Intro from a Debian user/new Calibre user

greyhoundbuddy · 07-23-2024, 03:43 PM

Hi, I use Debian Linux, and have been using Calibre for a long time, but just for converting from Kindle to epub format. I've been trying to find a good ebook organizer, and never really tried Calbre for that. But, then last week I actually checked out the website and the overview video (I know, reading the directions, what a concept :-) and learned how to actually use it, and I'm finding it is really good. I like the fast import and the backup options. I'm still not entirely sure about the tags approach compared with folders or bookshelves, but I'm beginning to see how powerful the tags can be and it didn't take too long to add tags where needed, so I think I'm ok with that approach. I was also concerned that having my ebook library on my computer rather than in the cloud, but I'm realizing I only really need a dozen or so books on my phone and tablet, so I'm using Moon+ Pro reader and just manually transferring books via USB and using Moon's reading position sync across devices, this seems to work fine for me. I copied my Calibre library manually to Google Drive as a cloud backup (it's 1.6 GB so doable in an hour or so with my Internet speed), and I think going forward I can do incremental backups just based on the last-modified date. Thanks to the devs for this product!

Sirtel · 07-23-2024, 04:25 PM

Hello and welcome to MobileRead!

A word of warning, though: Google Drive is incompatible with the calibre library structure, and unless you zip the library folder up, it may get corrupted on Google Drive. See this post (yes, it's over a decade old, but AFAIK still applies):
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=205581

Personally I use Dropbox for my cloud backup, and FreeFileSync for incremental updating of the backup copy.

JSWolf · 07-23-2024, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Hello and welcome to MobileRead!

A word of warning, though: Google Drive is incompatible with the calibre library structure, and unless you zip the library folder up, it may get corrupted on Google Drive. See this post (yes, it's over a decade old, but AFAIK still applies):
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=205581

Personally I use Dropbox for my cloud backup, and FreeFileSync for incremental updating of the backup copy.

No maybe about it. The calibre library WILL become corrupt and sync back over the working library and corrupt that too.

Sirtel · 07-23-2024, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

No maybe about it. The calibre library WILL become corrupt and sync back over the working library and corrupt that too.

How can it sync back over the working library which is not on Google Drive? The OP said they copied the library to Google Drive, not moved.

Still, it's not a good idea to keep even a backup on Google Drive.

JSWolf · 07-23-2024, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

How can it sync back over the working library which is not on Google Drive? The OP said they copied the library to Google Drive, not moved.

Still, it's not a good idea to keep even a backup on Google Drive.

If the backup was ever needed, it would be a true nightmare trying to fix the library. The OP wasted time copying the library to Google Drive.

Making a copy can still be a problem if the copy was done with the sync software using the active library as the source.

Sirtel · 07-23-2024, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Making a copy can still be a problem if the copy was done with the sync software using the active library as the source.

No, it can't, as there is nothing to sync back to the original library when making the first copy.

JSWolf · 07-24-2024, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

No, it can't, as there is nothing to sync back to the original library when making the first copy.

In any case, the library copy on Google Drive is corrupt.

DNSB · 07-24-2024, 11:30 PM

Not quite right, Jon. The corruption of a calibre library stored in Google Drive happens when you modify the files (Google versioning using (number) appended to the directory/file names replaces calibre's ID number).

Personally, I zip the calibre library folders into a single file and copy that to Google Drive as a backup so calib-24-Jul-2024.zip would be a copy from today. I do not do incremental backups to Google Drive since that can be very iffy.

And my apologies to @greyhoundbuddy for dragging them into this spat.

07-23-2024, 03:43 PM	#1
greyhoundbuddy Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2024 Device: Android	Intro from a Debian user/new Calibre user Hi, I use Debian Linux, and have been using Calibre for a long time, but just for converting from Kindle to epub format. I've been trying to find a good ebook organizer, and never really tried Calbre for that. But, then last week I actually checked out the website and the overview video (I know, reading the directions, what a concept :-) and learned how to actually use it, and I'm finding it is really good. I like the fast import and the backup options. I'm still not entirely sure about the tags approach compared with folders or bookshelves, but I'm beginning to see how powerful the tags can be and it didn't take too long to add tags where needed, so I think I'm ok with that approach. I was also concerned that having my ebook library on my computer rather than in the cloud, but I'm realizing I only really need a dozen or so books on my phone and tablet, so I'm using Moon+ Pro reader and just manually transferring books via USB and using Moon's reading position sync across devices, this seems to work fine for me. I copied my Calibre library manually to Google Drive as a cloud backup (it's 1.6 GB so doable in an hour or so with my Internet speed), and I think going forward I can do incremental backups just based on the last-modified date. Thanks to the devs for this product!

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07-23-2024, 04:25 PM	#2
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,993 Karma: 243829945 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	Hello and welcome to MobileRead! A word of warning, though: Google Drive is incompatible with the calibre library structure, and unless you zip the library folder up, it may get corrupted on Google Drive. See this post (yes, it's over a decade old, but AFAIK still applies): https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=205581 Personally I use Dropbox for my cloud backup, and FreeFileSync for incremental updating of the backup copy.

07-24-2024, 11:30 PM	#8
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 48,175 Karma: 174315444 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Libra Colour, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	Not quite right, Jon. The corruption of a calibre library stored in Google Drive happens when you modify the files (Google versioning using (number) appended to the directory/file names replaces calibre's ID number). Personally, I zip the calibre library folders into a single file and copy that to Google Drive as a backup so calib-24-Jul-2024.zip would be a copy from today. I do not do incremental backups to Google Drive since that can be very iffy. And my apologies to @greyhoundbuddy for dragging them into this spat.