How I Got All My Book Covers to Show on My Kindle Paperwhite

KeithDickens · 08-09-2015, 01:34 AM

I love my new Kindle Paperwhite but the fact that most of my side-loaded books would not show up with their covers irritated the hell out of me. So I went on a quest to figure out why.

I now have every single side-loaded ebook in .mobi format showing covers. I have no idea if this uber simple solution will work for you but it is now standard procedure for me and works 100% of the time so far.

First, and this is a matter of trial and error and I don't think it ultimately matters but since I like to have all my covers the same size from the beginning, I set each book's cover size to 277x416 pixels.

I use Calibre to associate the new cover in the step below.

Next, I edit the individual book metadata with Calibre. Right click on the title in the list and select Edit Metadata > Edit Metadata Individually. I now associate the new sized cover, I delete any special characters out of the title (anything non-alphabetical including :,;()), I clear the ID property AND the published date property. As crazy as this sounds, wiping the published date seems key. Properly wiped fields will say "Undefined".

Click OK.

REMOVE THE BOOK FROM THE DEVICE. Make sure that if you have a version already on the device that doesn't have the cover that you delete all versions of it.

Right click the ebook in the Calibre Library list and select Send to Device > Send to Main Memory. Wait for it.

Disconnect your Kindle and check to see if the cover is there.

I've done this for over 30 books so far that had no covers (well, they had that silly Amazon default cover I should say) and ever one of them now shows covers on my device.

eschwartz · 08-09-2015, 06:02 AM

I believe you will find it is sufficient to send the book using calibre.

There are two ways the Kindle gets covers:

If the book is a PDOC (has that ugly "Personal" banner) it will be extracted from the ebook file.
If the book is Just A Book, it attempts to download the cover from Amazon's servers, using the exth 113 meta field (ASIN, a/k/a Amazon product ID). Stupidly, won't even try falling back on the embedded cover.

calibre works around this problem of non-PDOC ebooks, by sideloading the cover thumbnail itself, into the

Code:

[userstore]/system/thumbnails

directory where thumbnails are kept by the Kindle.

I've never seen missing thumbnails when sideloading via calibre, but I see them all the time when sideloading via the File Browser.

dordale · 08-09-2015, 11:54 AM

I use eschwartz's simple method--just send the book to my Kindles using Calibre. I've converted all my books to AZW3 within Calibre. Use the "Send to Device" option in Calibre to send the books to my PW2 and now my Voyage and they all show up just fine with covers.

HarryT · 08-09-2015, 12:34 PM

Personally I've always preferred the list view on the home screen. It shows more, and more useful, information than the cover view.

dordale · 08-09-2015, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Personally I've always preferred the list view on the home screen. It shows more, and more useful, information than the cover view.

True Harry--I almost always have my Kindles in list mode as well. In which case, it probably doesn't really matter if the covers transfer anyway.

eschwartz · 08-09-2015, 01:11 PM

I prefer cover mode as I already know all my books, and the covers look nicer.
To each his own.

Knowing how to get covers transferred for those who want it is always useful.

tubemonkey · 08-09-2015, 02:17 PM

I prefer cover views, because I always judge a book by it's cover

eschwartz · 08-09-2015, 02:37 PM

Shame on you, you judgmental ... something! You animal!

oblox · 08-20-2015, 10:45 AM

I do wish Amazon would make a list view with a small thumbnail cover image, Im sure Kobo has this and its the nicest view for me.

I'm going to try cover view as I like seeing my covers (and try and always get the best covers and matching for series) as they are all sorted by title (series order) anyway.

Cinisajoy · 08-20-2015, 11:27 AM

Like some others, I prefer lists. I also like all the information I can get even if I don't personally use it.

eschwartz · 08-20-2015, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oblox

I do wish Amazon would make a list view with a small thumbnail cover image, Im sure Kobo has this and its the nicest view for me.

Do they???

Cinisajoy · 08-20-2015, 11:38 AM

I don't know about the newer models but the older kobo has a thumbnail cover and title.

eschwartz · 08-20-2015, 12:05 PM

Interesting.

How big is the thumbnail? If it can only take up part of the space of a single row, I wouldn't have thought it could be big enough to be useful.

oblox · 08-20-2015, 12:22 PM

Well its probably as big as...your thumb nail, no really. It has title author and file type size and whether its been read all on one line (5 books per page)

Cinisajoy · 08-21-2015, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Interesting.

How big is the thumbnail? If it can only take up part of the space of a single row, I wouldn't have thought it could be big enough to be useful.

Under the books tab, they are 1/2 of an inch tall by almost 3/8 inch wide.
On the home page only the book you looked at last has a cover and it is 1-1/8 by 3/4 of an inch.

08-09-2015, 01:34 AM	#1
KeithDickens Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2015 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	How I Got All My Book Covers to Show on My Kindle Paperwhite I love my new Kindle Paperwhite but the fact that most of my side-loaded books would not show up with their covers irritated the hell out of me. So I went on a quest to figure out why. I now have every single side-loaded ebook in .mobi format showing covers. I have no idea if this uber simple solution will work for you but it is now standard procedure for me and works 100% of the time so far. First, and this is a matter of trial and error and I don't think it ultimately matters but since I like to have all my covers the same size from the beginning, I set each book's cover size to 277x416 pixels. I use Calibre to associate the new cover in the step below. Next, I edit the individual book metadata with Calibre. Right click on the title in the list and select Edit Metadata > Edit Metadata Individually. I now associate the new sized cover, I delete any special characters out of the title (anything non-alphabetical including :,;()), I clear the ID property AND the published date property. As crazy as this sounds, wiping the published date seems key. Properly wiped fields will say "Undefined". Click OK. REMOVE THE BOOK FROM THE DEVICE. Make sure that if you have a version already on the device that doesn't have the cover that you delete all versions of it. Right click the ebook in the Calibre Library list and select Send to Device > Send to Main Memory. Wait for it. Disconnect your Kindle and check to see if the cover is there. I've done this for over 30 books so far that had no covers (well, they had that silly Amazon default cover I should say) and ever one of them now shows covers on my device.

08-09-2015, 06:02 AM	#2
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	I believe you will find it is sufficient to send the book using calibre. There are two ways the Kindle gets covers: If the book is a PDOC (has that ugly "Personal" banner) it will be extracted from the ebook file. If the book is Just A Book, it attempts to download the cover from Amazon's servers, using the exth 113 meta field (ASIN, a/k/a Amazon product ID). Stupidly, won't even try falling back on the embedded cover. calibre works around this problem of non-PDOC ebooks, by sideloading the cover thumbnail itself, into the Code: [userstore]/system/thumbnails directory where thumbnails are kept by the Kindle. I've never seen missing thumbnails when sideloading via calibre, but I see them all the time when sideloading via the File Browser.

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08-09-2015, 11:54 AM	#3
dordale Wizard Posts: 1,731 Karma: 3472866 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony PRS-650 & 350; Kindle Voyage; Kobo Aura HD, Aura One, and Forma	I use eschwartz's simple method--just send the book to my Kindles using Calibre. I've converted all my books to AZW3 within Calibre. Use the "Send to Device" option in Calibre to send the books to my PW2 and now my Voyage and they all show up just fine with covers.

08-09-2015, 12:34 PM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Personally I've always preferred the list view on the home screen. It shows more, and more useful, information than the cover view.

08-09-2015, 01:11 PM	#6
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	I prefer cover mode as I already know all my books, and the covers look nicer. To each his own. Knowing how to get covers transferred for those who want it is always useful.

08-09-2015, 02:17 PM	#7
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,530 Karma: 158154604 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	I prefer cover views, because I always judge a book by it's cover

08-09-2015, 02:37 PM	#8
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Shame on you, you judgmental ... something! You animal!

08-20-2015, 10:45 AM	#9
oblox Zealot Posts: 135 Karma: 1007000 Join Date: Sep 2013 Device: Kindle Paperwhite (7th Gen)	I do wish Amazon would make a list view with a small thumbnail cover image, Im sure Kobo has this and its the nicest view for me. I'm going to try cover view as I like seeing my covers (and try and always get the best covers and matching for series) as they are all sorted by title (series order) anyway.

08-20-2015, 11:27 AM	#10
Cinisajoy Just a Yellow Smiley. Posts: 19,161 Karma: 83862859 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Texas Device: K4, K5, fire, kobo, galaxy	Like some others, I prefer lists. I also like all the information I can get even if I don't personally use it.

08-20-2015, 11:38 AM	#12
Cinisajoy Just a Yellow Smiley. Posts: 19,161 Karma: 83862859 Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Texas Device: K4, K5, fire, kobo, galaxy	I don't know about the newer models but the older kobo has a thumbnail cover and title.

08-20-2015, 12:05 PM	#13
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Interesting. How big is the thumbnail? If it can only take up part of the space of a single row, I wouldn't have thought it could be big enough to be useful.

08-20-2015, 12:22 PM	#14
oblox Zealot Posts: 135 Karma: 1007000 Join Date: Sep 2013 Device: Kindle Paperwhite (7th Gen)	Well its probably as big as...your thumb nail, no really. It has title author and file type size and whether its been read all on one line (5 books per page)

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