Way to see/view book description from Calibre? (302)

guyanonymous · 09-03-2010, 10:35 AM

I've got a 302 (15.2) and prefer the stock fbreader to 180 (only so that I can use the center button to advance pages). I use calibre on the windows side of things for conversions etc.

I'm wondering if there is a way to view the book summaries from calibre on my device while browsing my booklist for something to read. I'd like to be able to refresh my mind about a book while trying to decide what to read next.

Any suggestions?

fjtorres · 09-03-2010, 11:17 AM

There is a tool for calibre that lets you export the calibre book info as a database file.
From that file you could use a spreadsheet or database manager app to export the descriptions files for a given directory as a text file. So each folder could have an info file.

jackie_w · 09-03-2010, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyanonymous

I'm wondering if there is a way to view the book summaries from calibre on my device while browsing my booklist for something to read. I'd like to be able to refresh my mind about a book while trying to decide what to read next.

Any suggestions?

Assuming fjtorres is referring to the Calibre Catalog feature, you can also create the Catalog as an EPUB which produces a page per book showing (among other details) cover thumbnail and book description, assuming you've filled in the book's Comments in the Calibre metadata.

You can access these details by Author, by Title, by Genre or by Date Added.

If you do decide to try it out, make sure you view the EPUB with the AdobeViewer app as it is heavily formatted with CSS and fbreader will not do it justice.

fjtorres · 09-03-2010, 03:50 PM

I was thinking in terms of this:
http://calibre-ebook.com/user_manual/cli/calibredb.html
calibredb lets you extract solely the comments and redirect the output at will; if you have some skill with Powershell you could write a script to do it all at the command line.

Or this:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/calibredbxtract/

Or saving the full catalog as a csv file and feeding it to Excel, Access, or your db app of choice to extract just the comments.

Ideally one would want the bookshelf to be able to display the full range of the book's metadata but that's not yet an option.

jackie_w · 09-03-2010, 04:18 PM

I suspect many users are not comfortable using the commandline.

The beauty of the Calibre Catalog feature is that it is a GUI option, very easy to use. If you want to produce it in CSV format to feed to a spreadsheet rather than EPUB, you can select your desired columns from the list in the attached screencap.

Mickey330 · 09-03-2010, 04:51 PM

Or, you can select (in Calibre) to put the metadata in the front of each e-book. Yeah, you'll have to run a re-conversion (e.g. epub to epub), but this way, all your ebooks will have a synopsis at the front of the book.

I did it and, although it't a bit of a PITA to do all/some of your books, I'd do it again.

See this thread for the exact process (I don't have Calibre with me right now to check the exact wording in Preferences):
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95300

Good luck.

guyanonymous · 09-03-2010, 05:12 PM

But can I open my books directly from the catalog?

Making a catalog might be useful - but knowing myself, unless I can click on a link within the catalog to automatically open the book I choose, I know I won't use it. :/

Moving the metadata to the beginning of each book, though, would do the job for me, though. Easy for future books...and I can do others on demand.

I'll check that out too.

I guess my ideal would be a 'View Summary' option on the file menu you can bring up when you select a book.

Thanks for the suggestions (so far?)!

jackie_w · 09-03-2010, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyanonymous

But can I open my books directly from the catalog?

Sadly, no.

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyanonymous

Moving the metadata to the beginning of each book, though, would do the job for me, though. Easy for future books...and I can do others on demand.

Just tick the 'Insert metadata as page at start of book' box on the Convert - Structure Detection page

guyanonymous · 09-04-2010, 12:30 AM

Thanks! Ticked...I'll try it out next time I move books over.

09-03-2010, 10:35 AM	#1
guyanonymous Guru Posts: 692 Karma: 27532 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Ebookwise 1150 / 1200	Way to see/view book description from Calibre? (302) I've got a 302 (15.2) and prefer the stock fbreader to 180 (only so that I can use the center button to advance pages). I use calibre on the windows side of things for conversions etc. I'm wondering if there is a way to view the book summaries from calibre on my device while browsing my booklist for something to read. I'd like to be able to refresh my mind about a book while trying to decide what to read next. Any suggestions?

09-03-2010, 04:18 PM	#5
jackie_w Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,212 Karma: 16534894 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Kobo: KA1, ClaraHD, Forma, Libra2, Clara2E. PocketBook: TouchHD3	I suspect many users are not comfortable using the commandline. The beauty of the Calibre Catalog feature is that it is a GUI option, very easy to use. If you want to produce it in CSV format to feed to a spreadsheet rather than EPUB, you can select your desired columns from the list in the attached screencap. Attached Thumbnails

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09-03-2010, 11:17 AM	#2
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	There is a tool for calibre that lets you export the calibre book info as a database file. From that file you could use a spreadsheet or database manager app to export the descriptions files for a given directory as a text file. So each folder could have an info file.

09-03-2010, 03:50 PM	#4
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	I was thinking in terms of this: http://calibre-ebook.com/user_manual/cli/calibredb.html calibredb lets you extract solely the comments and redirect the output at will; if you have some skill with Powershell you could write a script to do it all at the command line. Or this: http://sourceforge.net/projects/calibredbxtract/ Or saving the full catalog as a csv file and feeding it to Excel, Access, or your db app of choice to extract just the comments. Ideally one would want the bookshelf to be able to display the full range of the book's metadata but that's not yet an option.

09-03-2010, 04:51 PM	#6
Mickey330 Addict Posts: 378 Karma: 1107420 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Western New York state (USA) Device: Kindle Oasis & the Kindle app on iDevices	Or, you can select (in Calibre) to put the metadata in the front of each e-book. Yeah, you'll have to run a re-conversion (e.g. epub to epub), but this way, all your ebooks will have a synopsis at the front of the book. I did it and, although it't a bit of a PITA to do all/some of your books, I'd do it again. See this thread for the exact process (I don't have Calibre with me right now to check the exact wording in Preferences): https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95300 Good luck.

09-03-2010, 05:12 PM	#7
guyanonymous Guru Posts: 692 Karma: 27532 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Ebookwise 1150 / 1200	But can I open my books directly from the catalog? Making a catalog might be useful - but knowing myself, unless I can click on a link within the catalog to automatically open the book I choose, I know I won't use it. :/ Moving the metadata to the beginning of each book, though, would do the job for me, though. Easy for future books...and I can do others on demand. I'll check that out too. I guess my ideal would be a 'View Summary' option on the file menu you can bring up when you select a book. Thanks for the suggestions (so far?)!

09-04-2010, 12:30 AM	#9
guyanonymous Guru Posts: 692 Karma: 27532 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Ebookwise 1150 / 1200	Thanks! Ticked...I'll try it out next time I move books over.

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