diff --git a/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.cpp b/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.cpp
index 5651d5ab..4818558e 100644
--- a/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.cpp
+++ b/lib/Epub/Epub/parsers/ContentOpfParser.cpp
@@ -267,18 +267,25 @@ void XMLCALL ContentOpfParser::startElement(void* userData, const XML_Char* name
     }
 
     // EPUB 3 collection metadata:
-    // <meta property="belongs-to-collection">Series Name</meta>
+    // <meta property="belongs-to-collection">Series Name</meta>  (character data)
+    // <meta property="belongs-to-collection" content="Series Name"/>  (attribute, some generators)
     // <meta property="group-position">1</meta>
     if (metaProperty) {
       if (strcmp(metaProperty, "belongs-to-collection") == 0 && self->series.empty()) {
-        self->series.clear();
-        self->state = IN_BOOK_SERIES;
-        return;
+        if (metaContent) {
+          self->series = std::string(metaContent).substr(0, MAX_DESCRIPTION_LENGTH);
+        } else {
+          self->state = IN_BOOK_SERIES;
+          return;
+        }
       }
       if (strcmp(metaProperty, "group-position") == 0 && self->seriesIndex.empty()) {
-        self->seriesIndex.clear();
-        self->state = IN_BOOK_SERIES_INDEX;
-        return;
+        if (metaContent) {
+          self->seriesIndex = std::string(metaContent).substr(0, MAX_DESCRIPTION_LENGTH);
+        } else {
+          self->state = IN_BOOK_SERIES_INDEX;
+          return;
+        }
       }
     }
 
diff --git a/lib/Serialization/Serialization.h b/lib/Serialization/Serialization.h
index 37df1c83..c1be4982 100644
--- a/lib/Serialization/Serialization.h
+++ b/lib/Serialization/Serialization.h
@@ -41,7 +41,10 @@ constexpr uint32_t MAX_STRING_LENGTH = 4096;
 static bool readString(std::istream& is, std::string& s) {
   uint32_t len;
   readPod(is, len);
-  if (len > MAX_STRING_LENGTH) return false;
+  if (len > MAX_STRING_LENGTH) {
+    is.seekg(len, std::ios::cur);  // skip payload to keep stream aligned
+    return false;
+  }
   s.resize(len);
   is.read(&s[0], len);
   return true;
@@ -50,7 +53,10 @@ static bool readString(std::istream& is, std::string& s) {
 static bool readString(FsFile& file, std::string& s) {
   uint32_t len;
   readPod(file, len);
-  if (len > MAX_STRING_LENGTH) return false;
+  if (len > MAX_STRING_LENGTH) {
+    file.seekCur(len);  // skip payload to keep file position aligned
+    return false;
+  }
   s.resize(len);
   file.read(reinterpret_cast<uint8_t*>(&s[0]), len);
   return true;
diff --git a/src/RecentBooksStore.cpp b/src/RecentBooksStore.cpp
index a013db7a..53a0f333 100644
--- a/src/RecentBooksStore.cpp
+++ b/src/RecentBooksStore.cpp
@@ -122,8 +122,8 @@ bool RecentBooksStore::loadFromBinaryFile() {
     // Old version, just read paths
     uint8_t count;
     serialization::readPod(inputFile, count);
-    recentBooks.clear();
-    recentBooks.reserve(count);
+    std::vector<RecentBook> tmpRecentBooks;
+    tmpRecentBooks.reserve(count);
     for (uint8_t i = 0; i < count; i++) {
       std::string path;
       if (!serialization::readString(inputFile, path)) {
@@ -142,17 +142,18 @@ bool RecentBooksStore::loadFromBinaryFile() {
           inputFile.close();
           return false;
         }
-        recentBooks.push_back({path, title, author, "", ""});
+        tmpRecentBooks.push_back({path, title, author, "", ""});
       } else {
-        recentBooks.push_back(book);
+        tmpRecentBooks.push_back(book);
       }
     }
+    recentBooks = std::move(tmpRecentBooks);
   } else if (version == 3) {
     uint8_t count;
     serialization::readPod(inputFile, count);
 
-    recentBooks.clear();
-    recentBooks.reserve(count);
+    std::vector<RecentBook> tmpRecentBooks;
+    tmpRecentBooks.reserve(count);
     uint8_t omitted = 0;
 
     for (uint8_t i = 0; i < count; i++) {
@@ -170,8 +171,9 @@ bool RecentBooksStore::loadFromBinaryFile() {
         continue;
       }
 
-      recentBooks.push_back({path, title, author, "", coverBmpPath});
+      tmpRecentBooks.push_back({path, title, author, "", coverBmpPath});
     }
+    recentBooks = std::move(tmpRecentBooks);
 
     if (omitted > 0) {
       inputFile.close();