diff --git a/static/css/app.css b/static/css/app.css
index cd1bc4e..5dcb5ac 100644
--- a/static/css/app.css
+++ b/static/css/app.css
@@ -1604,6 +1604,11 @@ body.dnd-mode .timer-display {
   z-index: 200;
   display: flex;
   flex-direction: column;
+  /* The global white text-outline (for readability over a custom background
+     image elsewhere in the app) is never needed here — the reader always
+     sits on its own opaque background — and it muddies highlighted text
+     badly when combined with a colored highlight background. */
+  text-shadow: none;
 }
 .reader-header {
   display: flex;
diff --git a/static/js/app.js b/static/js/app.js
index 959acce..5ac24f8 100644
--- a/static/js/app.js
+++ b/static/js/app.js
@@ -5017,22 +5017,26 @@ function resolveAnchorRange(h) {
   const contentEl = $('reader-content');
   if (!contentEl || !h.anchor) return null;
 
-  const chapterEl = contentEl.querySelector(`[data-epub-src="${CSS.escape(h.anchor.chapterSrc || '')}"]`)
-    || contentEl;
-
   let range = null;
   try {
-    const startNode = xpathToNode(h.anchor.startXpath, chapterEl);
-    const endNode   = xpathToNode(h.anchor.endXpath,   chapterEl);
-    if (startNode && endNode) {
-      range = document.createRange();
-      range.setStart(startNode, h.anchor.startOffset);
-      range.setEnd(endNode,   h.anchor.endOffset);
+    const blocks = Array.from(contentEl.querySelectorAll(EPUB_BLOCK_SELECTOR));
+    const startBlock = blocks[h.anchor.startBlockIndex];
+    const endBlock = blocks[h.anchor.endBlockIndex] ?? startBlock;
+    if (startBlock && endBlock) {
+      const start = _nodeAtCharOffset(startBlock, h.anchor.startChar);
+      const end = _nodeAtCharOffset(endBlock, h.anchor.endChar);
+      if (start && end) {
+        range = document.createRange();
+        range.setStart(start.node, start.offset);
+        range.setEnd(end.node, end.offset);
+      }
     }
   } catch (e) {}
 
-  // Fallback: quote substring search
+  // Fallback: quote substring search within the chapter
   if (!range && h.anchor.quote) {
+    const chapterEl = contentEl.querySelector(`[data-epub-src="${CSS.escape(h.anchor.chapterSrc || '')}"]`)
+      || contentEl;
     const walker = document.createTreeWalker(chapterEl, NodeFilter.SHOW_TEXT);
     let node;
     while ((node = walker.nextNode())) {
@@ -5067,30 +5071,40 @@ function renderHighlight(h) {
   } catch (e) {}
 }
 
-function xpathToNode(xpath, root) {
-  if (!xpath) return null;
-  const result = document.evaluate(xpath, root, null, XPathResult.FIRST_ORDERED_NODE_TYPE, null);
-  return result.singleNodeValue;
+// Character-offset addressing within a block element (p, li, ...), rather
+// than XPath-to-a-specific-text-node: XPath sibling indices shift whenever
+// ANY highlight in the same block gets wrapped/unwrapped in a <mark> (that
+// splits/merges text nodes), silently corrupting OTHER highlights' anchors
+// in the same block. A block's overall textContent length/order is never
+// touched by mark-wrapping, so a character offset into it stays valid no
+// matter how many other highlights come and go around it.
+function _charOffsetInBlock(block, node, nodeOffset) {
+  const walker = document.createTreeWalker(block, NodeFilter.SHOW_TEXT);
+  let count = 0, n;
+  while ((n = walker.nextNode())) {
+    if (n === node) return count + nodeOffset;
+    count += n.textContent.length;
+  }
+  return count;
 }
 
-function getXPathForNode(node, root) {
-  const parts = [];
-  let current = node;
-  while (current && current !== root) {
-    const parent = current.parentNode;
-    if (!parent) break;
-    if (current.nodeType === Node.TEXT_NODE) {
-      const siblings = Array.from(parent.childNodes).filter(n => n.nodeType === Node.TEXT_NODE);
-      const idx = siblings.indexOf(current);
-      parts.unshift(`text()[${idx + 1}]`);
-    } else {
-      const siblings = Array.from(parent.children).filter(n => n.tagName === current.tagName);
-      const idx = siblings.indexOf(current);
-      parts.unshift(`${current.tagName.toLowerCase()}[${idx + 1}]`);
+function _nodeAtCharOffset(block, targetOffset) {
+  const walker = document.createTreeWalker(block, NodeFilter.SHOW_TEXT);
+  let count = 0, lastNode = null, n;
+  while ((n = walker.nextNode())) {
+    lastNode = n;
+    const len = n.textContent.length;
+    if (targetOffset <= count + len) {
+      return {node: n, offset: Math.max(0, targetOffset - count)};
     }
-    current = parent;
+    count += len;
   }
-  return parts.join('/');
+  return lastNode ? {node: lastNode, offset: lastNode.textContent.length} : null;
+}
+
+function _blockAncestor(node) {
+  const el = node.nodeType === Node.ELEMENT_NODE ? node : node.parentElement;
+  return el ? el.closest(EPUB_BLOCK_SELECTOR) : null;
 }
 
 function buildEpubAnchor(range) {
@@ -5098,15 +5112,18 @@ function buildEpubAnchor(range) {
   const chapterEl = range.commonAncestorContainer.nodeType === Node.ELEMENT_NODE
     ? range.commonAncestorContainer.closest('[data-epub-src]')
     : range.commonAncestorContainer.parentElement?.closest('[data-epub-src]');
-  const root = chapterEl || contentEl;
+
+  const startBlock = _blockAncestor(range.startContainer);
+  const endBlock = _blockAncestor(range.endContainer) || startBlock;
+  const blocks = Array.from(contentEl.querySelectorAll(EPUB_BLOCK_SELECTOR));
 
   return {
     type: 'epub',
     chapterSrc: chapterEl?.getAttribute('data-epub-src') || '',
-    startXpath: getXPathForNode(range.startContainer, root),
-    startOffset: range.startOffset,
-    endXpath: getXPathForNode(range.endContainer, root),
-    endOffset: range.endOffset,
+    startBlockIndex: startBlock ? blocks.indexOf(startBlock) : -1,
+    startChar: startBlock ? _charOffsetInBlock(startBlock, range.startContainer, range.startOffset) : 0,
+    endBlockIndex: endBlock ? blocks.indexOf(endBlock) : -1,
+    endChar: endBlock ? _charOffsetInBlock(endBlock, range.endContainer, range.endOffset) : 0,
     quote: range.toString().slice(0, 200),
   };
 }
@@ -5227,7 +5244,7 @@ function showHighlightTooltip(markEl, h) {
     const delBtn  = ev.target.closest('[data-hl-delete]');
     if (editBtn && h) {
       dismissHighlightPopover();
-      openNoteEditor(h);
+      _openMarginAndEditNote(h);
     }
     if (delBtn && h) {
       dismissHighlightPopover();
@@ -5276,28 +5293,16 @@ function createHighlightWithNote(range) {
   dismissHighlightPopover();
   renderHighlight(h);
   _repositionMarginMarkers();
-  openNoteEditor(h);
+  _openMarginAndEditNote(h);
 }
 
-// Freeform note, anchored via the margin panel rather than a text selection —
-// see createFreeformNote() below. Reused for editing notes on existing highlights too.
-function openNoteEditor(h) {
-  openSidebar('Edit note', `
-    <textarea id="hl-note-input" class="search-input" rows="5" style="width:100%;resize:vertical;">${escapeHtml(h.note || '')}</textarea>
-    <button class="btn" style="margin-top:8px;" data-save-note="${escapeHtml(h.id)}">Save note</button>
-  `);
-  const body = $('sidebar-body');
-  body.addEventListener('click', function _noteClick(e) {
-    const btn = e.target.closest('[data-save-note]');
-    if (!btn) return;
-    body.removeEventListener('click', _noteClick);
-    const text = (body.querySelector('#hl-note-input')?.value || '').trim();
-    h.note = text;
-    highlightsDirty = true;
-    _repositionMarginMarkers();
-    debounceSaveHighlights();
-    closeSidebar();
-  });
+// Every "add/edit a note" entry point routes here — notes are only ever
+// written where they live, in the margin, never in the separate right-hand
+// sidebar (that used to mean a jarring jump away from the text you're
+// annotating).
+function _openMarginAndEditNote(h) {
+  if (!readerAnnotationsMarginOpen) toggleAnnotationsMargin();
+  editNoteInlineInMargin(h);
 }
 
 function deleteHighlight(id) {
diff --git a/static/js/sw.js b/static/js/sw.js
index 979594c..5022ab8 100644
--- a/static/js/sw.js
+++ b/static/js/sw.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
  * diora service worker — caches the app shell for offline use.
  */
 
-const CACHE = 'diora-v25';
+const CACHE = 'diora-v26';
 const PODCAST_CACHE = 'diora-podcast-v1';
 const SHELL = [
   '/static/css/app.css',