Edit the ID3 tags of audio books

So far as I can tell, you'll have to convert your aax files to mp3 first, and then import them into Music instead of into Books. That's what I've been doing, using the OpenAudible app.

Yes, it's very annoying. Apple has screwed audiobook lovers over in a big way with Catalina.

I noted this deficiency to Apple after every Catalina Beta release but it was never corrected. We also no longer have the "check" column that was useful in sorting. Fortunately I have an older Mac that cannot update to 10.15 so iTunes is still available to edit the title. I just edit it in iTunes and then transfer it to my other Catalina-equipped Mac. It works but just requires additional steps - and the sort by check is still unavailable. The only solution I've found is to "listen" briefly to any book you have already read and then sort by "last read". This forces unread books to the top.

With Catalina 10.15.1, Books (Swedish Böcker) 2.1 (1849) there is no cmd-I available, which makes these errors uncorrectable:

• Importing an audio book from a group of CDs gives me one book per track. I listened to a Hemingway and had every sixth minute to open next chapter separately. In this case the track names on each CD differed from the other CDs, which at least made it possible to follow the book.

• In another audio book every CD had the same track names as had all the other CDs, which resulted in separate books for every track as before but with all track 1s from all CDs in a row. Impossible to get it in chronological order.

• Importing an mp3 DVD with all tracks on the same disc and all indexed in chronological order worked once. Other times all tracks were mixed (couldn't be read in chronological order). In one case all track names became changed to the book title without index. I erased the audio book from both the computer and my iPhone and imported again, but the same thing happened again. Example:

track name om DVD: "0014_Kvinnan_i_fönstret.mp3"

track name in Books: "Kvinnan i fonstret" (observe the peculiar changes)

After another erasing, I removed the first zero from all 112 tracks. After import they were all again called "Kvinnan i fonstret". In my iPhone the audio book opens with chapter 70…

Check out BookPlayer, an iOS app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bookplayer/id1138219998

While this may not directly answer the initial question, it seems most folks are here because Apple Books has messed up their audiobook libraries. My workaround (after a lot of searching) was to keep my audiobooks in iCloud Files, then import them to BookPlayer from within the app.

It's free and works almost exactly how I'd always wished Apple's books app would work with audiobooks!

jb510, once I saw what Catalina did to the audiobook files I went back to a pre-Catalina machine that still had the older file format (with files located in ~/Music/iTunes/etc). A Time Machine backup should work too (same relative location). If you don't have any backups and irreversibly upgraded, you might be out of luck.

I'm loving this open-source BookPlayer app so far: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bookplayer/id1138219998

I see were now able to edit PDF names but nothing else with in PDF under List view. I see in List view they have the field "Series" But they are still missing "narrator or narrators" field. We still have the same problem we can access these fields to edit them.

The solution that I am doing is incredibly messy but it's the only work around i have so far is to install iTunes to my PC and sync my iPhone to my PC, and have my iMac sit and look pretty on my desk. but most people aren't running two different operating systems on the same desk. There are still major iCloud sync problems with this solution.

Yes we do need to complain and stomp our feet but even if Apple is doing something they won't even acknowledge it. I found four major issues so far.

1) Ability to edit ID3 tags

2) Sorting of large libraries

3) Putting libraries an external storage or changing directories for other storage devices

4) Syncing with iCloud " Deleting from one device well delete from all devices, There is a caveat if you purchase from Apple you get a second option" If I try to free up space on my iPhone it will Erase it everywhere.

I have been reading on cnet and Reddit, PDF ID3 tags Issues. Turning podcasts into audiobooks some podcast are audiobook dramatizations. Example Earthcore by Scott Sigler He first released it as a podcast and then cleaned it up and sold it as an audiobook and he also uses it to promote his regular books. Apple is opening Pandora's box for DRM Removal on this issue, I am seeing it as a recommendation across multiple forms. And we are just the early adopters of Catalina.

Yet another interesting feature of Catalina's Books is that audiobooks from Audible only transfer Chapter 1 to iPods. The entire book is in Books (I checked) but not on two of my iPod Nanos. So I have to sync my iPods using my older High Sierra/iTunes equipped laptop (it is too old to upgrade to Catalina). I have reported it to Apple but, of course, no resmonse or other acknowledgement.

Ted, I'm not seeing the behavior you describe in issue 4. True that deleting an iCloud Drive book (i.e. book not purchased from Apple) will delete the book everywhere, but on iOS when I remove a cloud book then I get options to "Remove Download" or "Delete Everywhere". If I select "Remove Download" then it removes the local copy of the book and leaves me with a cloud item and my other devices are not impacted. Thus, I can free up space on my phone without erasing everywhere.

It's telling that the "feedback" form currently asks "What version of Books for Mac" are you using and the highest version number in the drop down is v1.5... Catalina 10.15.1 comes with v2.1.

I was really looking forward to the death of iTunes because I couldn't imagine managing audiobooks being any WORSE than it was in iTunes... somehow, this is actually worse. No way to edit metadata, no way to add/correct cover thumbnails, no way to "Show in Finder" to find the actual source file...

I transferred my entire library over to my PC and installed iTunes and started syncing my iPhone to my PC but this cost too much problems with syncing I am currently trying other media players. None of them can deal with the DMR's. :(

Did you find a way to un-clobber what Apple Books does to audio files when you import them? It moves everything to ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.BKAgentService/Data/Documents/iBooks/Books and then creates a mini-DB inside books.plist to keep track of them.

I could go through my ancient backups and find the original m4as organized by folders, but ugh what a mess this is.