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Comment by profsummergig | Hacker News Reader

My understanding of Anna's Archive is that one has to download large zip files (>10 Gb) containing thousands of books even if one wants only a single book.

Am I correct here?

Does this MCP server allow one to download just a single book?

I remember once using an IPFS based tool to download a single 200-year-old, out-of-copyright copy of "Last of the Mohicans" from Anna's Archive. It worked, but was very very complicated to figure out how to make it work.

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I've downloaded single books several times recently (annas-archive.org in the browser):

  - search for book
  - tap a result
  - see a list of links to download mirrors (under 'slow downloads'), tap a link
  - get a countdown timer
  - timer expires, download links appear
  - click a link, book downloads just like any other download

The waiting part is nonexistent if you have an active donation (which is also required by this MCP server for API access). The fast downloads mean you request a book and start downloading it immediately.

"Donation". Let's call it what it is - a subscription.

So just 8 or 9 steps to grab a e-book, instead of just letting the LLM recall it from training data... /s

You can just go on the website, search for the book you want, and download it. I'd think this is pretty obvious, as if you visit https://annas-archive.org, there are multiple search boxes there that lead directly to downloads.

You are incorrect in your assumption. Though I would also like you to search for "IRC books reddit". Unlike Anna's Archive, you get high quality books with fast download speeds.

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