newbie question - 218 epubs not imported properly - why?

evapaula · Today, 03:27 AM

Hi there,
I started two days ago to manage all my epubs I collected over the years and because I have a device since one month (a tolino). I have 609 files in a folder and tried to import them to a new calibre library. But 218 books were not properly imported. I find them now in a folder "Unbekannt" (unknown) and if I click on the book to open it in calibre, it says the book has no format (if I translate it right from german, sorry). But these are "normal" epubs, I can open them on my device or in MacOS Books. What can I do now?
Sorry, I am a little bit lost here. Thank you!

kovidgoyal · Today, 03:29 AM

They arent normal epubs they are folders whose name ends with the .epub extension that is how apple chose to store epubs on disk for some weird reason.

evapaula · Today, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

They arent normal epubs they are folders whose name ends with the .epub extension that is how apple chose to store epubs on disk for some weird reason.

These 218 not-properly imported ebooks are all epubs that I can import, read and open in MacOS Books, on the Tolino as well and in other ebook-readers. I have never bought a single ebook via Apple, I have other sources. And I know that Apple stores them differently. From my perspective there is nothing wrong with these epub-files. What might other reasons they are the not imported to calibre? And what can I do now? Start from scratch?

theducks · Today, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evapaula

These 218 not-properly imported ebooks are all epubs that I can import, read and open in MacOS Books, on the Tolino as well and in other ebook-readers. I have never bought a single ebook via Apple, I have other sources. And I know that Apple stores them differently. From my perspective there is nothing wrong with these epub-files. What might other reasons they are the not imported to calibre? And what can I do now? Start from scratch?

They may look like epubs, but they were broken by the way Apple handles them.
An Apple user may tell you how to correctly reassemble them.

kovidgoyal · Today, 07:26 AM

Just google how to import epubs from apple books into calibre you will get plenty of solutions

sgmoore · Today, 12:39 PM

What size are the files?

I have sometimes seen zip files contain tiny metadata files (including books) with the same name as the proper file but in a different folder. Using the calibre option to import all files from the zip file can sometimes mean it tries to load the real book as well as the 'fake' book.

Could that be happening here?

Real Epub's are zip files, so you should be easily able to look inside them for more info.

JSWolf · Today, 03:53 PM

MacOS handles ZIP files poorly.

Today, 03:27 AM	#1
evapaula Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2026 Device: tolino vision color	newbie question - 218 epubs not imported properly - why? Hi there, I started two days ago to manage all my epubs I collected over the years and because I have a device since one month (a tolino). I have 609 files in a folder and tried to import them to a new calibre library. But 218 books were not properly imported. I find them now in a folder "Unbekannt" (unknown) and if I click on the book to open it in calibre, it says the book has no format (if I translate it right from german, sorry). But these are "normal" epubs, I can open them on my device or in MacOS Books. What can I do now? Sorry, I am a little bit lost here. Thank you!

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Today, 03:29 AM	#2
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 46,539 Karma: 29634066 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	They arent normal epubs they are folders whose name ends with the .epub extension that is how apple chose to store epubs on disk for some weird reason.

Today, 07:26 AM	#5
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 46,539 Karma: 29634066 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Just google how to import epubs from apple books into calibre you will get plenty of solutions

Today, 12:39 PM	#6
sgmoore Groupie Posts: 177 Karma: 718168 Join Date: Mar 2021 Device: Kindle Voyage	What size are the files? I have sometimes seen zip files contain tiny metadata files (including books) with the same name as the proper file but in a different folder. Using the calibre option to import all files from the zip file can sometimes mean it tries to load the real book as well as the 'fake' book. Could that be happening here? Real Epub's are zip files, so you should be easily able to look inside them for more info.

Today, 03:53 PM	#7
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 85,276 Karma: 154365101 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	MacOS handles ZIP files poorly.