diff --git a/include/tools.h b/include/tools.h
index 45f06ca77..9ea7f89dc 100644
--- a/include/tools.h
+++ b/include/tools.h
@@ -178,16 +178,25 @@ std::string converta2toa3(const std::string& a2code);
  */
 std::string getFileContent(const std::string& path);
 
-/** checks if file exists.
+/** Checks if file exists.
  *
- * This function returns boolean stating if file exists or not.
+ * This function returns boolean stating if file exists.
  *
  * @param path The absolute path provided in string format.
  * @return Boolean representing if file exists or not.
  */
 bool fileExists(const std::string& path);
 
-/** provides mimetype from filename.
+/** Checks if file is readable.
+ *
+ * This function returns boolean stating if file is readable.
+ *
+ * @param path The absolute path provided in string format.
+ * @return Boolean representing if file is readale or not.
+ */
+bool fileReadable(const std::string& path);
+
+/** Provides mimetype from filename.
  *
  * This function provides mimetype from file-name.
  *
@@ -197,7 +206,7 @@ bool fileExists(const std::string& path);
 std::string getMimeTypeForFile(const std::string& filename);
 
 /** Provides all available network interfaces
- * 
+ *
  * This function provides the available IPv4 network interfaces
  */
 std::map<std::string, std::string> getNetworkInterfaces();
diff --git a/src/aria2.cpp b/src/aria2.cpp
index 1ee015ff4..78f541128 100644
--- a/src/aria2.cpp
+++ b/src/aria2.cpp
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ Aria2::Aria2():
   callCmd.push_back(rpc_secret.c_str());
   callCmd.push_back(rpc_port.c_str());
   callCmd.push_back(download_dir.c_str());
-  if (fileExists(session_file)) {
+  if (fileReadable(session_file)) {
     callCmd.push_back(inputFile.c_str());
   }
   callCmd.push_back(session.c_str());
diff --git a/src/book.cpp b/src/book.cpp
index e04b0192e..17201e33a 100644
--- a/src/book.cpp
+++ b/src/book.cpp
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ void Book::updateFromXml(const pugi::xml_node& node, const std::string& baseDir)
     path = computeAbsolutePath(baseDir, path);
   }
   m_path = path;
-  m_pathValid = fileExists(path);
+  m_pathValid = fileReadable(path);
   m_title = ATTR("title");
   m_description = ATTR("description");
   m_language = ATTR("language");
diff --git a/src/tools/pathTools.cpp b/src/tools/pathTools.cpp
index b4fabf450..31862fef4 100644
--- a/src/tools/pathTools.cpp
+++ b/src/tools/pathTools.cpp
@@ -305,16 +305,18 @@ std::string kiwix::getFileContent(const std::string& path)
 bool kiwix::fileExists(const std::string& path)
 {
 #ifdef _WIN32
-  return PathFileExistsW(Utf8ToWide(path).c_str());
+  return (_waccess_s(Utf8ToWide(path).c_str(), 0) == 0);
 #else
-  bool flag = false;
-  std::fstream fin;
-  fin.open(path.c_str(), std::ios::in);
-  if (fin.is_open()) {
-    flag = true;
-  }
-  fin.close();
-  return flag;
+  return (access(path.c_str(), F_OK) == 0);
+#endif
+}
+
+bool kiwix::fileReadable(const std::string& path)
+{
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  return (_waccess_s(Utf8ToWide(path).c_str(), 4) == 0);
+#else
+  return (access(path.c_str(), R_OK) == 0);
 #endif
 }
 
diff --git a/test/pathTools.cpp b/test/pathTools.cpp
index 9047e1873..1f8e1e2b6 100644
--- a/test/pathTools.cpp
+++ b/test/pathTools.cpp
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 #include "gtest/gtest.h"
 #include <string>
 #include <vector>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <fcntl.h>
 #include "../include/tools.h"
 #include "../src/tools/pathTools.h"
 
@@ -190,6 +192,34 @@ TEST(pathTools, appendToDirectory)
             P5("a","b","c",".","foo.xml"));
 }
 
+TEST(pathTools, fileExists)
+{
+  ASSERT_TRUE(kiwix::fileExists(P3(".","test","example.zim")));
+  ASSERT_FALSE(kiwix::fileExists(P3(".","test","noFile.zim")));
+}
+
+TEST(pathTools, fileReadable)
+{
+  ASSERT_TRUE(kiwix::fileReadable(P3(".","test","example.zim")));
+  ASSERT_FALSE(kiwix::fileReadable(P3(".","test","noFile.zim")));
+#ifdef _POSIX_SOURCE
+  std::string path = P3(".","test","example.zim");
+  auto myprivs = geteuid();
+  if (myprivs != 0) {
+    int fd = open(path.c_str(), O_RDONLY);
+    if (fd != -1) {
+      int wResp = fchmod(fd, ~(S_IRWXU | S_IRWXG | S_IRWXO)); // remove all permissions
+      if (wResp == 0) {
+        EXPECT_FALSE(kiwix::fileReadable(P3(".","test","example.zim")));
+      }
+      int resetResp = fchmod(fd, S_IRUSR | S_IRGRP | S_IROTH | S_IWUSR | S_IWGRP); // reset back permissions to -rw-rw-r--
+      if (resetResp == 0) {
+        EXPECT_TRUE(kiwix::fileReadable(P3(".","test","example.zim")));
+      }
+    }
+  }
+#endif
+}
 
 TEST(pathTools, goUp)
 {