Not saving "last place read" when downloading from server

[hotwired]

Hi all,
I have a Calibre server setup on my home PC. I thought this might be safer because if I email the book to my Kindle(s) from Calibre, using my free kindle email address associated with each kindle, it also gets stored on Amazon's server for "syncing" - If I send a book with DRM removed, I'm thinking I might be in violation ... correct me if I'm wrong.

But the problem is this: When I login to the server page with my kindle HDX for example, and download a book, it downloads nicely (no cover though), but it does NOT remember where I left off reading. Every time I open the book, it opens on the first page or table of contents. I'm guessing this is a well documented easily solveable problem (that I probably created somehow!)

Any thoughts are very appreciated.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by hotwired

Hi all,
I have a Calibre server setup on my home PC. I thought this might be safer because if I email the book to my Kindle(s) from Calibre, using my free kindle email address associated with each kindle, it also gets stored on Amazon's server for "syncing" - If I send a book with DRM removed, I'm thinking I might be in violation ... correct me if I'm wrong.

But the problem is this: When I login to the server page with my kindle HDX for example, and download a book, it downloads nicely (no cover though), but it does NOT remember where I left off reading. Every time I open the book, it opens on the first page or table of contents. I'm guessing this is a well documented easily solveable problem (that I probably created somehow!)

Any thoughts are very appreciated.

Calibre does/CAN not track reading position

[hotwired]

Hmmm...I thought that was handled "locally" though. On my reading Kindle, I don't turn on wireless more than once per month but anything I'm reading opens at the place I left off. Not tracking reading position, in my opinion, would make Calibre Server utterly with zero value. It would be better to individually load each device via USB than to try to remember where you were each time. That's like closing a regular book and not using a book mark then trying to remember where you left off. There must be something else I'm m issing?

[shalym]

Originally Posted by hotwired

Hmmm...I thought that was handled "locally" though. On my reading Kindle, I don't turn on wireless more than once per month but anything I'm reading opens at the place I left off. Not tracking reading position, in my opinion, would make Calibre Server utterly with zero value. It would be better to individually load each device via USB than to try to remember where you were each time. That's like closing a regular book and not using a book mark then trying to remember where you left off. There must be something else I'm m issing?

Are you saying that the book is losing it's place even when you leave it on the same device? So...you download a book to your device, read a couple of chapters and close it. You go to re-open the book the next day on the same device and the book is back at the beginning? If this is the case, then it may be an issue with the device, or that specific book--either way, that's not expected behavior.

OR, are you saying that it's not syncing reading position across devices? If this is the case, then things are working as designed. The only way to sync across devices is to send to the Kindle cloud. (actually, I think there is a way if you add a fake ASIN to the book using Calibre and sideload using USB to all of the different Kindles that you want to read on, but it seems like you don't want to load using USB?)

Shari

[hotwired]

Your interpretation of my problem was exact. I have only tried it on the Kindle HDX. I have not tried it on my reading Kindle, only because the reading Kindle, which is a older Kindle keyboard, is hideously slow when it comes to browsing the internet , even if the website is in my own house. However, you are right. When I download a book with my HDX fire via the calibre server interface, then read a few pages, then close the book, then reopen it, it is back to the beginning, as if I just started the book. The more I think about it, the more I think I'm going to side load. That's the way I've always done it because I'm afraid that Amazon will suspend my account if I send something across using my free send to Kindle email address. I'm clear now.

And I don't care much about syncing across devices because I use my Kindle HDX and my reading Kindle for reading. I probably only get 8 or 10 pages ahead on either one, so finding my place when I go to the other only takes a few seconds.

[eschwartz]

If your Kindle is not remembering the current reading location of a book between reading sessions, that is not a calibre problem.

Try asking for help in the Kindle Fire subforum.

[hotwired]

No, I'm just going to side load. It has always worked just fine that way other than no synching between devices. I have to load differently which is weird. With HDX, you can't have the book inside a folder, you have to have the raw mobi in the main Books folder, whereas with the reading e ink kindle you would usually have the mobi inside a folder with the other files, like cover, and opf file. Typcial Amazon mediocrity.

[Lizj1]

Hi Hotwired,

I load books to my Fire HDX, from Calibre Sever, via Calibre Companion. But I DON'T read them in Calibre Companion - I go to Books, and open it from there. Reading position is preserved between sessions that way.

Oh, and I "Polish" the books in Calibre before uploading, to imbed the cover in the file (I upload azw3, not mobi) and as long as the image size is within some limits (I use the resize cover plugin to set them to 520 x 800), the cover shows up in the carousel etc.

Hope this helps,
Liz

[eschwartz]

Who said anything about Calibre Companion?

But IIRC the way Calibre Companion opens books in the Kindle app will reset the reading position to the beginning. chaley could not find a workaround -- blame Amazon.
There should be a FAQ entry about it.

[Lizj1]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Who said anything about Calibre Companion?

Well, pardon me for suggesting a way to make it work

[eschwartz]

My bad -- I thought you were proposing a possible explanation as to why it wasn't working.

Which would have definitely explained the "why", if the OP had been using Calibre Companion and opening books from within it. But since the OP never said anything about using Calibre Companion, there must be some other reason why it doesn't work.


I have no idea whether adding the books using CC and opening directly from Books would work -- probably, since it is apparently the browser download that screws things up, and CC acts like sideloading?
But I still want to know what it's doing differently when downloading from the browser...