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GeoffR · 08-23-2013, 07:49 PM

I keep a copy of all my books on my Glo, with the originals in Calibre. One of the things I like about an ereader is being able to carry around my whole library, including the books I have read. If I buy a book from Kobo I download a copy of the standard epub version as well to put in Calibre, and Calibre matches this copy to the kepub on the Glo. This way I can use the normal Calibre methods to edit the metadata for the epub version and have it reflected in the kepub version on the device.

I have a little over 500 books so far, so I haven't found a need for any shelves, I just use the search function or browse through the library listings sorted by Author. I generally think of books in terms of author or series, I don't always remember titles. Using the search function to generate a list of all books by author or series lets me find any book easily, probably much faster than using a shelf.

I always tweak books before sideloading to remove things which cause problems for the Glo, usually it is simple to do, but the odd book has more serious problems. The main things I do are: set orphans/widows to zero to get rid of the annoying 1-2 blank lines at the bottom of the page; remove fixed font, justification, and left/right margins so that the device's adjusters work properly; add a top page margin to compensate for the current firmware's lack of one; add SVG code so that cover and other images can be scaled to suit the device's screen;

I use Calibre to send covers to to Glo, which generally gives better results than allowing the device to generate the cover image itself.

I use the KoboUtilities plugin to add missing metadata for sideloaded books and to fix incorrect metadata in kepub books downloaded direct from Kobo. It is important to get series info and author name spelling consistent between books to allow the search function to work well.

08-23-2013, 07:49 PM	#5
GeoffR Wizard Posts: 3,821 Karma: 19162882 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Te Riu-a-Māui Device: Kobo Glo	I keep a copy of all my books on my Glo, with the originals in Calibre. One of the things I like about an ereader is being able to carry around my whole library, including the books I have read. If I buy a book from Kobo I download a copy of the standard epub version as well to put in Calibre, and Calibre matches this copy to the kepub on the Glo. This way I can use the normal Calibre methods to edit the metadata for the epub version and have it reflected in the kepub version on the device. I have a little over 500 books so far, so I haven't found a need for any shelves, I just use the search function or browse through the library listings sorted by Author. I generally think of books in terms of author or series, I don't always remember titles. Using the search function to generate a list of all books by author or series lets me find any book easily, probably much faster than using a shelf. I always tweak books before sideloading to remove things which cause problems for the Glo, usually it is simple to do, but the odd book has more serious problems. The main things I do are: set orphans/widows to zero to get rid of the annoying 1-2 blank lines at the bottom of the page; remove fixed font, justification, and left/right margins so that the device's adjusters work properly; add a top page margin to compensate for the current firmware's lack of one; add SVG code so that cover and other images can be scaled to suit the device's screen; I use Calibre to send covers to to Glo, which generally gives better results than allowing the device to generate the cover image itself. I use the KoboUtilities plugin to add missing metadata for sideloaded books and to fix incorrect metadata in kepub books downloaded direct from Kobo. It is important to get series info and author name spelling consistent between books to allow the search function to work well.