One Book Shelf, several ebook formats, several readers

jostarr

Member
Feb 15, 2011
65
0
Is it possible, or desirable, to have only one Bookshelf (folder) for all my eBooks?
The books are in various formats.......mostly pdf, and epub. I want to be able to use several eBook Readers that can each access that folder and its files.
 

Icebike

Senior Member
Apr 28, 2011
1,523
186
Can't say if that is possible or advisable, but it would probably work as each reader would only see what it could handle.
The problem is that some of the readers (nook) like to use their own directory structure, and some readers handle different
DRM schemes, but the Acer can handle Adobe Digital Editions DRM, which is the most common. You just have to cable it up
and authorize the Acer from your computer.

I use Nook, Kindle and Overtdrive Media as well as Google Books.

I'm so fed up with all these competitive formats and drm that I use Calibre to manage all my ebooks.
calibre - E-book management then I store them in the directory structure preferred by Calibre, A sub-directory structure:
Author
Title
ebook, cover-art, etc.

Calibre can do an excellent job of converting one format to another, although PDFs are best left alone.
Calibre can't convert DRM protected books (unless you look hard enough for a solution), but even without that, it allows you to put all your ebooks in one directory, edit the meta data, so that series fall in the proper order etc.

In addition it will directly download newspapers and magazines. Its an awesome package.
I send the guy some pay-pall money now and then - its THAT good.
 

jostarr

Member
Feb 15, 2011
65
0
Thanks for your comments. I use calibre on all my books, and convert them all to ePub
and pdf. I also get rid of the DRM. So, all my books are in one folder on my pc. I was hoping to do the same on the acer. But, I haven;t figured out how to get the various
readers pointed to a given folder on internal or exrenal sd storage. Am I missing something?
 

Icebike

Senior Member
Apr 28, 2011
1,523
186
Well you will probably have to standardize on one reader that knows how to read all the formats you intend to use.

Not all readers are flexible about scanning the entire card.
With Nook, you can put all the books you want in the /sdcard/Nook/MyDocuments folder with Calibre and it will find them, but not show cover art. Nook does not publish "intents" so when selecting a ebook with a file manager, NOOK is not one of the choices.

LumiRead allows you to set a list of folders. Tap the Wrench, select Manage My book Folders.

So you can point it to as many folders as you want and it will scan all books (including sub-directories). If you use Calibre, just point it to th ebooks directory you tell Calibre to move-to-device into and it finds them all. With DRM removed or using Adobe Digital Editions DRM it seems to work fine. I can say as much for some ot the other readers.

Its actually a half way decent ereader.
 

FlutteringBy

Senior Member
Jul 5, 2011
51
1
"LumiRead allows you to set a list of folders. Tap the Wrench, select Manage My book Folders."

I don't seem to have the "Manage My book Folders" option.....

I have LumiRead V1.0.2.6 2011-03-17 & my choices are:
- register adobe id
- device activation
- theme
- tags
- about LumiRead

Now I have not done the Register Adobe or Device Activation as I don't understand what that is all about....would that be why I don't have the manage my book folder option?....
 

Icebike

Senior Member
Apr 28, 2011
1,523
186
My LumiRead is 1.05.16 2011-06-17, so that might explain the difference.

Are you not at the most current version of the Acer OS?
Is your Acer not sold in the USA?

Adobe Device Activation:
Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) is a method by which ebook publishers attempt to keep ebooks from being pirated so that they would only sell one copy for every 100 copies in general circulation. You sign up for a free Adobe Digital Editions account on the web, and remember the email and password you used to sign up. I recommend doing this on a computer. Download and install ADE on your computer.

You can authorize your devices (once each) with your ADE key by connecting to your computer, or by going to ADE's web site, or by using the Device Activation menu item.

Then you buy and ebook from almost any vendor orther than Amazon, and you select Adobe Digital Editions, (usually Epub format). The book will be encrypted with your ADE key. Your ADE activated device has the decryption key and can decrypt this book on the fly. If you email a copy of the ebook to someone else, they won't be able to read it.

Public Libraries, Fictionwise.com, Ereader.com, Barnes and Noble, Baen books, Smashwords, and about a hundred other ebook sources use this format. Its become something of a standard. Even OverDrive Media Console - the system used by most libraries relies on this software.

Its not Fort Knox, and you can find a way to break it, but its so easy to use most people never bother.
 

FlutteringBy

Senior Member
Jul 5, 2011
51
1
Thanks for your reply Icebike,

I bought my Acer in Canada & I am still on V 3.0.1 ....

I live in a small rural town in northern Canada & have downloaded the update (386.75 MB) twice, a 4 1/2 hr. download, but each time it failed to install.....guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet, backup my data, apps & then do a factory reset to try the download again.....

I had a 40 MB update when I first fired up my tablet & had no problem downloading & installing it......

Great info on Adobe Device Activation & Adobe Digital Editions......that clears up a lot of questions that I had regarding ebooks......

I do appreciate your help.....:)
 
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