included DRM that tied them to the Reader software.
Microsoft discontinued Reader, so .lit is no longer actively supported. Books in this format are leftovers from an earlier era of digital reading.
Reading LIT today
To open a .lit on a modern device, convert it to EPUB with an ebook tool, provided it is DRM-free. DRM-protected .lit files generally cannot be converted.
Ebook files are small, so storage is never the issue. The reason to convert is simply that current readers no longer open the LIT format.