Mac Sequoia update seems to have broken Books - replacement or fix?
October 13, 2024 11:08 AM Subscribe
I updated my Mac laptop to Sequoia and now Books will not recognize epubs unless I restart. Then after a while it stops recognizing them. I hate this.
It was stupid to update - Mac OS updates always seem to ruin something. But I thought it would fix another issue so I did it.
Now, when I open Books, it tells me I don't have any books. I have many, many epubs, mostly free ones from Project Gutenberg, etc. I do not buy books from the Apple Store, which is what it seems to want me to do.
It will not let me import files into Books. If I attempt to open them from downloads nothing happens.
If I restart the computer, it recognizes my files...until I close the laptop, then when I open the laptop, even if only moments later, I have to restart.
I've looked for solutions on the internet and they all say "restart fixes it", but yeah, I don't want to restart my computer five times a day.
Is there a real fix for this? If there isn't, can you recommend some kind of app I can put on the laptop that will work with free ePubs? I assume this is all some bullshit scam where I'm supposed to give up and buy all my Dickens and old ghost stories and so on again from Apple so that I can actually read them, but fuck that.
It was stupid to update - Mac OS updates always seem to ruin something. But I thought it would fix another issue so I did it.
Now, when I open Books, it tells me I don't have any books. I have many, many epubs, mostly free ones from Project Gutenberg, etc. I do not buy books from the Apple Store, which is what it seems to want me to do.
It will not let me import files into Books. If I attempt to open them from downloads nothing happens.
If I restart the computer, it recognizes my files...until I close the laptop, then when I open the laptop, even if only moments later, I have to restart.
I've looked for solutions on the internet and they all say "restart fixes it", but yeah, I don't want to restart my computer five times a day.
Is there a real fix for this? If there isn't, can you recommend some kind of app I can put on the laptop that will work with free ePubs? I assume this is all some bullshit scam where I'm supposed to give up and buy all my Dickens and old ghost stories and so on again from Apple so that I can actually read them, but fuck that.
Not an immediate fix, but you can report the bug to Apple. A good, detailed bug report will help get it fixed quicker.
posted by sriracha at 11:33 AM on October 13
posted by sriracha at 11:33 AM on October 13
Calibre is pretty excellent for reading/organizing/converting ebooks.
posted by gregr at 12:09 PM on October 13
posted by gregr at 12:09 PM on October 13
Yes, Calibre is great if you want to tag/organize your books, and it does have a reader.
Another option just for reading is Thorium, which was developed using the open source Readium platform.
For some other options, the Wikipedia page on epubs has a list of reading software that indicates which apps work on OSX. Not sure how current it is, this is a shifting landscape.
posted by yarrow at 12:34 PM on October 13
Another option just for reading is Thorium, which was developed using the open source Readium platform.
For some other options, the Wikipedia page on epubs has a list of reading software that indicates which apps work on OSX. Not sure how current it is, this is a shifting landscape.
posted by yarrow at 12:34 PM on October 13
I would also recommend Calibre. I’ve been running it with the same database/set of folders for over 14 years (moved across multiple Macs) and it has never screwed up a single time (knock on wood).
It’s kinda ugly until you tweak it a bit to make it feel more Mac-like, but it’s rock solid. The reader is bare bones but works just fine. The experience feels like That One Weekend You Got iTunes Just the Way You Wanted It, only instead of Apple screwing it up after three months it stays the way you like it forever.
posted by bcwinters at 12:55 PM on October 13
It’s kinda ugly until you tweak it a bit to make it feel more Mac-like, but it’s rock solid. The reader is bare bones but works just fine. The experience feels like That One Weekend You Got iTunes Just the Way You Wanted It, only instead of Apple screwing it up after three months it stays the way you like it forever.
posted by bcwinters at 12:55 PM on October 13
I wonder if your issue is related to QuickLook plugins now needing to be "signed" in macOS Sequoia. Do you have any book-related third-party QuickLook plugins installed? Look in /Users/YOURUSERNAME/Library/QuickLook and /Library/QuickLook. If there's anything in either, remove it, relaunch the Finder, and see if that helps.
For QuickLook access to epubs and for quick reading of them I use Murasaki https://apps.apple.com/us/app/murasaki-epub-reader/id430300762?mt=12.
posted by Mo Nickels at 2:40 PM on October 13
For QuickLook access to epubs and for quick reading of them I use Murasaki https://apps.apple.com/us/app/murasaki-epub-reader/id430300762?mt=12.
posted by Mo Nickels at 2:40 PM on October 13
« Older USA blue-state MeFites: how to help campaign for... | EB-1A letter of recommendation: sign or don't sign... Newer »
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by theodolite at 11:16 AM on October 13