Where to start with a new Kindle PW

[HeatherA]

I'm finally upgrading my Kindle from the Kindle Keyboard to the Paperwhite. That said, I'm still going to hold on to my Keyboard and use it as my backup backup reader It's too nice of a system to part with completely.

What I want to know is what should I know about the PPW vs. the KKB? I use extensive collections and I just got them all cleaned up and organized in Calibre via the plugin. I've been reading and it seems like I can't use the collections plugin with the PPW without a work around... I'm just not sure where to start with that...

Also, most of my books will be side loaded. Since the PPW has only 2GB of memory I won't keep as many books on it and will leave most of the books purchased via Amazon in the cloud until needed. Is there anything I'll need to do differently with the PPW vs. the KKB?

Also, is there a way to get my side loaded books to sync read position between both of my Kindles? If so, how would I do that? (any helpful links appreciated)

I'm so excited to get the PPW. I bought one for my daughter earlier this month and I fell in love with its size and the screen. I can't wait for mine to get here tomorrow.

[nynaevelan]

If you have not registered it to your account yet, put all your books that in collections onto it first. The first time you register it to your account, it imports the collections from your other devices.

[HeatherA]

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

If you have not registered it to your account yet, put all your books that in collections onto it first. The first time you register it to your account, it imports the collections from your other devices.

Amazon registered it prior to shipping it. When I turn it on will it still bring in all my collections?

[HeatherA]

I emailed myself two books and successfully was able to sync last read location between my iPad Mini and my kindle Keyboard. So that's good. The only down side is I have 1000+ books I want to put on my PPW and already have on the KKB. Emailing them is going to be a huge pain. IS there anyway to get them to sync last position after side loading?

[crich70]

Originally Posted by HeatherA

I emailed myself two books and successfully was able to sync last read location between my iPad Mini and my kindle Keyboard. So that's good. The only down side is I have 1000+ books I want to put on my PPW and already have on the KKB. Emailing them is going to be a huge pain. IS there anyway to get them to sync last position after side loading?

I'm not sure, but I think Calibre is set up to be able to do something like that. You may want to ask over at the Calibre board here at MR.

[eschwartz]

I sideload all my Amazon books after cleaning up the metadata and DeDRMing. Data is synced, but I must do the following to update books:

I have a custom column called "#origfile" which is my send-to-device Kindle-specific template, containing the original filename that Amazon sent it to. This way, the calibre copy merely overwrites the copy that was on there already. And the sidecar {book-title}.sdr/ folder (matching the {book-title}.azw(3) file) containing the data will match up.

As long as the book was not converted, Amazon will recognize it as their book, and sync the data. This works just like the download-and-transfer-via-usb option on MYK.

[eschwartz]

Also, I use the method outlined here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=235537 to sync data via my computer to/from my Kindle (when I get a new Kindle, this will be how I transfer my books).

[HeatherA]

Those are great tips for Amazon books. Do they work with non-Amazon as well?

[nynaevelan]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I sideload all my Amazon books after cleaning up the metadata and DeDRMing. Data is synced, but I must do the following to update books:

I have a custom column called "#origfile" which is my send-to-device Kindle-specific template, containing the original filename that Amazon sent it to. This way, the calibre copy merely overwrites the copy that was on there already. And the sidecar {book-title}.sdr/ folder (matching the {book-title}.azw(3) file) containing the data will match up.

As long as the book was not converted, Amazon will recognize it as their book, and sync the data. This works just like the download-and-transfer-via-usb option on MYK.

I really like this idea but I do not see how I can get the original file name into my existing library without manually readding the books, and I have too many books to try that.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

I really like this idea but I do not see how I can get the original file name into my existing library without manually readding the books, and I have too many books to try that.

Yes, it is easier when you did them all, one by one, in the first place. I thought ahead.

[nynaevelan]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Yes, it is easier when you did them all, one by one, in the first place. I thought ahead.

Oh shut up!!

Anyhoo, I've given it some thought, and actually I only need to do it for those that I have bookmarks/notes in, so I am in the process now of going through those. Luckily it is less than 200, so much more manageable than trying to worry about doing over 4000 of them.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

Oh shut up!!

Anyhoo, I've given it some thought, and actually I only need to do it for those that I have bookmarks/notes in, so I am in the process now of going through those. Luckily it is less than 200, so much more manageable than trying to worry about doing over 4000 of them.

Then it's a good thing I didn't shut up, isn't it?



The main purpose of using the custom column is to make sure there is always one location for the ebook file, and that it corresponds to the previous .sdr location. Otherwise anytime you change your metadata, it will have to re-sync; also, my solution is completely cloud-independent. As long as you have the right ASIN embedded, it should sync the official data anyway.

[HeatherA]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

As long as you have the right ASIN embedded, it should sync the official data anyway.

If I understand this correctly, it means if I follow the steps you take, I can side load my non-amazon books to my kindles and be able to sync data and position without emailing all 1000+ books to Amazon?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by HeatherA

If I understand this correctly, it means if I follow the steps you take, I can side load my non-amazon books to my kindles and be able to sync data and position without emailing all 1000+ books to Amazon?

Non-Amazon books must have a forged ASIN embedded, you can do that with the Quality Check plugin. ("Fix ASIN for Kindle Fire") If you do that I think it will sync your data, but cannot guarantee it.

Using #origfile is just my way of keeping a stable filename, to use the data already there.

[HeatherA]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Non-Amazon books must have a forged ASIN embedded, you can do that with the Quality Check plugin. ("Fix ASIN for Kindle Fire") If you do that I think it will sync your data, but cannot guarantee it.

Using #origfile is just my way of keeping a stable filename, to use the data already there.

I did that and tried to side load to both my iPad and my PPW and no luck on syncing position. I'm going to keep trying to figure this out because I don't want to have to email and would like to eventually stop using iBooks + Kindle and be able to sync my books all via Kindle or Kindle apps and enjoy on all my devices.