Cloud Library

[Fishbowler]

Looking for a recommendation for switching to an iPad-only setup.

I'd like to be able to:
* Read books locally
* Store eBooks in a cloud service (don't mind what)
* Add DRM free eBooks from the device
* Edit metadata on the device
* Not be tied to a platform (so be able to migrate to a Kindle later if I wanted)

Tech skills aren't a problem, and I'm certain this can likely be solved with a combination of apps & services that already exist (an eBook cloud manager app and a reader, for example). This sounds easier than spinning anything myself, but as needs must.

This isn't for me to use - it's for the mum-in-law. She's experienced (and dependent) on her eBooks, but ease of use is somewhat important.

Any and all suggestions welcome and gratefully received.

[FlorenceArt]

Hi,

What do you mean by "store e-books in a cloud service"? Does she want to have e-books available on the cloud and download them when needed, or do you have some kind of sync in mind?

Seems to me that Marvin may be the best suited app. iBooks is pretty good too and easy to use, but you can't edit metadata on the iPad I think, you have to do it in iTunes. Plus Marvin is better at getting books from the cloud (Dropbox) or the web (Gutenberg...).

[Fishbowler]

It's about picking books on demand.

The drivers were not having the device holding the sole copy of the book, and also about limited storage space of the device (making a full sync possibly impractical)

She's told me that Baen is one of her favourite resources, so I've worked out a flow like this:

1. Using a browser, go to Baen Books and find a book (example)
2. Tap the epub download link
3. Open book for metadata editing in the app
4. Save book (and trigger upload)
5. Tap book to read

Whether the book is initially available on the device for reading or needs redownloading doesn't matter.
Whether the reading happens in the same app as the cloud management also doesn't matter.

I guess I could look into the sync happening with a subset of the books, and creating a separate abstraction for managing Dropbox folders or similar?

[FlorenceArt]

So you want to download the book from the iPad and then save a backup copy on the cloud, after editing the metadata? Then I confirm that Marvin seems the best app for this. You can even do the purchasing directly from Marvin, so you may not even need a separate browser.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of metadata do you want to update?

[Fishbowler]

She's pretty particular about curating the info to make it "just so"!

From what I can tell, Marvin would require manually exporting each book after editing? If so, I'll need to check that's feasible.
The last update on the appstore says "Dropbox can now show more than 1,000 books" - I'm pretty sure that after 15 years of ebooking, she's well over 10x that limit :S

[kyteflyer]

Does she have a particular aversion to using a computer? If not... you know Calibre is just the best for storing books, and editing metadata. I keep my Caibre library database in my Dropbox folder and it autosyncs to Dropbox every time theres a change. You can then access (with your iPad, iPhone or whatever) via your local server, or from the files kept in Dropbox. Some people run an OPDS catalog on Dropbox but I dont bother.

[Fishbowler]

She does her banking/emailing/reading/everything on her iPad. Both the iPad and computer need replacing. It seems daft to replace the computer just to manage the iPad's content.

I'm considering an AWS hosted Calibre instance - the server could give the OPDS access. The question is how to get books there easily from the iPad. Any ideas? I could spin a node service to run calibredb, but there's still the iPad upload bit.

[kyteflyer]

I've just been poking around on the app store and downloaded a couple of readers which I had previously rejected for my own use. Neosoar book reader may do what you want, partially It integrates with Dropbox in such a way that whatever is in Neosoar is also in Dropbox. At least, thats the claim on its current intro screen. I havent tried it myself. For PDF, Goodreader can upload direct to Dropbox, as well. Not sure if thats a sync thing, or just an upload thing. eg in Neosoar, if its deleted from the reader, it will also be deleted from Dropbox (but that doesnt have to be a problem if you make copies to keep in a different folder)

To get books into Neosoar, you'll need an external source which can use "Open In" to get the books into Neosoar. It also has its own book store which I have not explored at all. Neosoar also doesnt seem to allow metadata editing.

In all seriousness... Calibre is the best way forward, even if everything else is on the iPad.

[FlorenceArt]

Another one is Totalreader, who claims to have "integration with popular cloud services (Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Yandex.Disk)", whatever that means. It's free with ads but presumably you can get rid of the ads through an in app purchase. I gave it a try and wasn't very impressed, but it did seem to have some document management features.

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Another one is Totalreader, who claims to have "integration with popular cloud services (Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, Yandex.Disk)", whatever that means. It's free with ads but presumably you can get rid of the ads through an in app purchase. I gave it a try and wasn't very impressed, but it did seem to have some document management features.

I tried that one as well, earlier. Its doc management stuff isnt what he's looking for, really. I could not see any way to upload a book to any of those cloud services from the reader. Download yes, upload no. I could be wrong, of course.

[rfog]

This is my way:

Does not matter where I purchase an ebook, I de-drm it (not illegal in Spain, only para-legal if it is for own use) and store in Calibre.

Then I convert to EPUB even if it is EPUB in original (to add Calibre metadata and the real cover). Then I have a folder in Dropbox called "Pending ebooks" and put there.

Once that I can download in whatever app I want (currently, Marvin, but I've used others). This way you aren't tied to any platform or software.

And when read, I remove from Dropbox folder.

[vikarti]

Another possibility is Mantano Reader paired with their Mantano Cloud subscription.
it is also exist for Android (incl. Amazon App Store for Kindle Tablets)