MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - author metadata not displaying or sorting correctly

A Lurker · 04-25-2020, 07:47 PM

ebooks I create in Calibre and load on my Kindle sort based on the metadata in the "Author(s)" field, rather than the metadata in the "Author sort" field.

This has always been the case going back to 2014, so it's not a problem specific to a device (it's happened on five different generation Kindles) or a problem specific to a particular version of Calibre (I've used numerous different builds of Calibre in that time frame).

I have a very simple, easy work around, so ultimately this isn't a serious problem (which is why I've never posted about it before). I'm raising it now mostly our of curiosity. Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone have an explanation?

Here are the specifics:

Let's say I have two books and I enter their metadata as such:

Book 1:
Author(s): Bernard James
Author sort: Cribbins, Bernard

Book 2:
Author(s): Wally Adams
Author sort: Adams, Wally

If everything is working properly, those names should display on my Kindle as "First Name Last Name", yet be sorted alphabetically by Last Name, as such:

Wally Adams
Bernard James

Right? Well, that doesn't happen. 100% of the time the books sort by first name. The information entered into the "Author sort" field is completely ignored. They will display on my Kindle like this, alphabetized by first name:

Bernard James
Wally Adams

But I've found a work around to get my books to sort by last name. I list them as "Last Name, First" in both the "Author(s)" field and the "Author sort" field, as such:

Book 1:
Author(s): James, Bernard
Author sort: James, Bernard

Book 2:
Author(s): Adams, Wally
Author sort: Adams, Wally

That works 100% of the time. The books are sorted on my Kindle based on the metadata in the "Author(s)" field, rather than the metadata in the "Author sort" field.

You might think that my workaround (entering "Last Name, First Name" in the "Author(s)" field) would result in the books displaying on my Kindle in that format:

Adams, Wally
James, Bernard.

But that doesn't happen. They display properly ("First Name Last Name") yet alphabetized by author, exactly as I want:

Wally Adams
Bernard Cribbins

So in practice my workaround makes the books absolutely perfect, but in theory it makes no sense.

04-25-2020, 07:47 PM	#1
A Lurker Connoisseur Posts: 98 Karma: 335288 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: Kindle	author metadata not displaying or sorting correctly ebooks I create in Calibre and load on my Kindle sort based on the metadata in the "Author(s)" field, rather than the metadata in the "Author sort" field. This has always been the case going back to 2014, so it's not a problem specific to a device (it's happened on five different generation Kindles) or a problem specific to a particular version of Calibre (I've used numerous different builds of Calibre in that time frame). I have a very simple, easy work around, so ultimately this isn't a serious problem (which is why I've never posted about it before). I'm raising it now mostly our of curiosity. Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone have an explanation? Here are the specifics: Let's say I have two books and I enter their metadata as such: Book 1: Author(s): Bernard James Author sort: Cribbins, Bernard Book 2: Author(s): Wally Adams Author sort: Adams, Wally If everything is working properly, those names should display on my Kindle as "First Name Last Name", yet be sorted alphabetically by Last Name, as such: Wally Adams Bernard James Right? Well, that doesn't happen. 100% of the time the books sort by first name. The information entered into the "Author sort" field is completely ignored. They will display on my Kindle like this, alphabetized by first name: Bernard James Wally Adams But I've found a work around to get my books to sort by last name. I list them as "Last Name, First" in both the "Author(s)" field and the "Author sort" field, as such: Book 1: Author(s): James, Bernard Author sort: James, Bernard Book 2: Author(s): Adams, Wally Author sort: Adams, Wally That works 100% of the time. The books are sorted on my Kindle based on the metadata in the "Author(s)" field, rather than the metadata in the "Author sort" field. You might think that my workaround (entering "Last Name, First Name" in the "Author(s)" field) would result in the books displaying on my Kindle in that format: Adams, Wally James, Bernard. But that doesn't happen. They display properly ("First Name Last Name") yet alphabetized by author, exactly as I want: Wally Adams Bernard Cribbins So in practice my workaround makes the books absolutely perfect, but in theory it makes no sense.