fixed

lib/Epub/Epub/Section.cpp

@@ -193,11 +193,21 @@ bool Section::createSectionFile(const int fontId, const float lineCompression, c
 
   SdMan.remove(tmpHtmlPath.c_str());
   if (!success) {
-    Serial.printf("[%lu] [SCT] Failed to parse XML and build pages\n", millis());
+    Serial.printf("[%lu] [SCT] Failed to parse XML, creating placeholder page for chapter\n", millis());
+    // Create a placeholder page for malformed chapters instead of failing entirely
+    // This allows the book to continue loading with chapters that do parse successfully
+    auto placeholderPage = std::unique_ptr<Page>(new Page());
+    // Add placeholder to LUT
+    lut.emplace_back(this->onPageComplete(std::move(placeholderPage)));
+    
+    // If we still have no pages, the placeholder creation failed
+    if (pageCount == 0) {
+      Serial.printf("[%lu] [SCT] Failed to create placeholder page\n", millis());
       file.close();
       SdMan.remove(filePath.c_str());
       return false;
     }
+  }
 
   const uint32_t lutOffset = file.position();
   bool hasFailedLutRecords = false;

src/activities/reader/EpubReaderActivity.cpp

@@ -524,6 +524,17 @@ void EpubReaderActivity::renderScreen() {
       section.reset();
       return renderScreen();
     }
+    
+    // Handle empty pages (e.g., from malformed chapters that couldn't be parsed)
+    if (p->elements.empty()) {
+      Serial.printf("[%lu] [ERS] Page has no content (possibly malformed chapter)\n", millis());
+      renderer.drawCenteredText(UI_12_FONT_ID, 280, "Chapter content unavailable", true, EpdFontFamily::BOLD);
+      renderer.drawCenteredText(UI_10_FONT_ID, 320, "(File may be malformed)");
+      renderStatusBar(orientedMarginRight, orientedMarginBottom, orientedMarginLeft);
+      renderer.displayBuffer();
+      return;
+    }
+    
     const auto start = millis();
     renderContents(std::move(p), orientedMarginTop, orientedMarginRight, orientedMarginBottom, orientedMarginLeft);
     Serial.printf("[%lu] [ERS] Rendered page in %dms\n", millis(), millis() - start);