Glo Thinking of a Glo --- Questions

[PeterT]

Only thing to be careful of is managing collections / shelves both ON the device and in calibre; I *think* you will find that collections you have changed on the device will be "undone" by calibre on the next sync.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by PeterT

Only thing to be careful of is managing collections / shelves both ON the device and in calibre; I *think* you will find that collections you have changed on the device will be "undone" by calibre on the next sync.

But only if you have calibre set to automatic management. Default is Manual management, which means only when you send a book will changes be made, and no collections will be deleted.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Hah Hey, the Kindle Touch/PW1 does have this, via the Collections Manager hack for Kindle! (for once, the Kindle seems to have a "feature" the Kobo doesn't, weird, huh?)

@Catsnkites, the Kindle can add books from the book selection (long-tap in list/cover view) to collections, it will pop up a list of your collections and you can check which ones the book should be in.

A Kobo will do that as well. You can select a book and then list the collections you want it in. Or you can select a collection and list the books you want to add. When doing the latter, you can doa search for the books rather than just pick them from a list.

When sorted by collections, your book list will first list collections, then any non-collected books; in Recent/Title/Author sort mode, it will list collections together with your full library list.

On a Kobo, collections is a separate list. Which is sortable by name, number of books and date created. The main library list has all books. There isn't a way to exclude books that are already in collections. meeera's suggestion is the best way to find new unshelved books.

That being said, the Kobo still has far better collections support, without using unofficial hacks. The Jailbreak + Collections Manager kindlet + patched Kindle Collections plugin lets calibre make collections for you, and it does support subfolder collections FWIW, but it kinda requires doing all those things....

Am I allowed to say that I think the calibre support for collections on the Kobo devices is excellent?

[TechniSol]

As far as your need for an unshelved section, I get it, and Meeera probably observed the best way you might approach that issue with the current Kobo firmware. I intended no scorn, as I said, an Unshelved Shelf just appeals to my sense of the absurd. I seem to recall that someone may have had a method in Calibre to move finished books to a finished shelf as well, so there may be something ithere that might help you automate such things.

I probably handle things a little differently as almost everything I have is organized through Calibre rather than having to mess around on the reader. I prefer mostly just reading on it rather than trying to organize on it. I found that playing around in the firmware rapidly lost it's charm for me. It's nice those features exist, I just prefer Calibre for organization.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by davidfor

A Kobo will do that as well. You can select a book and then list the collections you want it in. Or you can select a collection and list the books you want to add. When doing the latter, you can doa search for the books rather than just pick them from a list.

True. Hey, while you're here,... Am I allowed to say that there is no match for ixtab's nested collections feature? Or is there a Kobo hack that can do this?

Am I allowed to say that I think the calibre support for collections on the Kobo devices is excellent?

Of course!

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

True. Hey, while you're here,... Am I allowed to say that there is no match for ixtab's nested collections feature? Or is there a Kobo hack that can do this?

No, it can't be done.

[Catsnkites]

Thank you all so much!

I can't manage library books thought Calibre, can I (at least not legally)? So putting those in collections (like a date due) would be done on the reader itself ...

Can you delete books off the device itself or do you need to use the computer to do that? (Thinking of finished library books)

My Nook books and all the others I can convert ... I know it did it once for my daughter's B&N book and I can't remember if I ran in to the cc info or not ... wait a minute! I think that's the only time I "delved" into the inner workings of Calibre ...maybe a plug-in with my user name and cc info?

I found a retailer in the area that sells the Glos, so I'm off to hold one in my hand.

And the next big question ....

Should I tell my husband what he's getting me for Valentine's Day or let it be a surprise?

[eschwartz]

You can always delete books from the device itself.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Catsnkites

Thank you all so much!

I can't manage library books thought Calibre, can I (at least not legally)? So putting those in collections (like a date due) would be done on the reader itself ...

The library book will have to be added using ADE. But, you can add an empty book for it to calibre. At the next connect, it will match up with the library book on the device and do the shelf maintenance. This also has the advantage of recording what you have read.

Can you delete books off the device itself or do you need to use the computer to do that? (Thinking of finished library books)

Yes, you can delete them from the device. And if you use the empty book in calibre, you can use calibre to do the delete as well.

My Nook books and all the others I can convert ... I know it did it once for my daughter's B&N book and I can't remember if I ran in to the cc info or not ... wait a minute! I think that's the only time I "delved" into the inner workings of Calibre ...maybe a plug-in with my user name and cc info?

You probably need to talk to Apprentice Alf about that.

I found a retailer in the area that sells the Glos, so I'm off to hold one in my hand.

And the next big question ....

Should I tell my husband what he's getting me for Valentine's Day or let it be a surprise?

As a husband that never knows what to by a wife who's opinion is that I should know, I say: Tell him. But, it really depends on whether your love for him is greater than your love of teasing him

[Catsnkites]

So .... disappointed at the retailers ... they had a working Mini on display and a broken older Touch. They would not let me open a new Glo and hold it (which I understand), much less play with it and they had a no return policy.

I did play with the Mini ... and I liked the functionality ... I made a shelf and added books, I changed the font and the line spacing and margins ... I am sold on the concept -- IF the Glo works the same way ... does anyone know?

I have seen the Kindle Paperwhite and the Nook GlowLight ... I assume the lighting on the Glo is the same ... I never saw much difference in the first two, at least as for as the lighting.

I supposed I'll buy from the website and wait .... and wait .....

[robko]

Originally Posted by Catsnkites

I did play with the Mini ... and I liked the functionality ... I made a shelf and added books, I changed the font and the line spacing and margins ... I am sold on the concept -- IF the Glo works the same way ... does anyone know?

The firmware on the Glo is pretty much the same as the Mini. I know there are some differences mainly related to screen size, but for the functionality you're looking at I think it should be the same.

[PeterT]

All the kobo eReaders use basically the same f/w; yes there are some minor differences between the home screen on the Mini and the other devices, but beyond that collections / shelves, the actual reading applications, the sync. with Kobo via Desktop or WiFi all work the same way.

[TechniSol]

Doesn't sound like the smartest retailer or they'd know that putting something into someone's hands makes it real and most often leads to a sale. OTOH, letting you take one out of the box wouldn't get you very far because the first thing you have to do is set it up before you can play with it.

You'd think that someone at Kobo might have considered a way to bypass setup and let them place a unit in demo mode, but the marketing geniuses probably decided that even Mom & Pops should spring for a demo unit... Sometimes I think Kobo overlooks the most basic things.

[booklover6]

Oh the home screen on the Glo is much, much better! I love the newer look, and being able to remove tiles!

[Catsnkites]

Originally Posted by davidfor

The library book will have to be added using ADE. But, you can add an empty book for it to calibre. At the next connect, it will match up with the library book on the device and do the shelf maintenance. This also has the advantage of recording what you have read.

Can you explain this a little more? Add a blank book Calibre can manage it? I'm sure I'm missing something basic here ....

I now have a brand new Kobo Glo (from an indie retailer that had one on display and in her purse for me to HOLD!) that is charging as we speak ....