Ebooks & audiobooks

🚴 Get started

🗺️ Overview

1. You request a book · ReadMeABook / Shelfmark
2. The server finds & downloads it
3. It's filed into the library
4. You listen / read · Audiobookshelf

You only use the request apps to ask for a book. All the listening and reading happens in Audiobookshelf or your eReader.

🔐 Pangolin: the door to everything

Pangolin is an extra security step that guards all the services: Seerr (the one you already know for movies and shows), ReadMeABook, Shelfmark and Audiobookshelf. Before a page opens, Pangolin checks that you're someone we know. You can prove it in three ways:

• Pangolin account (the easiest): log in once with your own account (SSO) and it works for all the services. Ask me and I'll create it for you.
• Code by email (no account): enter your email address, then type in the code Pangolin sends you. Ask me first, so I can add your email to the list.
• Special header (for apps): phone apps can't show a login page, so they pass the check in the background. See Listening apps below.

Pangolin remembers you, so you only have to log in once every 90 days. Even pirates guard their treasure, after all.

1 2

🎧 ReadMeABook: audiobook requests

ReadMeABook works like a shop where everything is free: you can request any audiobook available on Audible. Search by title, author or narrator, with covers, descriptions and series straight from Audible. When you request a book, the server:

1. searches its sources for a good copy of that audiobook,
2. downloads it in the background,
3. renames and files it neatly into the audiobook library,
4. tells Audiobookshelf to pick it up.

The first time, you need to create an account: open ReadMeABook and click Register on the login page. I have to approve your request, so tell me once you've registered. After that, you just log in with your username and password.

1

Then search for the book you want and click it to open its page. There are two ways to ask for it:

• Click Request Audiobook and let the system download the best match.
• Click the magnifying glass icon to see the available files and choose one yourself.

1 2

1 2 3

You can follow the progress on the Requests page. When it says it's available, open Audiobookshelf and the book will be there. This usually takes a few minutes. Rare or very new titles can take longer, or may not be found at all.

ReadMeABook has a couple of extra features: Goodreads auto-requests, which request the books on your Goodreads shelf for you (set it up from your profile), and BookDate, which gives you AI-powered book recommendations.

📖 Shelfmark: ebooks

Before your first sign-in, I have to create an account for you, so tell me when you want to start using Shelfmark.

🔎 Finding a book

Shelfmark searches several large ebook sources at once. Type a title or author, choose a result, and download it. Check the language and the format first.

1 2 3 4 5

Pick EPUB when you can. It works almost everywhere, Kindle included (through Send to Kindle). PDFs are best saved for textbooks and comics.

Shelfmark can also look for audiobooks. Use it when ReadMeABook can't help because the book isn't on Audible, for example older, niche or self-published titles.

📥 Getting the book

Once you've chosen a file, you can get the book in one of three ways:

• Into the library: the ebook lands in the Ebooks library in Audiobookshelf, where you can read it in the browser or the app. If you want, you will be able to send it to your e-reader later from there.
• By email, straight to your e-reader. See Sending books to your eReader below.
• Straight to your phone: download the file through the browser, like any other download, and open it with the reading app you already use.

You choose which one in your delivery preferences:

1 2 3

✉️ Sending books to your eReader

Set this up once, and every book you download from Shelfmark can arrive straight on your eReader. Only files smaller than 4 MB can be sent this way.

Kindle

1. Find your Kindle's email address. On Amazon, go to Manage Your Content and Devices, open the Devices tab and select your Kindle. Its Send-to-Kindle E-Mail address ends in @kindle.com. (If you use another Amazon site, such as amazon.com or amazon.de, use the same page there.)
2. Let Amazon accept emails from the server. On the same page, open the Preferences tab (the link above should open it directly) and scroll down to Personal Document Settings. Under Approved Personal Document E-mail List, click Add a new approved e-mail address and enter the sender address noreply@pantani-plex.uk. Without this, Amazon silently throws the books away.
3. Tell Shelfmark where to send them. In your delivery preferences (see the screenshot above), set Output Mode to Email and put your Kindle address in Email Recipient.
4. Download a book. It should show up in your Kindle library in a few minutes, as long as the Kindle is connected to Wi-Fi.

Other eReaders

• PocketBook has a similar feature, Send-to-PocketBook. On the reader, open Settings, Accounts and synchronization, Send-to-PocketBook and sign in. You get an address ending in @pbsync.com: put it in Email Recipient in Shelfmark. The first time a book arrives, PocketBook emails you a link to approve the sender (noreply@pantani-plex.uk): click Add to whitelist.
• Kobo can't receive books by email directly. A few models can do it through a paid Dropbox account, but for most people it's easier to use Straight to your phone and transfer the file, or to read in Audiobookshelf.

📚 Audiobookshelf: your library

Here too, I have to create an account for you before your first sign-in, so tell me when you want to start using Audiobookshelf.

Audiobookshelf is where everything ends up. It has two libraries: Audiobooks and Ebooks. It's your own private Audible, with no subscription and no credits to run out:

• it remembers where you stopped, and keeps your place in sync across phone, tablet and browser,
• it groups books by series, author and narrator, and tracks what you've finished,
• it lets you change playback speed and set a sleep timer, and it adds chapters and bookmarks,
• it lets you download books to your phone to listen offline, perfect for long rides,
• it has a built-in reader for ebooks.

You can use it from the website, but on a phone it's much better to install an app. See Listening apps below.

📱 Add ReadMeABook & Shelfmark to your phone

ReadMeABook and Shelfmark don't have apps in the App Store or Play Store, and they don't need them. You can add them to your home screen as web apps. They'll get their own icon and open full-screen, like a normal app.

Do this twice: once for ReadMeABook and once for Shelfmark.

🎶 Listening apps for Audiobookshelf

Audiobookshelf is open, so lots of apps can connect to it, from the official one to independent apps with different designs and features. They all work the same way:

1. Install an app from the list below.
2. Add the Pangolin headers (see below).
3. When it asks for a server address, enter https://audiobookshelf.pantani-plex.uk.
4. Log in with your Audiobookshelf username and password.

Your progress is stored on the server, not in the app. You can switch apps, or use several at once, without losing your place.

For an up-to-date list of other options, see the community apps list.

Absorb and the Pangolin check: this is where the header goes. Absorb is just an example: other apps should work in a similar way. On the connection screen, fill it in before entering the server address.

1 2 3 4