[GUI Plugin] Reading List

[BeccaPrice]

I'm trying to use the reading list plugin to create a list of items marked TBR in my library.In the Lists tab of the customize plugins dialog, I've got the list TBR set to update column for add or remove if the column to update is #tbr, and the value of the column is Y - that is, i'd like an item to automatically be added to my TBR list when the #tbr tag is set to Y. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working. What am I doing wrong?

[kiwidude]

@Becca - you can't get an item put on a list based on the value in a column. The plugin works the other way around - adding or removing an item on the list will automatically modify a custom column/tag for you.

So if you want a #tbr column to be set to Y, then your action should be to put the book on your list, not to set the column manually.

[BeccaPrice]

so the plugin works backwards from what I was thinking - you add to the list to get the flag set, not set the flag to add to the list. yes?

is there any way to do the opposite?

also, once I get a list established, is there some way to save the book titles and metadata to a file that I can load on my Kindle so i can look up the book description when I'm deciding which one to read next?

[tilia]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

also, once I get a list established, is there some way to save the book titles and metadata to a file that I can load on my Kindle so i can look up the book description when I'm deciding which one to read next?

Restrict the library to the books on your list, and then create a catalog. (You'll find it under the convert icon.)

[kiwidude]

tilia answered your last question perfectly.

In answer to your other two, yes your description is correct for the first and no there is no way to automatically add to a list based on a value in a column for the second. Calibre does not have the necessary "triggers" in place in its model to support such a behaviour.

I suggest you associate a keyboard shortcut with your add to list action, that way you have the fastest possible way to both add a book to your list and set the custom column all in one step. Then treat the column as "read-only" in terms of not editing it in your library, just think about putting stuff on/off your TBR list instead.

[BeccaPrice]

Originally Posted by tilia

Restrict the library to the books on your list, and then create a catalog. (You'll find it under the convert icon.)

Tilia, I love you. this is exactly what I wanted to do.

Every time I turn around, I'm discovering more and more wonderful things I can do with Calibre - I don't know how I lived without it.

[tilia]

Catalogs are great. I've had a few - I wish I could do this... Oh, I can! - moment myself with calibre

[ac4lt]

I know the plugin can be used to set a value on a custom fielld when adding a book to a list. I was wondering if that field could be a custom "series" type field. Adding to the list would add the next value in the series and reordering the list would rewrite the series order field.

The reason I'd like to do this is so I can use the content server to browse the ilst in order. Right now I maintain the list manually but being able to do it through the plugin would be great... less manual work.

Is this possible?

[kiwidude]

Right now this is not possible, no. The closest you can get is still manual steps - editing a list to get the order you want, view the list, then using for instance the Manage Series plugin to assign the books to a series in a specific order for your custom series column.

In theory I could extend the plugin to offer an option of storing (and maintaining) a series column such as you are asking. Since I can't imagine users wanting to overwrite their "normal" series column with a reading order, I think this would have to be a custom series column that it updates. Is that what you have, and if I understand you correctly this column series column shows up on the content server, right?

One of the reasons I have not offered this in the past is because of the complications that need thinking about. For instance, if you remove a book from the list, it must reorder and update the database for all the other books below on the list (as well as when you edit list order obviously). Then there are all the permutations to handle of list types and settings like if you have set your list to be cleared when sent to the device. And if you have multiple lists, each list either needs its own custom series column, or the user must be careful not to put a book on two lists (as it will flip-flop the series name/position depending on which list was touched last).

Still - as I have made no attempt to progress the concept of a catalog containing a reading list, this would at least give users another option for displaying that order, either via an additional column in the library and/or via the content server if I understand your requirement.

I'll consider it as a feature request, maybe have a dabble on the weekend...

[ac4lt]

You've described it exactly. I use a custom series column and enter things on to it manually. The "Manage Series" plugin can be used to maintain it but getting things onto that custom series is a manual process currently.

The content server will display that custom series column nicely so it does work fairly well as a way to present the list. The only pain right now is getting things on to the ilst.

[weirichk]

@kiwidude - That would make sense except I already use the series to track books that are in a series. Thanks for thinking of potential work arounds.
-Kurt

Originally Posted by kiwidude

@weirichk - can you not use the "series" capabilities of calibre to give you the books presented in reading order? I know it only works on books that are defined in a series, but I have heard of people creating a fake series just so they could read standalone novels in published order. I don't know anything about Sony devices, but I would "assume" it is possible to have books listed in series order. On a Kindle at least this is done using metadata plugboards...

[kiwidude]

@weirichk - then I am not exactly sure where the gap lies in what you have specifically said you want? Here is what you asked for:

From my point of view where it could be of great benefit is when I have a series of books that are read in order (or I want to read in order).

You already have this capability for books in a genuine series, which as you have pointed out is the series column you are currently using for that purpose. Others have confirmed the Sony has the ability to list books in series order. So for books which you have filled in the series column in calibre, there should be no need to "go digging" for published dates etc, correct?

That then just leaves three other scenarios I am aware of. The first is where you want to read the standalone books by an author in published order. That is where the "workaround" I suggested some people do can be used - creating a fake series name and putting all those standalone books into that series. There will be no conflict with existing usage of that series column, because by definition the books are not in a series. However I can completely understand if creating/maintaining a fake series sounds like filth - it isn't something I would do, but then I personally am not fussed about the published date for reading order of unrelated novels.

If you mean however that the author has written multiple series, and you want to read the appropriate series in published order, then I accept you have an issue. However if the series are related to each other, you have several choices involving renaming the series - either into one giant numbering scheme with a single series name, or multiple series which sort alphabetically - e.g. Foo 1 SubseriesX [1], Foo 2 SubseriesY [1] etc.

If the series bear absolutely no relation to each other, and yet you *still* want to read in published order - well, then your only options I can think of are again to prefix the series say with author initials or a year or something. e.g. 2000 Foo [1], 2010 Bar [1] etc.

Or you (and this applies to standalone books as well) could maintain some text file per author that lists series/books in publish date author. Kind of a poor man's catalog I guess. I guess it depends on how serious you are about published order, and how infrequently you have calibre open to help you "memorise" what book you would like to read next. Alteernatively perhaps the full catalog generation can output the information you want - i.e. ignore reading list and just use the catalog to allow you to see book published dates. I'm just "assuming" a catalog allows you to do that, I have never generated one.

The final scenario I can think of (which was not mentioned in your original post) is where you want to read completely unrelated books from multiple authors/series in a particular order - i.e. a "reading list" which is what this plugin allows you to maintain within Calibre. However we are all agreed that it is not currently possible to automate the replication of that reading list order onto a device, nor (as you reported) does the Catalog feature of Calibre preseve any ordering the reading list applies when viewing a list.

As per the recent posts with ac4lt that last point is something that could be partially remedied by allowing the plugin to support a custom series column. However unless people change their send to device templates to use that custom column, I can't see it helping with a reading order on the device.

[kiwidude]

Changes in this release:

• Offer option to display the reading order in a custom series column
• Fix bug where clearing a list would not immediately refresh books on screen that were on that list

@ac4lt - this should hopefully allow you to do what you want, populating a custom series column for a list. For anyone wanting to try it, add a custom column of type "series", then setup a configuration like the bottom part of the attached screenshot. If you do not specify a series name, it will use the name of your list.

There are a few quirks/limitations - trying to code for them is more trouble than I deem worth or they are unavoidable:

• If you are turning this column on for an existing list, you will need to do "something" with the list the very first time to get the column populated (e.g. add/remove/reorder books.)
• If you turn the column off, you will have to manually clear the values
• If you reuse this series column for two different lists, and then put a book on both lists, the series name displayed will "flip-flop", because a series column can only be a single series
• Directly editing the value in this column will achieve nothing, in that it will be overwritten the next time you perform an action with the list

So what can you "do" with this column? Well, being a calibre column means you can have your reading order able to be continually viewed/sortable/searchable without using specific reading list functions. Apparently if you use content server, this custom series column will be visible. And if you adjusted your metadata plugboards/send/save to disk templates you could push the value out externally.

[BeccaPrice]

I've asked this question a couple different ways, and while I think I understood the answer, I can't get it to work.

I've created a text column called reading list (#readinglist). I've customized the reading list so that, allegedly, if an item is on reading lit TBR, TBR will show up in the #readinglist column; if an item is on the TBR2 list, TBR2 should show up in the column... but the #readinglist column stays blank.

any suggestions how I can get this to work? or am I trying to do something beyond the capacity of the reading list function? (I've upgraded to the new version of the reading list plugin, and am running the most current version of calibre under Windows 7)

[BeccaPrice]

just an empty post to subscribe to get notifications when there's an update to this forum.