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Old 07-15-2010, 12:12 PM   #1
citron2k1
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Book Description in Kindle 2

Hello All,

I was wondering if a book I have on the kindle doesn't have a description on it, how do I add it so that the "Book Description" function in menu isn't grayed out. I tried looking in Calibre, but it only lets you mess with the metadata. Is there a way to view the metadata on the Kindle? that shows the book description also. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.
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Old 07-15-2010, 03:00 PM   #2
Mike L
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My understanding is that the book description is held on the Amazon server, not in the metadata. So you'll need Whispernet to be switched on to see the description. Also, there's no way of seeing it for non-Amazon books (as far as I know).

But that doesn't explain why your menu item is greyed-out. On my Kindle, if I try to access the description while Whispernet is off, it just prompts me to switch it on. As for non-Amazon books, the item isn't there at all.

As far as Calibre is concerned, that does let you edit the description. But, as far as I can see, the Kindle doesn't make use of that description.
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Old 07-15-2010, 03:07 PM   #3
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Just to add ....

I just tried adding a description in Calibre (the field in the meta data is called Comments). It doesn't show up at all in the Kindle, or the Kindle for PC app. But I can see it clearly in the Mobi Pocket reader.

I don't suppose that helps you much. In any case, I can only do that with a non-DRM title. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone is interested.
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Old 07-15-2010, 04:21 PM   #4
citron2k1
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I see. Thanks Mike for your input and clarifying that for me.
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Old 07-16-2010, 12:47 AM   #5
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If you really want book descriptions on your kindle there is a way, although it does take some work. You can use Calibre to create a catalog of your books (it an option under "convert"). This will create a new book that you can send to your kindle and it will have all the metadata info including descpritions. It's pretty neat, especially if you want access to book descriptions when you don't or can't have the wireless on. The work involved is getting all the book descriptions into calibre, for some books I actually had to copy/paste the book descriptions from the book's site.

Then to see the description, you'd search that catalog...you won't be able to open the book from here, but you can read a description and any tags you've made in calibre (my tags are the same as my collections). It's not the greatest solution, but it does work in a pinch.
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Old 07-16-2010, 02:09 AM   #6
citron2k1
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Thanks lovesangelrn didn't know calibre could do that. This will work for me.
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