I’ve added the option to directly upload eBooks (no drag and drop needed) on the browser (
https://qurika.com/library) and mobile apps. Select “Add local eBook files” from the menu to open the file selection dialog. The update is is already live for the browser. The mobile apps will see the feature in the next update along with some of the other changes I’m working on response to the issues/suggestions brought up here.
Thanks DuckieTigger and Adoby for the thoughtful feedback, it means a lot to me. I’m working on the bugs and I’ll update you when the fixes are available. Tag based views of the library is high on my todo list. As for hierarchical tags, I’ll have to see how strong the demand for that is, but I can see that is a nice feature to have. I’m also working on a Project Gutenberg integration.
I know Calibre integration would be quite appealing (I use Calibre myself), but a deep integration will be tricky from a design and technical standpoint. Originally I was considering a plugin for Calibre that would sync to Qurika, but syncing is hard to get right and harder still when one component was not designed from the start for syncing. Also, Calibre is built on PyQt which is not a development environment I am very familiar with, so there will be a learning curve there. That said, if there is any interest, I am more than willing to open up the Qurika API (that is part of the plan eventually anyway) so a plugin can be developed externally.
Your suggestion, Adoby, to connect to the Calibre server (and other OPDS servers) can be a simple alternative. A “pull” from an OPDS server to get the books into Qurika that are not already there should not be very hard. I will explore this more in the near future.
With respect to a minimal mode, I’m planning on adding the ability to simply zoom in so the edges won’t be seen, or seen minimally. I’ll also optimize away the wasted space past the edges of the book. So eventually the 3D view will end up taking up much less screen real estate and exactly how much it takes will be customizable. That should go a long ways towards what you are asking for. I’ll also get more sophisticated about the button placements, fine tune animation speeds so it gets in the way less, etc.
I don’t foresee though that Qurika will ever completely lose its 3Dness. I understand Adoby that you see it as eye-candy, but in my view it is much more than that. I think it provides a faster and more natural way to get real and relevant information about the book (how big it is, where you are, where the chapters start), and a faster and more natural way to navigate through it (thumb through the book, turn multiple pages simultaneously). I think those are real benefits that a lot of readers will find valuable. It is the bet I am making with Qurika, and I believe strongly in this vision. The clunkiness that you see in this early version will definitely go away though, and there will be a lot more features added.