Yesterday I watched How to sync Readest with KOReader - finally you can sync your iPhone reading progress with KOReader! and it took me down a rabbit hole. As it turns out, one of my own making.
In brief, KOReader is an alternative e-ink device reader that can be loaded onto a Kobo (native) or Kindle (jailbroken). There is no iOS version however which lessens the usefulness for reading on one device and then switching to another. There is now a plugin that will sync between Readest, which does run on all platforms, and KOReader. In theory I could begin reading a book on my Kobo, switch to my iPhone and then even pick up where I left off on Windows.
As I traversed my rabbit hole I also came across NickelMenu for the Kobo and that is staying. It was introduced as a way to start KOReader but also makes accessing dark mode easier, among other things. NickelMenu came out of my subterranean travels and will stay.
Installation troubles
I installed NickelMenu and then KOReader. I then spent time wondering why all the files on my Kobo were being treated as books. In fixing that I broke KOReader and had to reinstall it. I then connected to the sync service in calibre-web; after I realised my firewall rules were blocking access from the Kobo to the server hosting it. Nothing much seemed to be happening or of value over what I already have with the Kobo Utilities plugin in Calibre itself so I canned that. In doing so I somehow broke NickelMenu and had to resintall that again.1 I then moved to the loungeroom and set up Readest and the plugin. It mostly(?) seemed to work ok. I’m unsure if the position from the Kobo was correct.
The duplicate book problem
When I purchase a Kobo book I can download to my Kobo Clara, and the app on my iPhone. When the book is on both devices, I can read on one, then pick up where I left off on another. It’s useful when waiting for takeaway to pull out my phone and be better engaged. On the Kindle it worked perfectly (which was it’s only redeeming feature2) but I’ve had problems with timing on the Kobo because I’m expecting it to sync quicker than it does.3 The upshot is that most of my book reading on the Kobo has been with sideloaded books.
I remove the DRM from all books that I purchase. I don’t want books removed or altered with out my consent. For the most part Calibre does this easily with Kobo formatted kepub books, and if that fails Adobe Digital Editions covers the rest. I make corrections in Calibre (mostly to series naming and numbering, and set the cover I like) and then use the Kobo Utilities plugin to help sync metadata and books out, and reading positions/read status, in. It means plugging the Kobo in via a cable, but at most that’s every couple of weeks as I transition books.
I didn’t sideload books on the Kindle and I’m wondering exactly what the chain of events was to do so on the Kobo. When I’m reading a sideloaded book, it’s not the same book on the Kobo or iPhone and so syncing doesn’t occur.
Anyway, the problem with KOReader and Readest means I have to bypass the native Kobo system and load the book in both places. It’s messy and KOReader doesn’t even organise natively on series metadata. I also didn’t like KOReader’s display of text. I couldn’t get the line spacing correct and that’s an important reading consideration.
Not worth it
In the end I dropped everything except for NickelMenu and have gone back to the way things are. I’ll spend some more time this morning identifying differences between native Kobo sync and sideloaded books. Will report back if I find anything useful.
Footnotes
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The reinstalls are no more than extract files from a zip archive and copy to the Kobo. ↩
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From Kindle to Kobo describes why I made the jump. ↩
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Sabrina says, ”…I’ve learned patience is key—sometimes it takes a few minutes to update. If stuck, closing and reopening the book usually fixes it. Keeping devices online ensures smooth syncing, and I rarely lose my place anymore”, How To Sync Reading Progress Across Devices On App Kobo? - GoodNovel ↩