MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Setting Up a Calibre Library on an SD Card

Epsilon Rose · 07-18-2024, 03:27 PM

I've decided to, finally, get around to downloading and organizing the collection of e-book bundles I've purchased from Humble and I'd like to use Calibre to help with that. I also think I know what I'd like the final result to look like, but I'm not sure how to get there and I'm hoping someone on here can help me. Here's what I'm trying to do:

I want my entire library to live on a microSD card. (I explicitly do not want two copies of my library, with one on the PC and one on the card.)
- The card will move between my PC and Boox TUC e-reader, based on what I'm doing, but it will likely spend most of its time in the e-reader.
I do not want to rely on a network connection to my PC while I'm reading on my e-reader.
I'd like to use the portable version of Calibre, so it can live on the same card, but I'm extremely flexible on this point, if there's a decent reason not to.
I'm planning to use Moon+ Reader and Boox built in reader on the TUC, but I'm open to other apps, even paid ones, so long as they don't require a subscription.

Now for the tricky part. Here's how I'd like to interface with my library:

Reference Books
-> Subject
-->Sub-catagory

Graphics Novels
->Manga
-->Series
->Western Comics
-->Publisher
--->Series/Event/Character
---->Sub-Series
Novels
->LN
-->Series
->Western Novels
-->Author
--->Series

Now, I know Calibre relies on tags and filtering, rather than a folder structure, and it's pretty easy to see why. Unfortunately, that only works if you have access to the tag and filter functionality, and I don't think Moon+ Reader does. Without it, reverting to author->title is pretty cumbersome. To my knowledge, the main ways to deal with this are to either A) Export your library, which allows for an arbitrary folder structure, or B) Remotely connect to Calibre to handle sorting and retrieving the books.

Unless I'm misunderstanding something, neither of these solutions really work for me. A requires maintaining two separate copies of the library, and duplicating all of the books, while B) seems to rely on a remote connection to my computer and, possibly, also duplicating the books. Is there another way around this dilemma or something I'm missing?

To be clear, I don't have a problem with Calibre maintaining it's own folder structure and using the same kind of tag/filtering on my TUC would be an improvement, but I don't know if that's possible. Is there a way to get Moon+ Reader to present my books in a more accessibly structure, without relying on the folders (possibly based on a file Calibre hands it or meta data) or is there a better app I should be using?

Also, any other tips on setting up this kind of mobile library or dealing with Humble would be appreciated.

07-18-2024, 03:27 PM	#1
Epsilon Rose Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2024 Device: Boox TUC	Setting Up a Calibre Library on an SD Card I've decided to, finally, get around to downloading and organizing the collection of e-book bundles I've purchased from Humble and I'd like to use Calibre to help with that. I also think I know what I'd like the final result to look like, but I'm not sure how to get there and I'm hoping someone on here can help me. Here's what I'm trying to do: I want my entire library to live on a microSD card. (I explicitly do not want two copies of my library, with one on the PC and one on the card.) The card will move between my PC and Boox TUC e-reader, based on what I'm doing, but it will likely spend most of its time in the e-reader. I do not want to rely on a network connection to my PC while I'm reading on my e-reader. I'd like to use the portable version of Calibre, so it can live on the same card, but I'm extremely flexible on this point, if there's a decent reason not to. I'm planning to use Moon+ Reader and Boox built in reader on the TUC, but I'm open to other apps, even paid ones, so long as they don't require a subscription. Now for the tricky part. Here's how I'd like to interface with my library: Reference Books -> Subject -->Sub-catagory Graphics Novels ->Manga -->Series ->Western Comics -->Publisher --->Series/Event/Character ---->Sub-Series Novels ->LN -->Series ->Western Novels -->Author --->Series Now, I know Calibre relies on tags and filtering, rather than a folder structure, and it's pretty easy to see why. Unfortunately, that only works if you have access to the tag and filter functionality, and I don't think Moon+ Reader does. Without it, reverting to author->title is pretty cumbersome. To my knowledge, the main ways to deal with this are to either A) Export your library, which allows for an arbitrary folder structure, or B) Remotely connect to Calibre to handle sorting and retrieving the books. Unless I'm misunderstanding something, neither of these solutions really work for me. A requires maintaining two separate copies of the library, and duplicating all of the books, while B) seems to rely on a remote connection to my computer and, possibly, also duplicating the books. Is there another way around this dilemma or something I'm missing? To be clear, I don't have a problem with Calibre maintaining it's own folder structure and using the same kind of tag/filtering on my TUC would be an improvement, but I don't know if that's possible. Is there a way to get Moon+ Reader to present my books in a more accessibly structure, without relying on the folders (possibly based on a file Calibre hands it or meta data) or is there a better app I should be using? Also, any other tips on setting up this kind of mobile library or dealing with Humble would be appreciated.