# What is Calibre, and do I need it?



## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

Hi everyone,
I'm fairly new to Kindle, so if this has been answered please point me in that direction. I did a search on this site for Calibre and didn't find my question answered.
I have a Kindle 3 and an Apple iMac. I have the Kindle app on my iMac.
I get all my books from Amazon, delivered directly to the K3. I arrange the few books I have so far (10 or 11) through Collections on the K3.
So, what is Calibre and what will it do for me? Make my life easier? 
Sorry for the noob question, and thanks for any help/info.
hamerfan


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Calibre is a third party program that you can use to organize your library on your computer and keep track of what you've read.  You can use it to do a personal backup of your books and can also edit metadata on books so they list the way you want them -- good if you want the series to show in order.  And you can convert from one ebook format to another, as long as the book doesn't have copy protection.

I don't use it and I don't think it's needed.  But a lot of people certainly swear by it.

So really, it's up to you.


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## chilady1 (Jun 9, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> But a lot of people certainly swear by it.


This would be me. I love Calibre and honestly can't imagine my ebook experience without it. I have had a Kindle for two years and as you might guess I have accumulated quite a large ebook library. Every book I have purchased including ones not purchased from Amazon are in my Calibre library. Calibre keeps my library organized (my OCD kicks in here), let's me convert non-Amazon formats like epub, pdf, lit to mobi thus allowing me to read the book on my Kindle and best of all, manages my Collections.

It has really allowed me to customize my ebook library the way I want it. Some people only use Calibre for their "non Amazon" purchased books given Amazon archives all of the books you purchase from them. For me, every single book I buy is contained within Calibre. This library is backed up to an external hard drive and a cloud for extra protection (I would seriously cry if I lost all this data).

I will say this....in all honesty, Calibre is not intutiative however, I have been able through some trial and error figure a lot of things out. THe other positive is that on mobilread.com there are a ton of people (including Calibre's developer) that are very willing to help and answer questions. Similiar to how helpful people are here on Kindleboards. Calibre's developer, Kovid Goyal updates the software almost weekly with bug fixes, patches, etc and I donate regularly to keep the application free. However, I love Calibre so much, I would pay for this app. I have no affliation with Calibre other than a user so I am not being paid for this feedback. Good Luck and let us know if you have any additional questions.


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## hamerfan (Apr 24, 2011)

Thanks for the quick replies!
I guess I need to go to their web site and watch the video.
Thanks again.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

I tried it and didn't really see the point. There's no need to back up Kindle books since they are already backed up to Amazon's servers. Plus, you can only use a back up of a Kindle DRMed book on the same device so a back up without the right device is useless anyway. I think Calibre is only really useful if you have a lot of non-Kindle ebooks from other sources, especially non-DRMed ebooks. I have a handful but not really enough to need an organizational tool like Calibre.


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## Hadou (Jun 1, 2011)

I wouldn't say that Calibre is necessary for the Kindle experience, but I like having it.


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

One of the best features of Calibre is the ability to change the way authors are listed on my Kindle. I absolutely HATE seeing them listed first name, last name. So I use Calibre to switch to Last name, first name order. I also use Calibre to track the source (Amazon, Manybooks, etc.), the cost, the Kindle Category, date read, and whether anyone can read the file (like if it comes from Gutenberg or Baen) or if it's my K only. Can imagine managing my library without it.


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## sebat (Nov 16, 2008)

history_lover said:


> I tried it and didn't really see the point. There's no need to back up Kindle books since they are already backed up to Amazon's servers. Plus, you can only use a back up of a Kindle DRMed book on the same device so a back up without the right device is useless anyway. I think Calibre is only really useful if you have a lot of non-Kindle ebooks from other sources, especially non-DRMed ebooks. I have a handful but not really enough to need an organizational tool like Calibre.


^^^This.

It really just seemed like too much time spent messing with books when I could be reading. I thought it was great until I upgraded my Kindle and need to do it all again for the Amazon purchased books. That wasn't happening, so the metadata is back the way it was in the beginning. I now just use Goodreads to track my books, check series order, etc.


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## Picatsso (Mar 24, 2011)

Well, this post got me to watch the video and then I said what the heck...I'll give it a try.  And I did....I really like it.  I hate that when I want to read a book on my kindle and I can't remember what it's about, I have to turn on wireless and go get a description.  On calibre all I have to do is look!  and I can look at all of them and pick one out that strikes my fancy!

I also like that I can put my own ratings in...for my own reference...and add columns.  I added one to show that I have read it already, and some others.

Another thing...I can see so easily which book is next in the series, etc.  I know that it takes some time to download the medidata, pick covers, etc..but that was part of the fun.  Now I feel like my books are really "mine". 

It's just really a neat way to do things and works for me....it satisifies my perfectionism or something like that...


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## kinkobo (Apr 3, 2011)

Calibre does a lot more than just managing your library of books and converting formats, though those are its two biggest features. In addition, you can use it to download news feeds and have them sent automatically to your free.kindle.com address; you can use the Calibre content server to access your library from anywhere (I don't keep my entire library on the Kindle at all times, but I can access any book, including sideloaded ones, any time, any place). It's a great program; I use it in some way every day. I could live without it, but I certainly wouldn't want to. I have a tutorial on my blog for automatically downloading and sending news feeds for anyone who may be interested.


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## Joe Chiappetta (May 20, 2010)

If you have a Kindle, you don't need Calibre at all unless you want to make ebooks. I use Calibre to make them.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Calibre is like so many things in life (including the Kindle  ) - you don't really "need" it, but you might find that you really want it and like it.

I didn't see the point either at first, but I do have a lot of non-Amazon books.  For a while I thought it was fine to just have them in a folder on my desktop.  I tried to use Calibre to convert a book or two to Kindle format, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.  It looked pretty confusing overall and sat on my computer pretty much unused.

Then one day I decided to try to start moving some of the books from that desktop folder into Calibre, just to get a feel for how it could work for me, and found that it's a much better way to organize them all, get the metadata set so that the authors' names sort the way I want them to, etc.  I have some ambitious plans for Calibre "one day", but for now it's just a great way to keep things a bit better organized.

The more books you have (especially books from non-Amazon sources) the more helpful Calibre can be.  If you stick with Amazon for all your books, you might not "need" it.  In my case, though, looking back I wish I'd used it from the start - and I'm sure glad I'm using it now.


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## Evilcyber (May 17, 2011)

Calibre is THE tool to organize an ebook collection and handy at converting them from one format to another.


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## KlippingsKollectorKreator (Jul 1, 2011)

I've never used Calibre for organizing my Kindle; I use it for one purpose only--converting nearly any known etext into a Kindle format.  

I'll often use it with Wikipedia books to get a "starter" on studying a topic.  Wikipedia allows articles to be coalesced into a pdf book that can be downloaded to my machine.  Though a pdf can be read by a Kindle, there is no highlighting and the dictionary doesn't work with it.  Calibre will convert the book so I can interact with it, which is essential for me.  Occasionally I'll find a book of some sort online that is in pdf format.  I'll do the same with it.

Occasionally I'll find articles online.  I'll copy and paste it into Notepad and convert it for the Kindle.

As soon as I convert the book and load it onto the Kindle, I'll delete it from Calibre.

One caveat here, any highlights or notes that you make with Calibre are not uploaded to your personal Amazon Kindle site.  It you want to save those highlights for any reason, then you will need to make a backup of "My Clippings.txt."

VL


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