Troubleshooting Goodreads error on sideloaded books

synecdoche · 04-15-2021, 07:33 AM

I am not sure if this is a Kindle or a Calibre issue, but after I've read a sideloaded book I am prompted to rate it. However, whenever I do that, I get an error message. (I am sorry that I don't have the actual phrasing—it was late when I saw it again last night.) Nor does the book get automatically marked as "Read" on Calibre.

My Kindle is connected to both my Amazon and Goodreads accounts, and I am able to go into the Goodreads interface on the Kindle and do this manually without any issue.

This is on a new Kindle Oasis, but I had the same issue on my old PW2. The books are formatted as KFX and side-loaded via Calibre.

shamanNS · 04-15-2021, 09:14 AM

Kindle <> Goodreads integration uses book's ASIN id from Kindle Store. Calibre converted / generated books normally don't use IDs known to Amazon & Kindle Store thus there is no linkage between book's Amazon ID and Goodreads ID of the same book edition. Thus no automatic integration with Goodreads shelves, read process, read status...

Simply put: book not from Kindle Store = no valid ASIN value = no Goodreads integration.

So remaining choices are:

1) do all that manually on Goodreads website (on Kindle itself if you're a masochist or on your phone or PC)
2) manually search for ASIN id for that particular book on Amazon.com and insert it into your "sideload book" file ie fake that you have retail Kindle ebook.

synecdoche · 04-16-2021, 11:00 AM

Thanks! Do you know the syntax for inputting the correct information? I can find the ASIN for the books, but is it listed as

Quote:

amazon:B00AB1A1B4

or does it use a different key, such as "asin"?

CathyA · 04-16-2021, 07:43 PM

Here's what I do (got these instructions from an old Reddit post some time ago):
- get the AZW3 file into the Calibre library, whether by import or conversion
- use Calibre's Edit Metadata button and put "asin:xxxxxxxx" in the IDs field. Use the actual ASIN for the Kindle edition
- use the Quality Check plugin for Calibre and select Fix / Fix ASIN for Kindle Fire

04-15-2021, 07:33 AM	#1
synecdoche Member Posts: 23 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Kindle	Goodreads error on sideloaded books I am not sure if this is a Kindle or a Calibre issue, but after I've read a sideloaded book I am prompted to rate it. However, whenever I do that, I get an error message. (I am sorry that I don't have the actual phrasing—it was late when I saw it again last night.) Nor does the book get automatically marked as "Read" on Calibre. My Kindle is connected to both my Amazon and Goodreads accounts, and I am able to go into the Goodreads interface on the Kindle and do this manually without any issue. This is on a new Kindle Oasis, but I had the same issue on my old PW2. The books are formatted as KFX and side-loaded via Calibre.

04-15-2021, 09:14 AM	#2
shamanNS Guru Posts: 929 Karma: 10500004 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Serbia Device: Kindle PW5, Kobo Libra 2, Kindle PW1	Kindle <> Goodreads integration uses book's ASIN id from Kindle Store. Calibre converted / generated books normally don't use IDs known to Amazon & Kindle Store thus there is no linkage between book's Amazon ID and Goodreads ID of the same book edition. Thus no automatic integration with Goodreads shelves, read process, read status... Simply put: book not from Kindle Store = no valid ASIN value = no Goodreads integration. So remaining choices are: 1) do all that manually on Goodreads website (on Kindle itself if you're a masochist or on your phone or PC) 2) manually search for ASIN id for that particular book on Amazon.com and insert it into your "sideload book" file ie fake that you have retail Kindle ebook. Last edited by shamanNS; 04-15-2021 at 09:17 AM.

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04-16-2021, 07:43 PM	#4
CathyA Zealot Posts: 100 Karma: 903052 Join Date: Jun 2017 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Here's what I do (got these instructions from an old Reddit post some time ago): - get the AZW3 file into the Calibre library, whether by import or conversion - use Calibre's Edit Metadata button and put "asin:xxxxxxxx" in the IDs field. Use the actual ASIN for the Kindle edition - use the Quality Check plugin for Calibre and select Fix / Fix ASIN for Kindle Fire