Bookshelf – Self-hosted eBook library that runs on object storage
github.com55 points by arbayi 5 hours ago
55 points by arbayi 5 hours ago
Having built a tool in this space, I enjoy seeing all the Calibre alternatives that have been coming out in the last few years! It's fascinating to see the specific wants that people have.
Bookshelf, for example -- what possesses someone to make an ebook library that _only works on object storage_? Is this a weekend project, answering the question of "what would this look like"? Or was it something the author wanted for a long time?
If it is helpful to other people here is how I manage my ebook library with flatfiles and heterogeneous devices (Android, macOS, iOS, Kindle, etc)
I have my own eBook library hosted with copyparty. It is a single binary. Runs on plain files. And speaks OPDS for integration with KOreader (Kindle) or Readest (iOS/macOS). https://github.com/9001/copyparty#opds-feeds
It also speaks webdav so I can quickly sync everything via rclone to an SD card on devices like an Android tablet.
I really like the convenience of flat files and multiple protocols.
Not to hijack but for non object storage use cases I’ve been using Grimmory[1] and like it. Opds, kobo api, kindle email and web reader cover pretty much every use case.
I've been using Readest (https://web.readest.com/) but I'll definitely be checking this out.
I'm a fan of audiobookshelf. Don't let the name fool you, it does a lot! I use it for podcasts, audio books, & ebooks. It's great!
I absolutely love audiobookshelf for audiobooks. And I currently use it for my epubs, but it does not handle that particularly well. It doesn't save progress consistently and the UI for page flipping leaves a lot to be desired. Definitely going to check out how OP's library works
For someone looking for a bit more than this, I recently got Bookorbit running and its quite powerful for being so young. https://bookorbit.app/
Have you done calibre web or others? How does it compare?
I haven't spent much time with calibre-web in a long time but can confidently say BookOrbit blows it out of the water in terms of functionality. I love that I can have one app that handles books and audiobooks. The ecosystem of apps that work with it is growing quick too, Apogee for iOS being a standout for me. They recently added readaloud support (like Amazon Whispersync or Storyteller) natively in the app, which I've never seen done before.
I have no relation to BookOrbit except I'm a very happy user.
Does Calibre support S3 these days as a storage backend?
No but you can use s3fs
(I have my Calibre library in iCloud Drive, but if I wasn't inside the Apple Ecosystem I'd use R2)
Now if only I had a good self hosted object store option