Recommendations for eBook reader devices, please

[undulyunruly@lemmy.world]

Just don’t connect it to a network. Calibre to manage your library, transfer books via USB, done.

However, in rare cases Kobo devices can be a bit funny with displaying covers properly without internet access to fetch/correct them “automatically”. This is not privacy friendly, obviously.

YMMV with this issue, but regardless if you choose a Kobo or not, I’ll drop some handy tips for you below just in case you care to polish your experience via Calibre.

I can’t give credit for below cause this is copied from my notes and I don’t know the author/source. Enjoy.
~~

Calibre is so powerful and customizable that it has a bewildering amount of options and ways to do things. I wanted to scrape good metadata and covers for my ebook library in the simplest way I could. Here's my procedure:

PREPARING THE MEDATA SOURCES (This only needs to be done once)

1. Go to Preferences -> Get plugins to enhance Calibre -> find and install the 'Kindle hi-res covers' and 'Goodreads' plugins. Reboot Calibre.

2. With your library open in Calibre, choose a selection of ebooks -> Ctrl+D to download metadata and covers -> configure download.

3. On the lower right hand side, I set 'Max. number of tags to download:' at 4. This is personal preference.

4. The only sources to have check marks (with their corresponding cover priority) should be:

   • Goodreads: 3

     • almost always has the best metadata, and is best for tags, which I limit to 4

   • Google Images: 2

     • While selected: Configure selected source -> [Choose your preferred cover size and max number of covers to retrieve - I up it to 10]

     • If you end up choosing the covers individually Google often has good covers the other sources don't

   • Kindle hi-res covers: 1

     • It usually has the best covers but can be a pain because it often picks a foreign cover and you have to go choose the cover individually afterwards.

     • I change the maximum number of covers to get from 5 to 10, but that's not necessary.

PREPARING THE EBOOKS FOR SCRAPING COVERS AND METADATA

I clear all the 'Rating', Tags' and 'Series' fields because the data may be from all over the place (tags are often particularly awful), but Goodreads metadata will standardize it (as far as it can be for my liking, anyway - they seem to have a finite and well-ordered number of tags unlike many other sources). You can clear other fields but I only do those three.

1. Select your books -> Right-click -> Edit metadata -> Edit metadata in bulk

2. For 'Rating:' select 'Not rated' from the dropdown and then check 'Apply rating' on the right

3. Also on the right side, check 'Remove all' on the 'Remove tags:' row and 'Clear series' below it.

TO GET COVERS

1. Select the ebooks you want to scrape and press Ctrl+D -> Download only covers.

   • If I choose 'Download both' I usually have to reject many because the cover is foreign or something, and then I end up scraping the metadata separately anyway.

2. When the job is done -> Review downloaded metadata -> Check 'Mark rejected books' (this option will stay selected in the future) then go through the books, pressing 'Reject' for any books that don't have a satisfactory cover.

3. After finishing the selections, the marked books will show. Select them all -> Right click - > select 'Edit metadata individually'

4. Press 'Download cover', select a cover, and press 'Next' until finished

5. Select all the rejected books and press Ctrl-M to toggle the marked (pinned) status to off

   • I put the 'Mark books' icon in the main toolbar with Preferences -> Toolbars & menus -> select 'The main toolbar' from the dropdown and move the 'Mark books' icon to the column on the right

6. Press the X at the end of the search bar to clear the selection and get back to the main book list.

   • If you don't see the search bar add it by pressing 'Layout' at the bottom right and toggling 'Search bar' to 'Show'.

Rather than using the above steps, if I have some free time I like to select ALL the covers manually, because it can be fun to look at the different choices. Sometimes I'll pick a foreign cover because the art is better. (Also many of the larger covers - especially from Kindle hi-res - are actually much blurrier than some smaller choices and you can't tell from the thumbnails so I like to right-click and compare them at full size) To do it this way, instead of doing step 1 above:

1. Select the ebooks you want to scrape -> Right-click -> Edit metadata -> Edit metadata individually

2. Do Step 4. That will be the last step

TO GET METADATA

1. Select the books you want to scrape and press Ctrl+D -> Download only metadata.

2. When the job is done -> 'Review downloaded metadata' OR 'Yes'

   • If I DO review the metadata, I usually only check the comments, because I can usually trust the metadata from GoodReads

3. OPTIONAL: If any of the metadata you reviewed is unsatisfactory, 'Reject' it when reviewing, then do step 3 from the 'TO GET COVERS' section, then go to step 4 but select 'Download Metadata' instead of cover and follow the instructions from there.

You should now be finished selecting metadata for your selected books!

[bananatrifleviolin@lemmy.world]

I use a Boox Note, and I like it a lot. Its an android based eBook reader so you have full access to android apps including side loading apps from other stores.

By default it does not have Google services set up but you can use the Play store should you want. But its not integrated to googles services. Obviously there is some integration to Onyx Boox services which is based in China. However infindnit is unobstrusive and you dont have to use their store or any of their tools.

Personally I use Calibre on my Linux PC to manage my books on the device, and I use fbreader as a reader (closed source) but you can install open source software if thats your preference. KOReader certainly works but I'm not a big fan of the interface personally.

I use ebooks.com to buy books (and calibre to remove DRM so I can use my preferred software), and you can install the Kindle app to access a kindle library if you haven't liberated your books yet. Ebooks reader works on the device too.

My device - the note - has an nice crisp screen, is well made with a nice aluminium chassie and is comfortable to hold. I read books in portrait mode so you have 2 pages visible at a time. Its also good for a4 size documents. They do also have smaller sizes that match a kindle paper white.

[pinerune@lemmy.world]

Pocketbook devices mostly run on Linux, except for a few android models. I have the Pocketbook Basic Lux, and I side load manga onto a SD card for it. It has a bookstore that can be entirely ignored, and you can use it without ever connecting wifi. I use Kindle Comic Converter to resize all my manga to the same resolution of the screen to prevent artifacts when the software downscales the images. I want to upgrade to a larger device, but everything else doesn't include an SD card slot or runs android.

[excessshiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

I use a boox leaf 2, it has android without google play services OOTB, you can install that if you want and you can side load apps like normal android too. It has a nice crisp screen, adjustable backlight (color and intensity) micro SD slot in addition to the 32gb internal storage. It will open pretty much any eBook format out there, and you can also use kindle app and adobe digital editions for DRM books (if you don't strip the DRM)

I highly recommend it.

[sagittarii@lemm.ee]

I use a Kobo Libra 2 and it's been great

[vk6flab@lemmy.radio]

There is no mention of e-ink, OP has an Android device, I have an Android device, I read eBooks on it daily, I use FBReader. I'm not sure what all the kerfuffle is about.

[bastingchemina@slrpnk.net]

What is the reason not to connect it to the WiFi ?

[duke_nukem_1990@feddit.org]

I have had the same Tolino Shine for... 10 years now? It recently broke down and I will definitely get the new Shine at some point.
You can put books on it yourself via usb and basically never need to connect to the internet if you don't want to. Unsure tho if it is available outside of Germmany/EU.

[z3ror0ne@lemmy.ml]

Kobo is the answer. It used to require some finicking to get it so you didn't have to sign up with Walmart, but now that's supposedly no longer an issue (I've had my Kobo for a long time). Install Calibre and the Kobo extension for Calibre. You now can borrow epubs from your local library, purchase them from your favorite online ebook store, or sail the high seas if you don't give a fuck.

[oneser@lemm.ee]

I have a Clara 2E. It was some time ago, so I cannot remember all the fine details, but I couldn't get mine to start without some internet connection. I gave a throwaway email and allowed it to update before I switched off WiFi and could freely move books with Calibre.

To it's credit, in 3 years since purchase it has not asked for internet since switching it on the first time.

[retrolasered@lemmy.zip]

Thanks, very detailed. I was looking to get my mum, whos not tech literate at all, off the kindle; have seen she could get ebooks at a library with the kobo (uk). But with this info I think I might want one for myself too to use offline as described

[retrolasered@lemmy.zip]

Thank you. Ive read that you can get ebooks from puplic libraries in uk with kobo but not kindle. Looking at getting one for my mum. Shes not tech literate, she can buy and read an ebook but shes always accidentally subscribing to amazon subscriptions on the kindle

[account_93@lemm.ee]

If they wanted to read on a phone/Normal display, they wouldn’t have asked for recommendations.

[akip@discuss.tchncs.de]

there's the pineNote but its a bit pricy

[dragon@lemmy.ml]

Instead of self-hosting, I have a device that can hold a large amount of sideloaded material and sync between my PC and device with syncthing. Boox devices work well for this.

[arehandoro@lemmy.ml]

I have a Remarkable Paper Pro that I love for graphic novels, aside of its hand-writting capabilities. It's also good for reading books, but the size is a bit too big to carry it without a bag or when out and about. Ideally, I'd like something like the Boox Palma 2, but not sure if I can justify the price + Pen having already another eNotebook.

[domi@lemmy.secnd.me]

I was on the same journey as you a month or so back and luckily the PineNote just got a second batch produced.

I wrote down some of my thoughts here, maybe that helps: https://domistyle.gitlab.io/pinenote-2024/

[glenrambo@jlai.lu]

Got a libre2 recently as a gift. My first ereader. I was able to plug it into the PC. Change a line of code and reboot.

Thst made the email prompt go away.

Then installed koreader and syncthing on it. I DL books on Android and it syncs over to Kobo. I can even read via koreader app on andrpid and it syncs progression.

[buttbidet@hexbear.net]

I use my (likely knockoff) Kobo that I got cheap from a shady online shop. Adding EPUBs is so damn easy.

[0x0@programming.dev]

...and then my Kobo Clara briked itself into a bootloop.
Also beware how you buy ebooks from kobo's store or you won't be able to un-drm them (i.e. they get locked to the kobo).
All in all they do tend to be nice hardware and my usual recommendation.