Summary
Are you thinking of self-hosting an eBook server? Well, it’s actually pretty difficult. While other media servers are simple to set up, eBook servers are the exact opposite.
There’s No Real Plex for Books—Yet
Plex is known as one of the best do-it-all media server tools out there. Of course, there’s also Emby, Jellyfin, and Kodi, but all of them have one thing in common: a simple-to-use media server interface.
Plex, for example, can host your movies, TV shows, audiobooks, and photos. WhilePlex Pass is a paid upgradeand adds a lot of features, that’s also another benefit: it pays developers’ salaries to continue to develop the app and improve it.
However, on the self-hosted eBook server side of things, there are really two main pieces of software, and both are equally clunky.
Calibreis the go-to when it comes to self-hosted eBook servers, but the setup is unnecessarily complicated and the UI is archaic.
Kavitais another eBook server, and, while more modern, it’s similarly overcomplicated in certain areas.
I’ve personally run both server pieces of software, and they’re okay, but neither is great. It took far too long to get both deployed on my server, and getting everything configured took even longer. I just wish it were simpler.
In the past,Amazon allowed you to download Kindle eBooksthat you purchased to load onto your own eReader—that’s no longer the case. Earlier this year, Amazon made a change thatremoved the ability to download booksthat you’ve rightfully purchased.
This caused an uproar in the eBook world, but Amazon didn’t care and continued with the decision. Now, eBooks purchased through Kindle are only available to read on Kindle (or with the Kindle apps). This means that you now have to go elsewhere to purchase eBooks that you want to load onto your own devices or server.
Honestly, this change is one of the things that has made hosting your own eBook server even harder than it used to be. Finding a large library of eBooks available to purchase and load on your own hardware just got a lot harder. Some authors publish on Kindle exclusively, meaning there’s now no way to pick those books up and load them on your device.
Mobile Apps Are Hit or Miss With Self-Hosted Libraries
While Plex offers its own first-party app (which is pretty decent, in my opinion), self-hosted eBook servers aren’t quite the same. There’s no official first-party app for Kavita or Calibre. In fact, Calibre doesn’t even offer an easy-to-use web interface out of the box—you have to install your own.
Because of this, you have to work on finding a mobile app that integrates with your chosen self-hosted eBook server, and it’s simply not easy to find quality apps that support them. Some apps offer an email address that you can input into Kavita or Calibre and send the eBooks to, but that’s another step that makes it harder than it should be.
I just want a way to upload my eBooks to a server and have them show up in an app, is that too much to ask?
Self-Hosting Still Doesn’t Replicate the Kindle Experience
There’s something to be said about Amazon’s Kindle service. From the library to the devices, it’s a seamless experience. you’re able to purchase a book from Kindle, and it shows up on your eReader within moments.
You just can’t replicate that with a self-hosted eBook server yet, and that’s sad. There arejailbreaks and hacks that can somewhat simulate it, but those void warranties and have risks that come along with them—so I don’t really recommend going down that route unless you know what you’re doing.
Amazon Kindle Colorsoft
The Kindle Colorsoft is Amazon’s first color eReader. It has all the same features as the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition except for an eight-week battery life.
As it stands, I have a Calibre server with Calibre Web deployed alongside it. I had to spend several hours deploying the server, and now I can finally upload my own eBooks to it. Using Send to Kindle through Calibre Web, I can have Calibre email the eBook to my Kindle and read it there.
It’s clunky, took forever to configure, and isn’t simple to use—but it works. I wish it were easier, and I hope in the future someone comes along and builds the Plex of eBooks. Until then, I’ll stick to my convoluted setup that I truly rarely use because it’s just too complicated.
