Possible for Calibre to Update New Amazon Books from Amazon?

[enuddleyarbl]

I'm pretty sure the answer to this is "no," but I thought I'd ask. Is it possible for Calibre (or a plugin somewhere) to check our Amazon library, find all books with updates (or are newer versions from what's in our Calibre library), download them in a non-KFX format, update the book in our Calibre library, and let us know what's changed? There are an awful lot of my Amazon books out there with updates available. But, the thought of re-importing them gives me the heebie-jeebies.

[theducks]

I also think this is a 'No".
I see additional issues doing this automatically as I tent to touch up books as the arrive, so replacing a Touched book would be problematic.
I FIRST look at the 'update' to determine IF it needs to be done.
What I have discovered is MANY of these books, simply update the ALSO BY list
Another thing, I discovered: There is no obvious indication WITHIN the book of a revision (version)

When I DO choose to update. I process the new version just as I normally do, BUT I also make a Tag: rev <on date> (since there is no release info)

[enuddleyarbl]

Out of curiosity, how are you looking at the update to determine if you need to update at all? I don't see anything on my Amazon "Manage Your Content and Devices" page about those updates except for the "Update Available" blurb, itself.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by DaveLessnau

Out of curiosity, how are you looking at the update to determine if you need to update at all? I don't see anything on my Amazon "Manage Your Content and Devices" page about those updates except for the "Update Available" blurb, itself.

I bring the book into K4PC, I just don't always add it to Calibre

[stumped]

Originally Posted by theducks

I bring the book into K4PC, I just don't always add it to Calibre

but then, how can you determine if some random paragraph, late in the book has been updated ?
is there a useful compare utility that lists differences

[theducks]

Originally Posted by stumped

but then, how can you determine if some random paragraph, late in the book has been updated ?
is there a useful compare utility that lists differences

Now you know why I HATE what Amazon is allowing. There is no change log or errata sheet.
When books were printed on paper, minor changes did NOT get done (at least, until the type had to be reset). Making plates was expensive and time consuming if new film had to be made (pre direct plate from computer era. I still did not expect this to be done, because of the chance 1 word could cause a ripple of new plates, at least to the next chapter gap).

BTW Are you going back and re-read the book, just because they changed a few words ??

[stumped]

a bit comparison program will not help much either - it should confirm what you have been told - that the book has changed, but unless it gives some offsets from start as to where the differences appear, there would be no easy way to turn that into page or location references. especially as its comparing what are essentially zips.
even re-reading the book would leave most people clueless, unless they have photographic memories,
you'd have to display and old and new versions - in matching reader apps/ on matching devices - then flip through until "pages" look different.

maybe running a word count on each would indicate if the new version is significantly longer, or shorter ?

i do hope that novels are not going to go the way of movies and music : the extended version, the directors cut, the extended directors cut, the remastered version, the new anniversary version, the we've -run-out-of-new-names-but-please-buy-it-anyway-version...

[theducks]

Originally Posted by stumped

i do hope that novels are not going to go the way of movies and music : the extended version, the directors cut, the extended directors cut, the remastered version, the new anniversary version, the we've -run-out-of-new-names-but-please-buy-it-anyway-version...

Uh! They already have
Baen has second editions
Many Authors whose rights have reverted are publishing their version (before publishers edits?? )
Even my 'Soon to be movie' release version of Star Wars, is different than the the Now version (besides the cover)

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by theducks

Uh! They already have
Baen has second editions

I was under the impression that Baen's Second Editions were due to pressure from Amazon et alia about books in the Baen Free Library. Add a new foreword and call it a second edition which is not free.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I was under the impression that Baen's Second Editions were due to pressure from Amazon et alia about books in the Baen Free Library. Add a new foreword and call it a second edition which is not free.

Anything is possible. I have no link to Baen (other than my Credit Card )

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by stumped

but then, how can you determine if some random paragraph, late in the book has been updated ?
is there a useful compare utility that lists differences

Calibre's editor can compare two Kf8 or two ePub eBooks.

[Strether]

I recently cleared out all the updates in my Kindle library--a hundred or more at a guess.

I updated all these books in my Kindle for Mac but also downloaded them via USB and dragged them individually onto Calibre.

Guessing, at least half of them were not recognized by Calibre as being duplicates of what I already had in my Calibre library. I don't know what Calibre uses as an identifier to trigger that alert, but I noticed that many of them had changed publishers, so that's obviously one trigger. No way of knowing the change without putting it into Calibre.

But there were other triggers as well, which I couldn't identify. I ended up using the new books and deleting the old, fingers crossed.

One book that I had edited myself was replaced one that had been newly proofread by the publisher and a new version made available, so some of these versions were beneficial from a reader's point of view.

Jim

[theducks]

Find Duplicates Plugin will help narrow things. It has a setting for what algorithm to use for the compare