[GUI Plugin] Goodreads Sync

[Gunnerp245]

There was a number of times this week when attempting to access the Goodreads website it would crash and close my IE browser.

[tilia]

Originally Posted by Gunnerp245

There was a number of times this week when attempting to access the Goodreads website it would crash and close my IE browser.

Which version of IE? People who can't update from IE7 have had some problems accessing Goodreads after the big green "Want to read"-button went out of beta. They're working on fixing it, I think.

[drypen]

Originally Posted by kiwidude

@drypen - thanks for sharing your workaround. While there have been a small number of people post on this thread saying they had an issue, very few have ever posted back about how (or if) they resolved it. In the past the only confirmed solutions that have been posted are where it has been due to issues with Goodreads themselves, such as they didn't have their authentication server back up and running after doing an upgrade. Hence why I always end up suggest contacting them since it is nothing I have any control over.

By setting IE as your default browser, that would mean that when you click on the authenticate button in the plugin it will open the Goodreads page using IE instead. Perhaps Goodreads have broken something on their side that means it only works with IE now or something. Once you have authenticated inside Goodreads, you should be able to set your default browser back to your preference, it is only if you disable authorisation for this plugin from your Goodreads acccount that you would ever need to go through this authentication process again.

So it still sound like something that needs to be sorted out at the Goodreads end to me. Or it may have been coincidental that by the time you tried IE again they got their authentication server back up and running . Only they could say for sure.

Yes that's what I thought as well since I immediately switched back to Iron and have been able to connect without a problem after the initial authentication.

[Firesong]

I love this plugin, and use it a lot, but one thing would make my use more seamless. I'd like it if one of the actions I could use was to email file to XXXXX (in my case, Kindle sharing) as part of the 'add to shelf' option. That way I could add the books I want to read next to my to-read shelf, and have them appear in my kindle app all in one.

[kiwidude]

@Firesong - welcome to MobileRead.

Do you mean where it has actions of "Add value to column" and "Remove value from column", adding other choices into that? It isn't a feature I would personally use but there is never any harm in floating ideas here to see if other users want the same thing to justify the effort. If I was going to support that I would likely have to support other device options as well, such as "Send to device", "Remove from device", "Add to reading list" and "Remove from reading list".

[Firesong]

Hi, nice to be here.

Yes, basically I read my books on various kindle apps (android, iOS and occasionally the PC version, about the only thing I don't use is an actual kindle.) And since they have a lousy interface for maintaining reading lists, and limited space, I try and keep relatively few books on there at any one time.

I've organised calibre by tag, and sync tags to and from goodreads (both add to shelf and sync from shelf). My thought was that I'd like to have sending to my kindle and adding to to-read shelf of goodreads synced. Just to cut out a few keystrokes basically.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Firesong

[tarisea]

Can someone please help me. I am struggling with this. I'm not very good with these pluggins and setting them up. Can someone explain to me in very simple language how to put a y/n column when I have read a book.

Thanks

[tarisea]

wait I got it!!!!!!

But I still have the two most pressing problems. One how to get the 10 most common shelves to download (I see that you can do that but I don't understand how. Two how to download series information from Goodreads.

I love this pluggin!!

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by tarisea

One how to get the 10 most common shelves to download (I see that you can do that but I don't understand how. Two how to download series information from Goodreads.

I'm not familiar with this plugin but it seems you might be interested in the Goodreads Metadata Source plugin. I posted a while back how to customize it.

Good Luck

[mfaine]

I love this plugin and I'm very appreciative though of course I'm coming to you hat in hand for help

I want to create shelves in Goodreads based on my tags, I thought this is what the upload tags as shelves menu item would do but unfortunately, after reading the help, I discovered that they must already be present in Goodreads. Could this be a feature request? Also, does anyone have a method for accomplishing this now? It doesn't have to be fully automatic just anything that would get me there faster than creating each and every shelf manually.

[chilady1]

Hi Kiwi - first I LOVE THIS PLUG IN!!!! I have been off from work about two weeks and decided to really ramp up my Calibre. There are all types of new things I am finding out about how to turbo charge this app and the GoodReads plug-in is one of them. As a long time fan of yours (especially the Kindle Collections plug-in which is a GODSEND, I know I can make this one work.

I hate to ask a simple question but I am at a loss on how to do something. I have read through this thread along with the instructions on this plug-in (so you know I didn't just come to you) but can't seem to find what I know is a simple answer.

I have a custom column in Calibre called "DATE READ". What I want to do is have the date I completed the book so up on my Read shelf in GoodReads.

When I go into Customization and try to Edit Shelf Sync Actions I notate under Column Date Read but for Value it is only giving me choices of None, Today, GoodReads Date Read, etc. No where do I see the option to have it pull the date read from Calibre's DATE READ column which is what I want. Am I missing something?

I have played around with the customization on the GoodReads Sync plug-in but just can't figure out how to do this. Can you or someone with this knowledge help please? Thanks again for a terrific plug-in, will be donating $$$ toward the cause.

[kiwidude]

Originally Posted by mfaine

I want to create shelves in Goodreads based on my tags, I thought this is what the upload tags as shelves menu item would do but unfortunately, after reading the help, I discovered that they must already be present in Goodreads. Could this be a feature request? Also, does anyone have a method for accomplishing this now? It doesn't have to be fully automatic just anything that would get me there faster than creating each and every shelf manually.

Funnily enough no-one has ever requested this as a feature. The "assumption" has always been (based on the requirements of those who requested shelves as tags in the first place, not something I use myself) that the user has created shelves on Goodreads.

So there is no way currently to automate this. You can either create the shelves on the Goodreads website, and then refresh the shelves list for the plugin. Or you can use the plugin configuration screen to create the shelves.

As to whether I would consider adding support for creating them on the fly - the answer at this point is "maybe". It has been a long time since I changed this plugin and off the top of my head I don't know if the complications of supporting such a feature would make it too much work. After all the plugin has been out for 18 months and of all the thousands of users you are the only one who has requested it .

[kiwidude]

Originally Posted by chilady1

I hate to ask a simple question but I am at a loss on how to do something. I have read through this thread along with the instructions on this plug-in (so you know I didn't just come to you) but can't seem to find what I know is a simple answer.

I have a custom column in Calibre called "DATE READ". What I want to do is have the date I completed the book so up on my Read shelf in GoodReads.

When I go into Customization and try to Edit Shelf Sync Actions I notate under Column Date Read but for Value it is only giving me choices of None, Today, GoodReads Date Read, etc. No where do I see the option to have it pull the date read from Calibre's DATE READ column which is what I want. Am I missing something?

I have played around with the customization on the GoodReads Sync plug-in but just can't figure out how to do this. Can you or someone with this knowledge help please? Thanks again for a terrific plug-in, will be donating $$$ toward the cause.

To configure the date read column, first of all on the main configuration screen for the plugin just look at the bottom right in "Synchronisable Custom Columns" where it lists what custom columns do you want to use for certain features. So you want to set a column for the "Date read column".

Then it is just a case of editing the shelf actions for the shelve(s) you are uploading to, and rather than creating a sync action using the dropdowns just look at the bottom of the screen where you will have some checkboxes, once of which is "Upload date read to Goodreads when adding to this shelf". Tick that and you are all done.

Now when you next go to add a book to that shelf a column will be displayed for the date read which you can modify the value for (it will default it to today if it was blank) and along with the rating (if you ticked that option too) it will be stored on Goodreads in your review for that book.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by chilady1

Hi Kiwi -
...
As a long time fan of yours (especially the Kindle Collections plug-in which is a GODSEND

Kiwidude has developed quite a few great plugins for calibre, but the Kindle Collections plug-in was developed by meme.

[chilady1]

Originally Posted by DoctorOhh

Kiwidude has developed quite a few great plugins for calibre, but the Kindle Collections plug-in was developed by meme.

I stand corrected, thanks!