This plugin allows you to populate custom "Characters" and "Settings" columns in your Calibre library by fetching the data directly from Goodreads.
If you prefer to keep your library organized with more than just basic tags, this tool automates the process of identifying a book's cast and locations without manual entry.
I wanted this feature for a while, but since nobody else had created this I decide to create something that works well enough for my needs.
Main Features:
You can store this information in custom columns or tags. As with all metadata scrapers, results depend entirely on the data available on the Goodreads community-maintained pages. I don't know if it is worth the effort. Here are the percentage of books that had information in my case.
Metadata Success Rate by Publication Year
Know issues:
Download the attached Goodreads_character_and_settings.zip (or get it from the GitHub repository).
In Calibre, go to Preferences -> Plugins.
Click Load plugin from file and select the zip file.
Restart Calibre.
Add the plugin to your toolbar via Preferences -> Toolbars & menus.
Configuration:
After installation, click the "Customize plugin" button to link the plugin to your specific custom columns for Characters and Settings.
Version History:
v1.0.0RC1: Initial Release.
If you prefer to keep your library organized with more than just basic tags, this tool automates the process of identifying a book's cast and locations without manual entry.
I wanted this feature for a while, but since nobody else had created this I decide to create something that works well enough for my needs.
Main Features:
- Fetches character names and locations/settings from Goodreads book pages.
- Maps data to user-defined custom columns.
- Supports bulk processing for multiple books at once.
You can store this information in custom columns or tags. As with all metadata scrapers, results depend entirely on the data available on the Goodreads community-maintained pages. I don't know if it is worth the effort. Here are the percentage of books that had information in my case.
Metadata Success Rate by Publication Year
Code:
From To Characters Settings
------------------------------------------
2025 2026 8.54% 10.98%
2020 2024 11.43% 7.99%
2015 2019 17.73% 10.34%
2010 2014 28.81% 17.33%
2000 2009 41.60% 16.18%
1990 1999 37.11% 11.33%
1980 1989 30.97% 11.38%
1960 1979 55.86% 19.31%- The performance when updating the information to fields is not that great. It would perform better as a metadata source plugin, but I wanted to place the information in custom fields.
Download the attached Goodreads_character_and_settings.zip (or get it from the GitHub repository).
In Calibre, go to Preferences -> Plugins.
Click Load plugin from file and select the zip file.
Restart Calibre.
Add the plugin to your toolbar via Preferences -> Toolbars & menus.
Configuration:
After installation, click the "Customize plugin" button to link the plugin to your specific custom columns for Characters and Settings.
Version History:
v1.0.0RC1: Initial Release.
