books in emby

[resoursedu 1]

hi, there

I added some books .pdf and .epub in emby, but the only thing I can see is file names. how can I read these books in emby?

I found some comments said plugin bookshelf is required, where can I download this plugin?

[PhantomCircuit 6]

I am interested to know too.

[PenkethBoy 2068]

you cant - it only shows the files

 

bookshelf plugin is not in the plugin catalog - and was probably removed a long time ago - not that it would work with current server

[Dibbes 514]

....... not that it would work with current server

 

It doesn't, or at least it didn't with the beta from last December when I tried it...

[Twistedcloud 7]

From my understanding, The bookshelf plugin was end of lifed when the bookshelf was added into Emby. I have asked this questions a few times in the past and the bookshelf features are on the list of this that are coming but are not a high priority.

 

Currently with the bookshelf, you can add your files (E-books or Comics) and Emby will show them but you are not able to read or View them via the app or browser it will give the ability to download the file so you can use another app to view the media.

 

Also it has no way to read local metadata or scrape for current metadata.

 

This is the one feature I feel is missing that would make Emby feel fully for a media server.

[PenkethBoy 2068]

there are a lot of thing still missing not just this

 

dont hold your breath for a resolution any time soon

[Happy2Play 9780]

Emby has only had catalog ability for books, there hasn't been any reader functionality that I can remember.

[Snipernubz 0]

On 3/7/2020 at 11:22 AM, Twistedcloud said:

Emby will show them but you are not able to read or View them via the app or browser it will give the ability to download the file so you can use another app to view the media.

Yet you can't download them, without emby premiere?

[Luke 42077]

23 hours ago, Snipernubz said:

Yet you can't download them, without emby premiere?

HI, it depends. If downloading from one of our apps that have built-in download features with offline browsing, then that's correct.

[oldschool 16]

@LukeIs it possible to get the books feature on the enhancements requests? Could it be on the product timeline?

[Luke 42077]

39 minutes ago, oldschool said:

@LukeIs it possible to get the books feature on the enhancements requests? Could it be on the product timeline?

Hi, it just depends on the level of demand for it with respect to other enhancements.

[Florian2000 17]

I also was wondering when I copied *.PDF files in a book library that nothing happens...
Is it just not working (if so why it's there?) or do I make something wrong?

I was expecting that the *.PDF Files (e.g. Men's Health magazine) are shown with nice covers to simplify the selection and when I click them a PDF Reader opens up...at least under windows. <-- how can I achieve this with emby?
Thanks!

Br, Florian

[Luke 42077]

6 hours ago, Florian2000 said:

I also was wondering when I copied *.PDF files in a book library that nothing happens...
Is it just not working (if so why it's there?) or do I make something wrong?

I was expecting that the *.PDF Files (e.g. Men's Health magazine) are shown with nice covers to simplify the selection and when I click them a PDF Reader opens up...at least under windows. <-- how can I achieve this with emby?
Thanks!

Br, Florian

Hi, you can't yet but it's planned for the future. Thanks.

[StievieRay 1]

Wenn es darum geht die Nachfrage zu sondieren, ich hätte auch dringendes Interesse an einem Plugin oder der kompletten eBook Funktionalität. Vielleicht hilft es ja, das Ding ein wenig zu beschleunigen.

Könnte man das Bookshelf Plugin nicht einfach wieder aufsetzen? eBooks sind doch very trendy.

[marktaff 14]

I just tried adding a book to the 'Book' library type. It was quite disappointing, to say the least.  Can we please get this implemented sooner rather than later? The only feature apparently implemented is 'download'.  No coverart, descriptions, identify, metadata, or ability to read the book.  I haven't tried it yet, but from the thread above, it seems like I can't even use local *.nfo files to specify metadata.

For a data source, the Internet Archive's Open Library has 20 million records, an open API, client software, and very reasonable throttle limits (no more than 100 covers in five minutes). It is quite a robust API offering.

API Docs

I understand adding readers to the multitude of emby clients may be quite the task, but getting the library management and metadata stuff on the server shouldn't be too bad.  Same with getting a reader into the Emby Theater clients.

Thanks.

[Nattfoedd 5]

On 1/6/2022 at 7:08 PM, Luke said:

Hi, it just depends on the level of demand for it with respect to other enhancements.

 

Hi, I am still hoping for this. This would make Emby really great.

Would be nice to hear what the progress is.

[Medic97 4]

On 1/6/2022 at 2:08 PM, Luke said:

Hi, it just depends on the level of demand for it with respect to other enhancements.

It would be great to incorporate a book reader, so I can have one app for all my media consumption. 

[rubicon 16]

+1 from me for an eBook / comic reader. 

EMBY is the best app that I have encountered, if that is implemented then it will be pure perfection!

[flyzarargentina 2]

I agree. Adding book reader to the system would be awesome

[coreyjohnson75 2]

What if it tied into something like Calibre for the reading? Use Emby to store and organize but it linked to Calibre for viewing/reading?

[Luke 42077]

6 hours ago, coreyjohnson75 said:

What if it tied into something like Calibre for the reading? Use Emby to store and organize but it linked to Calibre for viewing/reading?

The most realistic option I think launching the file with the host OS and using whatever your installed book reader is.

[bkzland 4]

I love emby, but I don't think it's realistic to expect it to handle every kind of content in this way.

That being said, audiobookshelf is a pretty good books and audiobooks platform.

https://www.audiobookshelf.org/

[Luke 42077]

9 hours ago, bkzland said:

I love emby, but I don't think it's realistic to expect it to handle every kind of content in this way.

That being said, audiobookshelf is a pretty good books and audiobooks platform.

https://www.audiobookshelf.org/

Hi, what do you like about it?

[sundevil67 28]

Has there been any forward motion on this? When I create a new library & choose "books" as the content type, I just get a "No items found." message. It doesn't show the files (PDF) at all. I'd love to add this capability to my library. PDFs are readable by every conceivable browser on every device at this point; so there's no need for a built-in viewer, just a direct link to the PDFs, right? Is there something wrong on my end that it won't even list the files?

[Luke 42077]

15 minutes ago, sundevil67 said:

Has there been any forward motion on this? When I create a new library & choose "books" as the content type, I just get a "No items found." message. It doesn't show the files (PDF) at all. I'd love to add this capability to my library. PDFs are readable by every conceivable browser on every device at this point; so there's no need for a built-in viewer, just a direct link to the PDFs, right? Is there something wrong on my end that it won't even list the files?

It detects a few formats:

".pdf", ".epub", ".mobi", ".cbr", ".cbz", ".azw3"

But all you can do right now is browse, not play or read.