diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub.cpp b/lib/Epub/Epub.cpp
index 7860757..33f920b 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub.cpp
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub.cpp
@@ -359,7 +359,7 @@ const std::string& Epub::getLanguage() const {
 }
 
 std::string Epub::getCoverBmpPath(bool cropped) const {
-  const auto coverFileName = "cover" + cropped ? "_crop" : "";
+  const auto coverFileName = std::string("cover") + (cropped ? "_crop" : "");
   return cachePath + "/" + coverFileName + ".bmp";
 }
 
@@ -382,7 +382,7 @@ bool Epub::generateCoverBmp(bool cropped) const {
 
   if (coverImageHref.substr(coverImageHref.length() - 4) == ".jpg" ||
       coverImageHref.substr(coverImageHref.length() - 5) == ".jpeg") {
-    Serial.printf("[%lu] [EBP] Generating BMP from JPG cover image\n", millis());
+    Serial.printf("[%lu] [EBP] Generating BMP from JPG cover image (%s mode)\n", millis(), cropped ? "cropped" : "fit");
     const auto coverJpgTempPath = getCachePath() + "/.cover.jpg";
 
     FsFile coverJpg;
@@ -401,7 +401,7 @@ bool Epub::generateCoverBmp(bool cropped) const {
       coverJpg.close();
       return false;
     }
-    const bool success = JpegToBmpConverter::jpegFileToBmpStream(coverJpg, coverBmp);
+    const bool success = JpegToBmpConverter::jpegFileToBmpStream(coverJpg, coverBmp, cropped);
     coverJpg.close();
     coverBmp.close();
     SdMan.remove(coverJpgTempPath.c_str());
diff --git a/lib/JpegToBmpConverter/JpegToBmpConverter.cpp b/lib/JpegToBmpConverter/JpegToBmpConverter.cpp
index 01451a0..84ac1d5 100644
--- a/lib/JpegToBmpConverter/JpegToBmpConverter.cpp
+++ b/lib/JpegToBmpConverter/JpegToBmpConverter.cpp
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ unsigned char JpegToBmpConverter::jpegReadCallback(unsigned char* pBuf, const un
 
 // Internal implementation with configurable target size and bit depth
 bool JpegToBmpConverter::jpegFileToBmpStreamInternal(FsFile& jpegFile, Print& bmpOut, int targetWidth, int targetHeight,
-                                                     bool oneBit) {
+                                                     bool oneBit, bool crop) {
   Serial.printf("[%lu] [JPG] Converting JPEG to %s BMP (target: %dx%d)\n", millis(), oneBit ? "1-bit" : "2-bit",
                 targetWidth, targetHeight);
 
@@ -242,8 +242,12 @@ bool JpegToBmpConverter::jpegFileToBmpStreamInternal(FsFile& jpegFile, Print& bm
     const float scaleToFitWidth = static_cast<float>(targetWidth) / imageInfo.m_width;
     const float scaleToFitHeight = static_cast<float>(targetHeight) / imageInfo.m_height;
     // We scale to the smaller dimension, so we can potentially crop later.
-    // TODO: ideally, we already crop here.
-    const float scale = (scaleToFitWidth > scaleToFitHeight) ? scaleToFitWidth : scaleToFitHeight;
+    float scale = 1.0;
+    if (crop) {  // if we will crop, scale to the smaller dimension
+      scale = (scaleToFitWidth > scaleToFitHeight) ? scaleToFitWidth : scaleToFitHeight;
+    } else {  // else, scale to the larger dimension to fit
+      scale = (scaleToFitWidth < scaleToFitHeight) ? scaleToFitWidth : scaleToFitHeight;
+    }
 
     outWidth = static_cast<int>(imageInfo.m_width * scale);
     outHeight = static_cast<int>(imageInfo.m_height * scale);
@@ -550,8 +554,8 @@ bool JpegToBmpConverter::jpegFileToBmpStreamInternal(FsFile& jpegFile, Print& bm
 }
 
 // Core function: Convert JPEG file to 2-bit BMP (uses default target size)
-bool JpegToBmpConverter::jpegFileToBmpStream(FsFile& jpegFile, Print& bmpOut) {
-  return jpegFileToBmpStreamInternal(jpegFile, bmpOut, TARGET_MAX_WIDTH, TARGET_MAX_HEIGHT, false);
+bool JpegToBmpConverter::jpegFileToBmpStream(FsFile& jpegFile, Print& bmpOut, bool crop) {
+  return jpegFileToBmpStreamInternal(jpegFile, bmpOut, TARGET_MAX_WIDTH, TARGET_MAX_HEIGHT, false, crop);
 }
 
 // Convert with custom target size (for thumbnails, 2-bit)
diff --git a/lib/JpegToBmpConverter/JpegToBmpConverter.h b/lib/JpegToBmpConverter/JpegToBmpConverter.h
index d5e9b95..9b92bb6 100644
--- a/lib/JpegToBmpConverter/JpegToBmpConverter.h
+++ b/lib/JpegToBmpConverter/JpegToBmpConverter.h
@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@ class JpegToBmpConverter {
   static unsigned char jpegReadCallback(unsigned char* pBuf, unsigned char buf_size,
                                         unsigned char* pBytes_actually_read, void* pCallback_data);
   static bool jpegFileToBmpStreamInternal(class FsFile& jpegFile, Print& bmpOut, int targetWidth, int targetHeight,
-                                          bool oneBit);
+                                          bool oneBit, bool crop = true);
 
  public:
-  static bool jpegFileToBmpStream(FsFile& jpegFile, Print& bmpOut);
+  static bool jpegFileToBmpStream(FsFile& jpegFile, Print& bmpOut, bool crop = true);
   // Convert with custom target size (for thumbnails)
   static bool jpegFileToBmpStreamWithSize(FsFile& jpegFile, Print& bmpOut, int targetMaxWidth, int targetMaxHeight);
   // Convert to 1-bit BMP (black and white only, no grays) for fast home screen rendering
diff --git a/src/activities/boot_sleep/SleepActivity.cpp b/src/activities/boot_sleep/SleepActivity.cpp
index c0d6844..40341e5 100644
--- a/src/activities/boot_sleep/SleepActivity.cpp
+++ b/src/activities/boot_sleep/SleepActivity.cpp
@@ -260,6 +260,7 @@ void SleepActivity::renderCoverSleepScreen() const {
   if (SdMan.openFileForRead("SLP", coverBmpPath, file)) {
     Bitmap bitmap(file);
     if (bitmap.parseHeaders() == BmpReaderError::Ok) {
+      Serial.printf("[SLP] Rendering sleep cover: %s\n", coverBmpPath);
       renderBitmapSleepScreen(bitmap);
       return;
     }