Kindle Update Scrambling Custom 'Author' Field

[Catfishers]

Howdy y'all,

I've noticed since the update which changed the way the kindle displays author names (from lastname, firstname by default to firstname lastname) the data I had previously customised via plugboard is now displaying out of order.

I have much preferred to add series and series index data into the author field, as I feel like it looks more neat. Also, as the font for this field is smaller, there's less chance that the title of the book ends up disappearing off the side of the screen if the series title is on the longer side.

However, now that the kindle is re-ordering the 'author_sort' field, it's automatically placing the author lastname at the end of the string.

For example, an author field which had previously read:
Bennett, Robert Jackson - Shadow of the Leviathan 1

Now reads:
Robert Jackson - Shadow of the Leviathan 1 Bennett

I genuinely have no idea how to fix this issue. The books are appearing in the correct order (alphabetically by author lastname), but it looks awful and bothers me a lot. Theoretically I could make custom columns for firstname and lastname and force the field to re-order in the way I prefer. However, then the books which are purchased directly from the kindle store, rather than side loaded, won't match.

I've tried to pivot to back to just including series information in the title field, but it no longer seems to be possible to do that? No matter how I arrange my template, the file shows up in my kindle with just the name of the book and nothing else.

I'm extremely frustrated, as I can't stand it when files are disorderly or mismatched. I've spent so many hours making sure all of my metadata is just right only for it to be completely ruined overnight. Dramatic as it sounds, I don't even want to read or look at the damn thing anymore, and am seriously contemplating buying a kobo.

Is anyone else having this issue?

[Sirtel]

What device and format is your plugboard for? What happens if you choose any device and any formats?

[Catfishers]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

What device and format is your plugboard for? What happens if you choose any device and any formats?

I've always had it set to to epub/any.

I tried again just now with any/any and the issue remains the same; I can't add the series information to the title, and if I try to add it to the author field like I have been it gets jammed in between firstname and lastname.

Note, the issue with the author field has happened to all books on the device, including those which had already been on the device at the time of update

[Sirtel]

Why epub? Kindles don't read epub. Presumably Calibre converts your epub to something else when you send a book to your Kindle.

Post your templates here, and let our gurus look at them.

[Catfishers]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Why epub? Kindles don't read epub. Presumably Calibre converts your epub to something else when you send a book to your Kindle.

Post your templates here, and let our gurus look at them.

I use the Send to Kindle app for Mac, for which ePub is the only really usable ebook format. I've also tested it using the email method, and had the same issues. I've never used usb transfer.

I've been using the following template in the 'authors' field for years without issue until now:
{author_sort} {series:| - |} {series_index}

I tried the following yesterday, with no luck, in the 'title' field:
{series} {series_index:| - | - } {title}

I think the reason the title information isn't transferring to the device is just due to the way the Send to Kindle app works, and to be honest it's not my primary issue - I know I can override the title before uploading and it will appear in the device the way I've listed above (it's just a lot more work). However, I think this looks cluttered and ugly, and is overall subpar to the way I've been doing it (in the author field).

My real problem is that, since the update, Kindle seems to be automatically splitting the 'author_sort' value at the comma, using the data preceding the comma for sorting, and then moving it to the end of the string for display. Hence why it's appearing in my kindle as if the lastname is at the end of the other information. If I restart my kindle, my library will appear totally fine, as I've had it for years, but if I scroll it updates to split the author name at the comma again.

It just bothers me how ugly it looks. I can sort of resolve that by duplicating the lastname in the author_sort field, prior to the comma, but still reads in-device as:
Robert Jackson Bennett - Shadow of the Leviathan 1 Bennett

But obviously this is an imperfect solution.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Catfishers

Theoretically I could make custom columns for firstname and lastname and force the field to re-order in the way I prefer. However, then the books which are purchased directly from the kindle store, rather than side loaded, won't match.

But they shouldn't match anyway, since I don't think Amazon attaches the series name to the author name? Or what do you mean by not matching?

A new custom column might be the only way to solve this.

[Sirtel]

delete post

[chaley]

Originally Posted by Catfishers

For example, an author field which had previously read:
Bennett, Robert Jackson - Shadow of the Leviathan 1

Now reads:
Robert Jackson - Shadow of the Leviathan 1 Bennett

It looks like the kindle is treating this as a LN, FN author, reordering it so it appears as FN LN. One way to fool the kindle is to use a charater that looks like a comma but isn't. Something like this:

• ‚ (single low-9 quotation mark),
• ❟ heavy low single comma quotation mark ornament
• ﹐small comma

You can replace the comma with the chosen character in a plugboard. NB: This only works when using calibre to send the book. Plugboards do nothing when using an external app to send the book such as Send to Kindle.

EDIT: you can replace the commas in the author_sort field in calibre using Manage Authors. These changes should be used by Send to Kindle, although I don't know that.

A comprehensive list of options is at https://www.amp-what.com/unicode/search/comma

[Catfishers]

Originally Posted by chaley

It looks like the kindle is treating this as a LN, FN author, reordering it so it appears as FN LN. One way to fool the kindle is to use a charater that looks like a comma but isn't. Something like this:

• ‚ (single low-9 quotation mark),
• ❟ heavy low single comma quotation mark ornament
• ﹐small comma

Yes, that's exactly what's happening. This solution should work, in lieu of amazon making changes to name order an option which users can toggle on and off.

Again, sideloaded content won't match the books I've bought from amazon, but it's as close as I think I'm going to get.

As others have noted, amazon doesn't include series information in the way that I like to, and I get that it maybe doesn't seem logical to be bothered by one inconsistency and not another. However, the way that books in any directly purchased series are nested together is not as visually disruptive (to me) as a change to the way the names themselves are formatted. For me, having some books be firstname-lastname and others lastname-firstname is the visual equivalent of having sand in my socks.