Related
I would like to pare down my Nook a bit.
I do like the native reader app and I borrow library books.
Yes, I could use the OverDrive reader, but the native reader is much better.
The first thing that went was Shop.apk
It was kind of annoying to search for stuff on my Nook and come up with 50,000 suggestions of books that I could buy.
Social.apk seems to go away painlessly too.
Deleting (or renaming) Home.apk breaks the "Last Read" icon on the desktop.
You can still get there by Library and hitting the top of most recent.
It gets you to the right page.
It probably would not be hard to write an app to do the last read function.
Moreover, you'd have a system icon to do with what you will.
(It sends an intent that is not handled. I'll have to make a receiver and see what it is.)
Okay, deleting Home.apk also breaks additions to Library.
But, you can still borrow books on Adobe Digital Editions and read them by clicking them in a file browser.
Oh, well, might as well delete Library.apk
Hmm, I guess that Library.apk is a search content provider.
Books no longer show up in global search.
I guess that I'll have to roll my own.
Re-enable Home.apk, disable Reader.apk and see what intent goes.
(Last page read is kept in /data/data/com.bn.nook.reader.activities/databases/lastreadingpoint.db
Select ean from lastreadingpoint order by lastupdated
I'm not trying to get around the DRM or anything. I just want to get rid of all the cruft.
I see what you're trying to do here
I've been playing with this some more.
Reader.apk keeps track itself of last page read.
If you just use a file manager to open your books you'll get the right page.
If you are a big library user and use Adobe Digital Editions,
then the info that ADE dumps on your Nook could be integrated nicely.
You could have your books listed and show the return date.
Hmm, do you think it could be possible to fully debrand the device and have it running a normal, common Eclair, but using the actual ROM as base? like, deleting the B&N apps and creating custom providers & intent receivers to avoid FCs and such?
Well, if you delete (or rename) Home.apk and Library.apk but still like to use Reader.apk (the native epub reader),
then you might need a convenient way to get to your last read book.
It's not rocket science and I haven't figured out the little book icon on the status bar yet,
but if you want to get back to your book here is a little app to go to last read.
Put the icon on your desktop and click the "L" to go to last read.
Did you replace library, or just completely delete it?
darkguy2008 said:
Hmm, do you think it could be possible to fully debrand the device and have it running a normal, common Eclair, but using the actual ROM as base? like, deleting the B&N apps and creating custom providers & intent receivers to avoid FCs and such?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've also wondered this, I use my nook for Kindle more than I do B&N lol. It would be great if we could get a ROM to flash that removes everything from the device and just makes it run stock Android then use Kindle and B&N apps, as well as whatever other apps for reading epubs to read our books. Don't know if this is possible but it would be nice, then we could fully repurpose all the buttons on the device purely for Android OS
And make a custom e-ink friendly version of the android homescreen, possibly including no-refresh?
Right now I've got the following apps deleted:
DemoMode.apk
Home.apk
Library.apk
Shop.apk
Social.apk
I will be working on a replacement library app.
I don't use the Kindle app. Do people who do also use the Nook native reader?
At the lowest level, all you need is a file manager.
I presume that each of the readers keep track of last page.
(Regarding the Nook lastreadingpoint:
Going straight to the database is the wrong approach, using the content provider is the right way.
LastRead.apk uses that.)
Ok, it's a neat hack to watch video on the Nook, but you really wouldn't want your Nook in A2 mode all the time.
As I've said before, the best uses of A2 is when an app knows when to use it, when dragging, scrolling, zooming.
If you have the source code to a browser/viewer/whatever, putting wrappers around the dragging/scrolling/zooming operation would be an improvement.
Personally, I have no problem with my ADW Launcher.
That it blurs and trails when parking an app on the desktop is no big deal.
I've got the little book icon on the status bar to open the last book in the native Nook reader.
That is, if you don't have Home.apk or (B&N) Library.apk
Here is a stop-gap release.
It works fine for the "Currently reading" but there is not yet other functionality in it.
I left it as a complete application so that you can easily see if you have it installed.
The actual "application" part of it is a blank screen.
No need to run it or put it on your desktop.
Just install it and click the little book on the status bar.
Renate NST said:
I've got the little book icon on the status bar to open the last book in the native Nook reader.
That is, if you don't have Home.apk or (B&N) Library.apk
Here is a stop-gap release.
It works fine for the "Currently reading" but there is not yet other functionality in it.
I left it as a complete application so that you can easily see if you have it installed.
The actual "application" part of it is a blank screen.
No need to run it or put it on your desktop.
Just install it and click the little book on the status bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm, looks interesting, seems like you've managed to already wrap some events to dummy workers we can attach to in the future and mod this thing up . Awesome!
I'll be testing it somewhere between today and tomorrow. Right now I'm trying to replace the stock keyboard. LatinIME.apk is deleteable but there isn't any working keyboard for it yet (I've tried GO Keyboard, GB Keyboard for Froyo/Eclair and HTC IME with no avail) and it's one of the biggest annoyances I have with it since I need more of a PC-keyboard-lookalike rather than an ebook keyboard
Although I am not getting the point of your mission :-D try Hacker's keyboard. It is possible to google out android 2.1 version. It is the best I have found so far although it is quite dark.
Just thought I'd drop this link here for hacker's keyboard.
http://code.google.com/p/hackerskeyboard/issues/detail?id=57
Also, make sure that after you install it you move it to /system/app
Googie2149 said:
Just thought I'd drop this link here for hacker's keyboard.
http://code.google.com/p/hackerskeyboard/issues/detail?id=57
Also, make sure that after you install it you move it to /system/app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, you rock! I've wanted that keyboard to work specifically. Thanks a lot!!
I've had some progress on the Library replacement.
It's not ready for prime time, but it is cute.
It will list the expiration date of your library books.
It's nice to be able to fit over 10 titles on the screen.
Renate NST said:
I've had some progress on the Library replacement.
It's not ready for prime time, but it is cute.
It will list the expiration date of your library books.
It's nice to be able to fit over 10 titles on the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's awesome!
When will you release it?
I've been working on two different approaches.
One is to use the Android native mediastore.
There are some bugs with this and it can get out of sync.
The other is to do all the searching for books myself.
That works ok as long as the books are found in the usual places:
/system/media/books
/data/media/B&N Downloads/Books
/media/My Files/Books
/media/Digital Editions
/sdcard/My Files/Books
Are there any other locations that I am missing?
darkguy2008 said:
When will you release it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really don't know if it suits anyone's needs besides my own.
Because the stock Home.apk, Library.apk and Shop.apk are all tied together,
to have my app work correctly you have to rename or delete the three of them.
As far as I know it should allow books bought from B&N to still work correctly,
but I don't know because I don't own any. I only get library books or Gutenberg.
Is it important for people to be able to buy B&N books directly on their Nook?
Renate NST said:
Is it important for people to be able to buy B&N books directly on their Nook?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not if it's free?
Naturally, I speak for myself only.
You need credit card added to buy B&N free books still...
From another hand you can get same free books somewhere else, right?
Apokrifx is right, also, that app would suit me too. I need a credit card to buy B&N books, which I don't have -and- I'm not interested at all in using it as a reader. If I want to read something I'll download it and slam it through a PDF reader installed on it.
My main use for it is to take out ALL of the B&N stuff and use it as an android tablet, so, to me, it's really useful
I found the database file that has all of the shelves information in them
/data/data/com.android.providers.media/databases/internal.db
You should be able to back that file up and restore it.
I'm not sure if the file changes when firmware is upgraded but i was able to ADB pull the file add 2 shelves and put books in each shelf and push the file back to the nook. after a reboot the new shelves appeared with the correct books in them.
Anyone want to experiment with changing firmwares and restoring... I don't have a microsd card with me.
persichini said:
I found the database file that has all of the shelves information in them
/data/data/com.android.providers.media/databases/internal.db
You should be able to back that file up and restore it.
I'm not sure if the file changes when firmware is upgraded but i was able to ADB pull the file add 2 shelves and put books in each shelf and push the file back to the nook. after a reboot the new shelves appeared with the correct books in them.
Anyone want to experiment with changing firmwares and restoring... I don't have a microsd card with me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was discussed before – use search.
In short:
Yes – you can back it up.
It’s easy to do autoshelving based on any field in database, like author.
Some people want to autoshelve by book genre – and optional metadata field.
There is an app for NC, but it’s not easy to port it on NST.
ApokrifX said:
It was discussed before – use search.
In short:
Yes – you can back it up.
It’s easy to do autoshelving based on any field in database, like author.
Some people want to autoshelve by book genre – and optional metadata field.
There is an app for NC, but it’s not easy to port it on NST.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I didn't search correctly because I didn't find that information... Found a lot of people asking and complaining about losing their shelves... I have 43 shelves and just lost them. I have my shelves by book series. Yes i have a lot of book.
If I was any kind of app writer I'd look into the NC app but I'm not... So I'll just have to wait until one of the wonderful developers get board and take it on.
43 shelves? Wow!
It just amazes me how differently people use their Nooks.
I just have 4 or 5 books on my Nook at any one time.
As pointed out above, internal.db is your friend.
Backing it up is a good idea if you put in a lot of manual effort to set things up.
You might want to get sqlite3 on your desktop and learn what the tables are and how to selectively restore them.
That's what I'd do if I had 43 shelves.
Code:
sqlite3 internal.db
.table
.dump shelf
.dump shelf_item
persichini said:
I guess I didn't search correctly because I didn't find that information... Found a lot of people asking and complaining about losing their shelves... I have 43 shelves and just lost them. I have my shelves by book series. Yes i have a lot of book.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"book series" == "book genre"
It is not represented as a field in NST internal database.
If you have it as a field in content.opf of epub book, it’s possible to write an app to auto-shelve.
Won’t help with PDF books anyway.
If not – you can do it manually only.
To save your shelve you can use Renate solution.
Not exactly user-friendly, but better than nothing definitely.
Looking at B&N bugs fixing progress, I have strong feeling, shelves disappearance won’t be fixed anytime soon.
Yeah i know its a lot of books.. and a lot of shelves. I like to read fiction books that are multiples in a series... Left behind book 1-12, Hellgates: London 1-3, Harry Potter 1-7.. etc so I make a shelf for each series... Granted there are a lot I've never read there on the to-do list. Having a visual list of how much i need to read helps motivate me.
i don't delete the book because my father in law seems to think he knows everything so its nice to be able to say oh really i have that book right here let me go to the section so we can see what it really says...
persichini said:
Yeah i know its a lot of books.. and a lot of shelves. I like to read fiction books that are multiples in a series... Left behind book 1-12, Hellgates: London 1-3, Harry Potter 1-7.. etc so I make a shelf for each series... Granted there are a lot I've never read there on the to-do list. Having a visual list of how much i need to read helps motivate me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're doing "serious" reading and library management on the device, you might consider dumping the B&N software and using something better. I have become very fond of Mantano Reader ($5, IIRC). It does shelving very well, and handles PDFs just fine. I went for the $20/year cloud option that also syncs book positions among 4 devices, and it's working very well, as well as backing everything (book files and library options) up. I've completely replaced the B&N Library function on my device with Mantano's home screen.
So I was thinking of writing a replacement home for my nook touch, as I have a little bit of android development experience under my belt from my previous smartphone. I like the design of the stock home screen, because i mostly use my nook for reading. I never use the B&N store to get books though, so the "popular books" (top 5 of the BN top 100 or whatever) and "new" book sections mean nothing to me...
I'd replace the "new book" part with a random book from the library (in a "pick from a hat" fashion) each time the home is viewed, and replace the "popular books" area with books from a "to read" list the user can determine.
Is this something anyone else would be interested in too, and is there somewhere I can find nook-specific stuff for programming it? (the B&N development page is offline as of discontinuation of the nook color)
tinferbrains said:
So I was thinking of writing a replacement home for my nook touch, as I have a little bit of android development experience under my belt from my previous smartphone. I like the design of the stock home screen, because i mostly use my nook for reading. I never use the B&N store to get books though, so the "popular books" (top 5 of the BN top 100 or whatever) and "new" book sections mean nothing to me...
I'd replace the "new book" part with a random book from the library (in a "pick from a hat" fashion) each time the home is viewed, and replace the "popular books" area with books from a "to read" list the user can determine.
Is this something anyone else would be interested in too, and is there somewhere I can find nook-specific stuff for programming it? (the B&N development page is offline as of discontinuation of the nook color)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm intrigued by this idea. Right now I only see the B&N home screen when I reboot unless I do a long-press of the "n" button. I can foresee the day when those two areas you mention will both be out of luck. In fact, I can foresee the day when just about any app that will run on the NST, but needs to access information from a remote server, will no longer be able to do so.
I have a different suggestion for the "new reads" section. It's probably impractical but what about displaying meta data for the current book there? Of course, the print would have to be on the small side--maybe you'd need to be able to scroll. I've always missed the ability to display this info in the library for side-loaded books (by double-tap). Books from Calibre can have the data as part of the epub file already, there's just no way to access it.
For me, the "what to read next" section could just be a random selection of what's in the library. Or maybe that's a better place for the meta data display.
Just some thoughts. Sounds like an interesting project.
Edit: the more I thought about it, the sillier my suggestion seemed! Your idea is best. I look forward to seeing how it develops.
nmyshkin said:
I'm intrigued by this idea. Right now I only see the B&N home screen when I reboot unless I do a long-press of the "n" button. I can foresee the day when those two areas you mention will both be out of luck. In fact, I can foresee the day when just about any app that will run on the NST, but needs to access information from a remote server, will no longer be able to do so.
I have a different suggestion for the "new reads" section. It's probably impractical but what about displaying meta data for the current book there? Of course, the print would have to be on the small side--maybe you'd need to be able to scroll. I've always missed the ability to display this info in the library for side-loaded books (by double-tap). Books from Calibre can have the data as part of the epub file already, there's just no way to access it.
For me, the "what to read next" section could just be a random selection of what's in the library. Or maybe that's a better place for the meta data display.
Just some thoughts. Sounds like an interesting project.
Edit: the more I thought about it, the sillier my suggestion seemed! Your idea is best. I look forward to seeing how it develops.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like your ideas. Pulling the metadata into the new reads spot might be cool, and random books may be easier than the user-determined list... who knows?
The title says it all:
I'm looking for an app that a user can use to browse to a desired book which will show that book covers of epubs and possibly even pdfs WITHOUT B&N apps like afiledownloadersvc.apk.
I'm so loving not having any B&N stuff going on with my NST, and I love gifting rooted NSTs to friends. This would make it more user friendly.
I'm thinking along the lines of a file explorer app or library app.
Anyone have any ideas or solution?
I have found a solution on mobileread.com.
It doesn't at all display the covers, but it is clean enough and organizable enough to be satisfactory for me. Also, it's designed for e-ink.
Everybody knows the good old Relaunch app (which is not my launcher; I use LauncherPro), well this is a really new version of it.
Enter RelaunchX. It can omit the launcher functions of Relaunch entirely and can be exclusively used for a library app. You can even get rid of the app drawer in this new permutation.
Here it is if you want to check it out:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=284418
Hope this helps someone who may have this question.
ALinkToTao said:
I have found a solution on mobileread.com
Here it is if you want to check it out:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=284418
Hope this helps someone who may have this question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So were you looking for basically epubs only? I've been thinking about this issue for awhile since going B&N free on one device. The reader that seems to deliver the best display has a horrible library that requires you to go through pages of nonsense before you get to the covers. Actualy I think all my big three contenders do the same thing or similar.
So epubs seem to be easy to deal with. In principle I think I can do that with Tasker. Mobis are difficult. There I could probably get everything except the cover without going online to fetch it. Most of the popular general readers do not do pdfs so perhaps I shouldn' t even worry about those. I dunno. It's not been done before and seems so obvious. I wonder...
nmyshkin said:
So were you looking for basically epubs only? I've been thinking about this issue for awhile since going B&N free on one device. The reader that seems to deliver the best display has a horrible library that requires you to go through pages of nonsense before you get to the covers. Actualy I think all my big three contenders do the same thing or similar.
So epubs seem to be easy to deal with. In principle I think I can do that with Tasker. Mobis are difficult. There I could probably get everything except the cover without going online to fetch it. Most of the popular general readers do not do pdfs so perhaps I shouldn' t even worry about those. I dunno. It's not been done before and seems so obvious. I wonder...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I was looking for epubs mostly. I have some pdfs I would use it for too, but that's not absolutely necessary.
ALinkToTao said:
Yes, I was looking for epubs mostly. I have some pdfs I would use it for too, but that's not absolutely necessary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Long time since you posted, but I just rediscovered this: https://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/themes-apps/library-app-t2823169
I haven't tested it fully, but it looks promising.
I must have a unique way of using my devices because I've never seen this issue reported on the forum.
Firstly, I just want to say that lastreadingpoint.db seems to be something of a garbage bin. I'm working with one of my older devices right now (formerly my principal reader) and the db is filled with books that were deleted long ago. Now, perhaps, cleanup of this file is supposed to happen when books are removed via UMS since that's the only provision B&N made for removing side-loaded content, but I doubt it. Since I just use a file manager, I may be frustrating some grand design that would keep the db file tidy. NOT.
But I digress. My real beef is the unpredictability of the button. When I select a new book from the library and move along a few pages to the first chapter, I often return to the home page to deal with some other things and then set the device aside until I'm ready to start my new book. But when I do return and tap that button, I generally get the last book I just finished (at the last page....). If I have deleted that book already then I'll get some other book, maybe an anthology I frequent, wherever I left off.
Inspection of lastreadingpoint.db shows no indication that I ever selected a new book.
I have struggled with this for a long time and realize that without knowing exactly when and under what circumstances the db would actually be updated, this is really difficult to run down. I just tried another experiment and put the device to sleep manually after starting a new book (book still displayed). Then I woke it up and returned to the home screen (i.e., my launcher, not the B&N Home). The "now reading" button worked correctly! And repeatedly.
BUT...A look at lastreadingpoint.db still did not show that the new book had been opened! This helps explain why my overtures with sqlite were not having much effect.
It's a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, enclosed in a B&N box.
I just want the #$%&*% button to do what you would expect it to do without a lot of nonsense. It's easier to get it to consistently open a current Kindle book then to open an epub in the stock reader.
Why?
Edit: The next day: I accessed the book one more time this morning without any problem and copied out the database again. This time it finally showed an entry for the book with the correct access time.
Edit: 9-12-22 Nothing seems to work consistently except for one change. I have installed on my devices a little app called "NookReader". It's buried deep in the old posts of the forum and its purpose is to allow epubs to be opened via a file manager (which I never do). In effect it creates a "listener" which the stock system lacks.
Well, it seems the stock system doesn't like eavesdropping. When I uninstalled the app from the device I had been experimenting with the effect was immediate and I was able to move from selection to selection, each time returning to the most recent book correctly using the "now reading" button. Another device required an uninstall as well as a reboot in order to start behaving properly.
Moral: if you're not using it, get rid of it!
nmyshkin said:
I have struggled with this for a long time and realize that without knowing exactly when and under what circumstances the db would actually be updated, this is really difficult to run down. I just tried another experiment and put the device to sleep manually after starting a new book (book still displayed). Then I woke it up and returned to the home screen (i.e., my launcher, not the B&N Home). The "now reading" button worked correctly! And repeatedly.
BUT...A look at lastreadingpoint.db still did not show that the new book had been opened! This helps explain why my overtures with sqlite were not having much effect.
It's a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, enclosed in a B&N box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@nmyshkin ... even i've struggled with something like this ... inconsistencies of the last reading point actions ...
nmyshkin said:
Edit: 9-12-22 Nothing seems to work consistently except for one change. I have installed on my devices a little app called "NookReader". It's buried deep in the old posts of the forum and its purpose is to allow epubs to be opened via a file manager (which I never do). In effect it creates a "listener" which the stock system lacks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you referring to the app that goes by 'dev.nookreader.apk' ? ... for now i've just renamed it to 'dev.nookreader.apk.bkp' so its as good as removed ...
some database problems i think i can report, one that i've annoyingly encountered, in this I've sometimes found the order of the books in the default library aren't displayed as they should have ... Iam referring to the 'Most Recent' sorting option where the last opened/accessed book should ideally show up at the top most ... BUT SADLY IT DOESN'T !!! ...
Most annoying is when i search a book open and read it and expect it to show up on the top or at least in the first few pages of the library ... but they don't ... search is the only option to reopen such a book ...
Aren't the books that are opened using the 'Search' option of the library not supposed to show high up the library ?
I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO GET THIS ANNOYANCE RID OF ... i would love to find all the last accessed books in the topmost sorting order as its supposed to work ...
I don't even know what database records the last accessed book information ... any and all help appreciated to identify and fix this annoyance.
PS : Are "New"' books(Lend Me) installed from the B&N store supposed to show up at the topmost ?
Update : strangely the searched book shows up in the B&N Home under 'READING Now' section but its not showing in the Library as the topmost book in it ... another inconsistent DB recording ???
aiamuzz said:
Update : strangely the searched book shows up in the B&N Home under 'READING Now' section but its not showing in the Library as the topmost book in it ... another inconsistent DB recording ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, well, I can't say that I know a lot more now than when I started this thread.
What I can say is that the device seems to work with a copy of the database in RAM or else keeps variables in RAM that are not written to the database until much, much later (like during or after a nap).
I began to think about how I use the device vs. how B&N intended it to be used so I made a few tests going from the B&N Home to the Library, to a book. Then, there is really only one way to get out of the book and that is through the QuickNav buttons. I thought that maybe the trigger to the database update was somewhere in there, but I saw the same inconsistent results and delayed updating of the file as with my own sequence.
This is why I eventually abandoned the database as a source of info for my SetCover app and started relying (at least partly) on my own data. All I can say for "sure" at this point is that a good nap on the open book seems to aid in the correct information making its way into the database. Not very technical, I know.
If you are getting really spurious behavior from your lastreadingpoint.db or you find that it is full of deadwood, you can clean out the entire thing as here. Of course you will lose absolutely everything in the database if you do that, so it's a "last gasp" scenario.
For me, things seem to have calmed down if I just leave an epub open in the stock reader for awhile. And after all, what's the rush to get back to the home screen? (in general). That's not how the reader was probably meant to be used.
aiamuzz said:
Update : strangely the searched book shows up in the B&N Home under 'READING Now' section but its not showing in the Library as the topmost book in it ... another inconsistent DB recording ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you run this test ?
1. Open stock library.
2. Search for some book that is buried in the last pages of the Library.
3. Open that book from the search results.
4. Flip a few pages to emulate that you've read that book.
Ideally that book should be the Last Read (Reading Now) ... WHICH INDEED DOES WORK SO !!!
Having been a recent book that one has read ...
The Library app should also show that book on the very first page as its the most recent one ... BUT IT DOES NOT SHOW SO IN THE LIBRARY !!!
I would really like the searched and opened books to move to the front pages of the Library App and stay there and get moved down as and when other books are opened ... at worst it should be easily locatable in the first few pages of the Library App ... the 'recent' book sorting option in the Library and the place where this info is stored may have to be trouble shot ...
aiamuzz said:
Can you run this test ?
1. Open stock library.
2. Search for some book that is buried in the last pages of the Library.
3. Open that book from the search results.
4. Flip a few pages to emulate that you've read that book.
Ideally that book should be the Last Read (Reading Now) ... WHICH INDEED DOES WORK SO !!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, there you are. I've never used the "search" function on the NST for anything! But I did, just to humor you, and I see that it actually turns up a "hit".
I use the Library almost exclusively in shelf format. What I personally would like is for the @%W$#% Library to remember that. Of course, it will not, because then I would not see all the nifty new books I just purchased (NOT) from B&N as they are delivered.
Any "adjustments" to the Library behavior are beyond my pay grade and you won't get you-know-who interested in that either, as she has her own Library app. I've looked at a lot of Library alternatives. There were many promising looking ones in the early days but all seem to have been abandoned at some incomplete point by their developers (except for the one mentioned above).
I just live with it. I don't have hundreds of books on my device. When I finish a book I actually delete it (gasp!) [except for something like the Bible].
But it would be nice to understand the rules or thinking behind the "reading now" business. However, since the database doesn't seem to accept input (although you can read from it), it doesn't matter much I guess.