[GUI Plugin] Goodreads Sync

[DooMWhite]

How does the columns works? The date and progress ones aren't being updated, both of them are "Undefined", this is how I set it up:
https://i.imgur.com/ZoFxoMQ.png (For some reason, the IMG tag doesn't work in the preview...)

[MrSorTyke]

Hello,

I read a lot of the messages here, but I still don't know what to do with this:

calibre, version 7.16.0

ERROR: Goodreads Failure: The request contacting Goodreads has failed.
If it reoccurs you may have exceeded a request limit imposed by Goodreads.
In which case wait an additional 5-10 minutes before retrying.

URL: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/add_to_shelf.xml
Response Code: 201
b'<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>\n<shelf>\n <id type="integer" nil="true"/>\n <review-id type="integer" nil="true"/>\n <updated-at type="dateTime" nil="true"/>\n <created-at type="dateTime" nil="true"/>\n <position type="integer" nil="true"/>\n <user-shelf-id type="integer">596858431</user-shelf-id>\n <name>calibre-library</name>\n <exclusive type="boolean">false</exclusive>\n</shelf>\n'

[alva]

As the message says the request limit to the goodreads api has exceeded the limit. There is nothing you can do besides waiting, it is just the goodreads api.

[Rellwood]

Originally Posted by kiwidude

Have a read of the couple of posts above yours (#66-68) where Jesscat and I discuss potential syncing of the date read column - it relies on "reviews" which also are where ratings come in. So in direct answer to your question the answer is no you can't do it today, but at some point I will take a look at it.

I too would be interested to hear about the workflows of how people are using this plugin.

Ok, so I would assume that your book is on a "read" column and has a date read in Goodreads, otherwise how would they have the date read? If you are having trouble getting a date read to sync, then perhaps you could create a custom column for "goodreads date read" and when creating sync rules, create a specific rule to "add to column" #goodreads_date_read" Date Read. Personally, if I re-read a book or read a book for the first time, I have a shelf "recently-read" and "recently-reread" and just sync from that shelf instead of my entire read shelf. If it's a book or two then you don't have to wait forever to get those read dates. I sync them into my "goodreads Date Read"

For whatever reason if you have multiple read dates in Goodreads they are supposed to send down the LAST read date, but sometimes they just send down the first read date, or the last time you updated a read in your kindle. If you update your Goodreads when you finish a book on your kindle and do it from there, it will always show up in the sync. If you do it manually on the site, sometimes it won't show. This is for multiple instances of read dates.

I am not sure if I understand why you aren't getting the read dates, because I never had a problem. I just send them to a specific column in case they come out wonky. I also have individual read date columns for each instance (dr1, dr2, dr3, dr4, dr5, etc.) If the latest read date comes down from Goodreads, I copy it over to the appropriate date read column.

I hope this is not something that you are already knowing and that this isn't already solved. I just saw this while hunting around for the update reading progress since GR limits that to 10 books.

ALSO - Avoid using the plugin to sync or add to your reviews. It will only upload a certain amount of characters. If you attempt to upload your review it will only upload part of it, and then if you sync the review to your review column, you will lose it and only get a partial review. ALWAYS do the review manually online, copy it into your column manually and NEVER let the plugin sync.

I have moved my reviews to a long text column "gr_reviews". I do not have it listed in the column, I don't sync or add to it.

I lost a bunch of reviews in the past because the plugin cuts out after a certain number of characters, or Goodreads won't send down or upload a certain number of characters. If you do a review on Goodreads and it only sends down a partial of that review, and you have an add rule to upload the review you will just overwrite that full review on goodreads with the shortened review you ended up with because of the plugin. You will lose the review both on Goodreads and in Calibre. Also, don't use your comments column for the review, have a special review column. Your comments column holds whatever metadata comments (blurb, etc) from your metadata downloads.

Just do the review on the site, copy and paste it into your review column. If you get a library export, using the import list plugin, import the review column into a special "long_comments_for_copy" column to initially see that your reviews are correct, then copy them over to the "gr_review" and then clear the holding column. Use the Calibre Spy plugin to mass delete the long comments column.

[Rellwood]

Originally Posted by MrSorTyke

Hello,

I read a lot of the messages here, but I still don't know what to do with this:

calibre, version 7.16.0

ERROR: Goodreads Failure: The request contacting Goodreads has failed.
If it reoccurs you may have exceeded a request limit imposed by Goodreads.
In which case wait an additional 5-10 minutes before retrying.

URL: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/add_to_shelf.xml
Response Code: 201
b'<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>\n<shelf>\n <id type="integer" nil="true"/>\n <review-id type="integer" nil="true"/>\n <updated-at type="dateTime" nil="true"/>\n <created-at type="dateTime" nil="true"/>\n <position type="integer" nil="true"/>\n <user-shelf-id type="integer">596858431</user-shelf-id>\n <name>calibre-library</name>\n <exclusive type="boolean">false</exclusive>\n</shelf>\n'

Check to see if the book is still available in Goodreads. I noticed that I was unable to add older books that Goodreads has removed because they were blended into an omnibus.

[SASSBS]

Anyone else getting server 500 errors? Been getting it for the past 2 days.

[kiwidude]

Release Notes:
https://github.com/kiwidude68/calibr...s_sync-v1.16.9

Thanks to ahegel for reporting the issue on GitHub. When linking books if your book has an ISBN that Goodreads doesn't like then there i a circumstance they give a 404 error back, which was tripping up the plugin. Now it will quietly ignore that and fallback to doing a title/author search instead.

[Smelsie]

Hi there, I'm hoping someone can help me. My Goodreads sync plugin has been working perfectly for years and now suddenly everytime I try to sync (using the "Sync from Shelf" option) it's giving me an SSLHANDSHAKE error (see below). I found an old comment from 2019 with a similar message in the thread (page 83) and the state resolution was to visit the Goodreads site in IE or Edge. I tried that, but it didn't resolve the issue (also tried in Chrome and Firefox and that didn't help either.) I also tried deleting all my cookies and cache to see if that would resolve it and it did not. Does anyone know what I need to do to resolve this SSLHANDSHAKE issue?


Error message from Calibre:

calibre, version 7.19.0
ERROR: Unhandled exception: <b>SSLHandshakeError</b>:[SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: unable to get local issuer certificate (_ssl.c:1006)

calibre 7.19 embedded-python: True
Windows-10-10.0.22631-SP0 Windows ('64bit', 'WindowsPE')
('Windows', '10', '10.0.22631')
Python 3.11.5
Windows: ('10', '10.0.22631', 'SP0', 'Multiprocessor Free')
Interface language: None
EXE path: C:\Program Files\Calibre2\calibre.exe
Successfully initialized third party plugins: Gather KFX-ZIP (from KFX Input) (2, 16, 0) && DeDRM (10, 0, 9) && Package KFX (from KFX Input) (2, 16, 0) && Count Pages (1, 13, 6) && EpubMerge (3, 2, 0) && EpubSplit (3, 9, 0) && FanFicFare (4, 39, 0) && Generate Cover (2, 3, 4) && Goodreads Sync (1, 16, 9) && KFX metadata reader (from KFX Input) (2, 16, 0) && From KFX (2, 16, 0) && KFX Input (2, 16, 0) && Obok DeDRM (10, 0, 9) && Prettify Cover (1, 6, 0)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 1094, in connect
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 117, in _ssl_wrap_socket
File "ssl.py", line 517, in wrap_socket
File "ssl.py", line 1108, in _create
File "ssl.py", line 1379, in do_handshake
ssl.SSLCertVerificationError: [SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: unable to get local issuer certificate (_ssl.c:1006)

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.config", line 1204, in authorize_plugin
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.core", line 237, in get_request_token_secret
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.core", line 129, in _oauth_request_get
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.oauth2.__init_ _", line 689, in request
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 1690, in request
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 1423, in _request
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 1343, in _conn_request
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 1120, in connect
calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.SSLHandsha keError: [SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: unable to get local issuer certificate (_ssl.c:1006)

[Smelsie]

Originally Posted by Smelsie

Hi there, I'm hoping someone can help me. My Goodreads sync plugin has been working perfectly for years and now suddenly everytime I try to sync (using the "Sync from Shelf" option) it's giving me an SSLHANDSHAKE error (see below). I found an old comment from 2019 with a similar message in the thread (page 83) and the state resolution was to visit the Goodreads site in IE or Edge. I tried that, but it didn't resolve the issue (also tried in Chrome and Firefox and that didn't help either.) I also tried deleting all my cookies and cache to see if that would resolve it and it did not. Does anyone know what I need to do to resolve this SSLHANDSHAKE issue?


Error message from Calibre:

calibre, version 7.19.0
ERROR: Unhandled exception: <b>SSLHandshakeError</b>:[SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: unable to get local issuer certificate (_ssl.c:1006)

calibre 7.19 embedded-python: True
Windows-10-10.0.22631-SP0 Windows ('64bit', 'WindowsPE')
('Windows', '10', '10.0.22631')
Python 3.11.5
Windows: ('10', '10.0.22631', 'SP0', 'Multiprocessor Free')
Interface language: None
EXE path: C:\Program Files\Calibre2\calibre.exe
Successfully initialized third party plugins: Gather KFX-ZIP (from KFX Input) (2, 16, 0) && DeDRM (10, 0, 9) && Package KFX (from KFX Input) (2, 16, 0) && Count Pages (1, 13, 6) && EpubMerge (3, 2, 0) && EpubSplit (3, 9, 0) && FanFicFare (4, 39, 0) && Generate Cover (2, 3, 4) && Goodreads Sync (1, 16, 9) && KFX metadata reader (from KFX Input) (2, 16, 0) && From KFX (2, 16, 0) && KFX Input (2, 16, 0) && Obok DeDRM (10, 0, 9) && Prettify Cover (1, 6, 0)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 1094, in connect
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 117, in _ssl_wrap_socket
File "ssl.py", line 517, in wrap_socket
File "ssl.py", line 1108, in _create
File "ssl.py", line 1379, in do_handshake
ssl.SSLCertVerificationError: [SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: unable to get local issuer certificate (_ssl.c:1006)

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.config", line 1204, in authorize_plugin
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.core", line 237, in get_request_token_secret
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.core", line 129, in _oauth_request_get
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.oauth2.__init_ _", line 689, in request
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 1690, in request
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 1423, in _request
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 1343, in _conn_request
File "calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.__init__" , line 1120, in connect
calibre_plugins.goodreads_sync.httplib2.SSLHandsha keError: [SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: unable to get local issuer certificate (_ssl.c:1006)

Nvm, I was able to get it fixed. I did a full removal of the plugin and reinstalled it, but that still didn't work. What I ended up having to do was fully disable my VPN (Private Internet Access with Kill switch on). THEN when I clicked on the "Authorize Plugin with Goodreads", it loaded up the Goodreads website (into Chrome). At the top it displayed a message saying 'This app is already authorized", but then the Plugin started working in Calibre again!

[DisabledReader]

New Feature Request
Forgive me if this function already exists.

I would like to be able to check that all the Goodreads links in Calibre are still valid and match the book records on the website.
I have come across the odd discrepancy in the past by pure accident; obviously due to site librarians making changes.
Clearly, not a high priority but would be a welcome feature if at all possible.
Thank you.

[kiwidude]

Release Notes
https://github.com/kiwidude68/calibr..._sync-v1.16.10

This fixes a problem for users who use the half star feature on their rating custom columns. Goodreads doesnt support half stars so the value was being rounded down in both Goodreads and then overwriting back into calibre. Now it will still round down for Goodreads but leave a calibre value untouched if the star rating from the dialog remains the same.

[kiwidude]

Originally Posted by DisabledReader

New Feature Request
Forgive me if this function already exists.

I would like to be able to check that all the Goodreads links in Calibre are still valid and match the book records on the website.
I have come across the odd discrepancy in the past by pure accident; obviously due to site librarians making changes.
Clearly, not a high priority but would be a welcome feature if at all possible.
Thank you.

No the function doesn't exist. I understand where you are coming from with this as it has crossed my mind previously.

The issue is that there is no kind of bulk query that can be done against goodreads to determine whether an id is valid or not (that I am aware of at least). Which means the only way to do it would be the equivalent of opening a browser page at each and every one of the goodreads ids in your library and checking the response that comes back.

For users who have tens of thousands of books this will thrash the goodreads website once a bunch of users choose to kick that off. I don't want to have more problems with browser user agents etc from them blocking the plugin.

So right now it falls into the "yes it would be nice but would cause too many other problems" category.

[DisabledReader]

@kiwidude Thank you for your time.
I thought it might be difficult to do.

Just a thought though, could a dry run of syncing read dates from Goodreads to Calibre not produce a list of entries not found without actually changing any Calibre data?

The list wouldn't have to be 100% accurate but it might be more manageable to check manually than an entire library. In my case, that's 8,500+ books.

I doubt I have more than a dozen or so incorrect links (at a guess) so if nothing can be done then I can live with it.
Thank you.

[kiwidude]

Hi, no the “sync” functionality is not an approach I want to go down. Sync is the biggest API feature that gets the plugin in trouble with goodreads when it comes to volume of calls. I never use it and regret supporting it in the plugin at all for the amount of noise it has created over the years.

[DisabledReader]

@kiwidude
OK, thank you. I can understand your reasoning.
I think I've only used the Sync function once, when Calibre had a date bug and it was easier to grab the read dates from Goodreads than try to correct them manually.
As for incorrect links it's not a major issue, so I'll fix as I find them.
Thank you for your time.