Volume 1 · Chapter 1 · The Quest Begins

📚 Family Book Guide

How to get books and audiobooks on our home library

What This Is

We have our own family library, just like our Plex for movies and TV. You can request any book you want to read or listen to, and it shows up in our library automatically. No buying books, no waiting for the library app.

There are three websites you'll use. They all work from your phone, tablet, or computer — at home or anywhere else.

The Three Websites

Add to Home Screen (Do This First!)

This puts each website on your phone like a real app — one tap to open, stays logged in.

Do this for all three sites and you'll have three "apps" on your phone: one to request, one to read, one to listen.

Signing In

When you open Kavita from outside the house, a Google sign-in page comes up first. Just sign in with your own Gmail — the same one you use for everything else. If it says you don't have access, tell Dad and he'll add your email.

After the Google page, Kavita and Audiobookshelf have their own login too. Dad set up your account — if you don't have your username and password yet, ask him.

How to Request a Book

1. Open Shelfmark and log in.
2. Type the book name or author in the search box.
3. Find the book you want in the results.
4. Pick ebook (to read) or audiobook (to listen) — some books have both.
5. Tap the download button.
6. Wait. It usually takes a few minutes to an hour to show up in the library. Popular books are fast, rare ones can take longer.

How to Read an Ebook

1. Open Kavita and log in.
2. Find your book on the shelf — new books show up under Recently Added.
3. Tap it and hit Read. It works right in the browser — nothing to install.
4. It remembers your page, so you can stop and pick up later on any device.

How to Listen to an Audiobook

1. Open Audiobookshelf and log in.
2. Find your book and hit play. It works in the browser.
3. On your phone, you can also get the Audiobookshelf app (free on the app store) — ask Dad to help you connect it the first time.
4. It remembers where you stopped, just like a podcast app.

Rules

• Request what you'll actually read or listen to — don't request 50 books at once.
• If a book doesn't show up after a day, tell Dad instead of requesting it over and over.
• Don't share the website addresses or your login with friends. This is family only.

If Something Doesn't Work

• Book not showing up? Give it a few hours, then tell Dad.
• Can't log in? Tell Dad — he can reset your password.
• Google sign-in says no access? Dad needs to add your email. Tell him.
• Everything broken? The server might be restarting. Wait 10 minutes and try again. Still broken? You know who to tell.

Happy reading! — Dad