The popular open-source e-book management tool, Calibre, has just released version 9.0, featuring a noticeable visual refresh.
The most visible change is the new Bookshelf view, which presents libraries as shelves lined with book spines instead of a traditional list or grid. The layout can be toggled using the Layout button in the bottom-right corner of the main window, making it easy to switch between views depending on library size or personal preference.
The e-book viewer also gains tighter integration with editing tools. A new Edit book button allows users to jump directly into editing the currently open book when it is in an editable format, such as EPUB, AZW3, or KEPUB. The editor opens at roughly the same location as the view, reducing friction between reading and editing.
Navigation within the viewer has been refined as well. Users can now type a page number directly to jump to it, rather than scrolling through a list of available pages. Export of SVG images from the viewer has also been improved.
Linux users get a platform-specific enhancement with momentum-based scrolling for the book list when using high-resolution scroll devices like touchpads, making library navigation smoother on modern hardware.
In addition, several improvements to formatting and output are included. TXT output can now replace images with their alt text, improving accessibility and readability.
EPUB support has been extended to handle cover images in non-conformant “Open Manga Format” files used by some Japanese publishers. EPUB3 metadata handling has also been fixed for identifiers that use HTTP URLs without the expected prefix.
Kobo device users benefit from updated firmware support in the Kobo driver, along with a KEPUB output fix that improves rendering of tate-chu-yoko text on Kobo readers.
On the stability and performance side, GPU acceleration for Qt WebEngine is now disabled by default to avoid crashes on some older systems, with an option to re-enable it via the tweaks menu. Plus, Calibre’s shutdown time has been reduced by a couple of seconds, and multiple editor-related issues have been resolved, including false warnings and improved keyboard handling in reports.
Finally, the release also updates several built-in news sources, including Times Literary Supplement, Private Eye, and The New Yorker.
Check out the changelog for more details and the complete list of novelties in the Calibre 9.0 open-source e-book management tool. The update is already live for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
