[Store Plugin] Standard Ebooks (Updated and Fixed)

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Take The Count of Monte Cristo and download the ePub version (first one in the list) and view it with Adobe Digital Editions (ADE/RMSDK) and you'll see it's broken because of an error in the CSS that was pointed out to them by @davidfor and hey have yet to fix all of these eBooks. Plus, another issue is that they are coding for the ePub 3.2 standard when there are no Readers that support it and I don't know of any programs that do support ePub 3.2.

The thing is that the eBooks they have do not have complex formatting and simple CSS will work very well. I took one of their books and in the thread I linked above, posted the eBook I cleaned up and the code is very simple and works in many more places then their version does.

Jon, as I asked you before, please name a few of that mass of users still using ADE 2.0.1 to read epubs.

As far as I recall, after @davidfor made a comment about the media selector, the response from Standard Ebooks was that it would be fixed. When I downloaded The Count of Monte Cristo about 2 minutes ago, the media query in the CSS is now:

/* Invert images in dark mode. RMSDK requires a target media as well as a state. */
@media all and (prefers-color-scheme: dark){
	img.epub-type-se-image-color-depth-black-on-transparent{
		filter: invert(100%);
	}

which oddly enough matches what @davidfor posted. Though I would have preferred if they had added the widows: 1 and orphans: 1 as well.

I tend to agree with @acabal when he called ADE 2.0.1 the IE6 of epub readers. It's time to give up on using it to read books and reserve it for downloading epubs that use an .acsm file. A renderer that does not barf on a media query would be a good start.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Jon, as I asked you before, please name a few of that mass of users still using ADE 2.0.1 to read epubs.

As far as I recall, after @davidfor made a comment about the media selector, the response from Standard Ebooks was that it would be fixed. When I downloaded The Count of Monte Cristo about 2 minutes ago, the media query in the CSS is now:

/* Invert images in dark mode. RMSDK requires a target media as well as a state. */
@media all and (prefers-color-scheme: dark){
	img.epub-type-se-image-color-depth-black-on-transparent{
		filter: invert(100%);
	}

which oddly enough matches what @davidfor posted. Though I would have preferred if they had added the widows: 1 and orphans: 1 as well.

I tend to agree with @acabal when he called ADE 2.0.1 the IE6 of epub readers. It's time to give up on using it to read books and reserve it for downloading epubs that use an .acsm file. A renderer that does not barf on a media query would be a good start.

If you drop both of the @media queries, ADE 2.0.1 does not ignore the CSS. IMO, they are needed and that would fix things well enough.

[Joliet Jake]

What patches does this work with? I like this idea but I'm using 4.23 (since I buy Amazon books).

Jon, as I asked you before, please name a few of that mass of users still using ADE 2.0.1 to read epubs.

I use that for my library books. (Not that I read on my desktop, but transfer from ADE to my ebook reader.)

[SatanicSaint]

Originally Posted by Joliet Jake

What patches does this work with? I like this idea but I'm using 4.23 (since I buy Amazon books).

It only works with Calibre 5.0.1+ since it's written in Python 3. Atleast that's what I've been told by JSWolf that if it's written in Python 3, it will only work in Calibre 5.0.1+. You can try it out and see if it works.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Joliet Jake

I use that for my library books. (Not that I read on my desktop, but transfer from ADE to my ebook reader.)

That is actually @DNSB's point. ADE 2.01 one is useful for downloading books. As an ereading app, it was never very good and it is unlikely that anyone is actually using it as such. Download and add to device yes. Read, probably not.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Jon, as I asked you before, please name a few of that mass of users still using ADE 2.0.1 to read epubs.

Originally Posted by Joliet Jake

I use that for my library books. (Not that I read on my desktop, but transfer from ADE to my ebook reader.)

The key word in what I wrote is READ not download. I also use ADE 2.0.1 though I also have 4.5.11 installed since some books require the ability to download a file with Adobe's hardened DRM. I haven't used ADE to read a book in quite a few years though I have opened epub3 books in later ADE versions to check compatibility.

Jon seems to be of the opinion that an epub has to be compatible with ADE 2.0.1 for him to consider it a correctly styled/formatted/whatever epub and never fails to remind us of that opinion given the slightest opportunity.

[ownedbycats]

I once tried reading an ebook with ADE. It was rather unpleasant.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Jon, as I asked you before, please name a few of that mass of users still using ADE 2.0.1 to read epubs.

You don't need ADE 2.0.1 to see the problem. The problem exists with whatever version RMSDK Kobo is using.

I don't know if the current version of RMSDK/ADE has this problem.I am unable to test it. But the solution is very simple. Delete those two unneeded media queries and the problem is solved.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I once tried reading an ebook with ADE. It was rather unpleasant.

But on a Kobo,reading with RMSDK is not unpleasant. The thing is, it's not just ADE that's unpleasant. It's any reading program on a laptop or monitor that's unpleasant.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You don't need ADE 2.0.1 to see the problem. The problem exists with whatever version RMSDK Kobo is using.

I don't know if the current version of RMSDK/ADE has this problem.I am unable to test it. But the solution is very simple. Delete those two unneeded media queries and the problem is solved.

But they are not unneeded media queries. If you set a dark theme, they are quite useful in a weird sort of way.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But on a Kobo,reading with RMSDK is not unpleasant. The thing is, it's not just ADE that's unpleasant. It's any reading program on a laptop or monitor that's unpleasant.

I've tested quite a few reading programs on Windows, Mac and Linux installs on my laptop. Some of them are indeed not that pleasant while others are very usable. For me, it depends more on how well the renderer handles CSS, the page change controls, etc. The only reason for not using my computer for most of my reading is that it is just a titch heavier and less portable than my ereader collection . Have you ever tried holding a 17" screen laptop in one hand? It just doesn't work.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I don't know if the current version of RMSDK/ADE has this problem.I am unable to test it.

Are you trying to tell us that you are unable to install a newer version of ADE on your computer even for testing purposes?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I've tested quite a few reading programs on Windows, Mac and Linux installs on my laptop. Some of them are indeed not that pleasant while others are very usable. For me, it depends more on how well the renderer handles CSS, the page change controls, etc. The only reason for not using my computer for most of my reading is that it is just a titch heavier and less portable than my ereader collection . Have you ever tried holding a 17" screen laptop in one hand? It just doesn't work.

I did start reading eBooks on an old Dell laptop. That was before the Sony Reader PRS-500 came out.

Are you trying to tell us that you are unable to install a newer version of ADE on your computer even for testing purposes?

I don't want to risk messing up my current ADE 2.0.1 setup. Besides, I call them broken if they don't work with the version of RMSDK on my Kobo. And given how very very simple the fix is, they will remain broken until those two useless media queries are deleted.

The real problem is that SE are using the ePub 3.2 spec and using all the overly complex features that are not all that backwards compatible. These eBooks do not have a complex format. They can work very well with very simple CSS/HTML code. There are still people using Sony Readers and depending on which model, the RMSDK can be even older then the RMSDK built into ADE 2.0.1. I don't call ADE 2.0.1 obsolete. It's very useful to check if an ePub 3 is properly backwards compatible with ePub 2. And obviously, SE eBooks are not and they refuse to make the simple fix.

[BetterRed]

Enough already - the developer of this plugin has no control over the innards of Standard Books products. If you don't like their books, shop elsewhere.

Calibre users might care about the elegance of the prose or whether the text's metrical structure is evocative of its subject, but most don't give a rat's arse about the code any more than they do about the source of the ink on a printed page.

BR

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You don't need ADE 2.0.1 to see the problem. The problem exists with whatever version RMSDK Kobo is using.

Are you saying that that media query is breaking reading these books as an epub on Kobo device? It worked when I suggested that change. I know it was checked into their repository. But, I don't know if the books were rebuilt.

I don't know if the current version of RMSDK/ADE has this problem.I am unable to test it. But the solution is very simple. Delete those two unneeded media queries and the problem is solved.

Why not? You have a Kobo Aura H2O. Just put the book on the device and try. If you are somewhere away were you cannot try this for some strange reason, then either shut up as you don't or at least qualify your statements with a "the last time I tested" or "unfortunately I cannot test". And then let those who have tested the books have their say and actually pay attention to what they say.

And for the record, I grabbed the first book listed on the site and put that on my Glo running firmware 4.26.16704 without any changes (just dropped it in the root directory). The book opens fine and displays with no obvious errors. There are no problems with that media query on Kobo devices with recent firmware.

[sgmoore]

Firstly, thank you for this plugin as I have found it very useful. However I think I have found a bug.

You can search by either Title or author, but get no results if you enter both.

For example

If you search for author William Shakespeare it will return 15 books including King Lear.

If you search for King Lear, it will return one result.

But if you search for author William Shakespeare and title King Lear, it says it couldn't find any books matching your query.

The same thing happens with other books.