diff --git a/lib/GfxRenderer/GfxRenderer.cpp b/lib/GfxRenderer/GfxRenderer.cpp
index 31dd431a..a0a7421a 100644
--- a/lib/GfxRenderer/GfxRenderer.cpp
+++ b/lib/GfxRenderer/GfxRenderer.cpp
@@ -1550,8 +1550,6 @@ void GfxRenderer::drawBitmap(const Bitmap& bitmap, const int x, const int y, con
   bool isScaled = false;
   int cropPixX = std::floor(bitmap.getWidth() * cropX / 2.0f);
   int cropPixY = std::floor(bitmap.getHeight() * cropY / 2.0f);
-  LOG_DBG("GFX", "Cropping %dx%d by %dx%d pix, is %s", bitmap.getWidth(), bitmap.getHeight(), cropPixX, cropPixY,
-          bitmap.isTopDown() ? "top-down" : "bottom-up");
 
   const float croppedWidth = (1.0f - cropX) * static_cast<float>(bitmap.getWidth());
   const float croppedHeight = (1.0f - cropY) * static_cast<float>(bitmap.getHeight());
@@ -1573,7 +1571,6 @@ void GfxRenderer::drawBitmap(const Bitmap& bitmap, const int x, const int y, con
     scale = fitScale;
     isScaled = true;
   }
-  LOG_DBG("GFX", "Scaling by %f - %s", scale, isScaled ? "scaled" : "not scaled");
 
   // Calculate output row size (2 bits per pixel, packed into bytes)
   // IMPORTANT: Use int, not uint8_t, to avoid overflow for images > 1020 pixels wide
@@ -1650,13 +1647,19 @@ void GfxRenderer::drawBitmap1Bit(const Bitmap& bitmap, const int x, const int y,
                                  const int maxHeight) const {
   float scale = 1.0f;
   bool isScaled = false;
-  if (maxWidth > 0 && bitmap.getWidth() > maxWidth) {
-    scale = static_cast<float>(maxWidth) / static_cast<float>(bitmap.getWidth());
-    isScaled = true;
+  if (maxWidth > 0) {
+    const float s = static_cast<float>(maxWidth) / static_cast<float>(bitmap.getWidth());
+    if (s != 1.0f) {
+      scale = s;
+      isScaled = true;
+    }
   }
-  if (maxHeight > 0 && bitmap.getHeight() > maxHeight) {
-    scale = std::min(scale, static_cast<float>(maxHeight) / static_cast<float>(bitmap.getHeight()));
-    isScaled = true;
+  if (maxHeight > 0) {
+    const float s = static_cast<float>(maxHeight) / static_cast<float>(bitmap.getHeight());
+    if (s < scale) {
+      scale = s;
+      isScaled = (scale != 1.0f);
+    }
   }
 
   // For 1-bit BMP, output is still 2-bit packed (for consistency with readNextRow)
diff --git a/lib/Xtc/Xtc.cpp b/lib/Xtc/Xtc.cpp
index c01e68ed..d21fc1df 100644
--- a/lib/Xtc/Xtc.cpp
+++ b/lib/Xtc/Xtc.cpp
@@ -266,7 +266,15 @@ std::string Xtc::getThumbBmpPath(int width, int height) const {
   return cachePath + "/thumb_" + std::to_string(width) + "x" + std::to_string(height) + ".bmp";
 }
 
-bool Xtc::generateThumbBmp(int height) const { return generateThumbBmp(height * 0.6, height); }
+bool Xtc::generateThumbBmp(int height) const {
+  const std::string destPath = getThumbBmpPath(height);
+  if (Storage.exists(destPath.c_str())) return true;
+  const int width = static_cast<int>(height * 0.6f);
+  if (!generateThumbBmp(width, height)) return false;
+  const std::string srcPath = getThumbBmpPath(width, height);
+  Storage.rename(srcPath.c_str(), destPath.c_str());
+  return Storage.exists(destPath.c_str());
+}
 
 bool Xtc::generateThumbBmp(int width, int height) const {
   if (Storage.exists(getThumbBmpPath(width, height).c_str())) return true;
diff --git a/src/activities/home/HomeActivity.cpp b/src/activities/home/HomeActivity.cpp
index 04830178..f8c97d97 100644
--- a/src/activities/home/HomeActivity.cpp
+++ b/src/activities/home/HomeActivity.cpp
@@ -217,6 +217,11 @@ void HomeActivity::loadRecentCovers(int coverHeight) {
           RECENT_BOOKS.updateBook(book.path, book.title, book.author, book.series, "");
           book.coverBmpPath = "";
         } else {
+          // Free the carousel frame cache before converting — PNG/JPEG decode needs ~42 KB
+          // contiguous heap, which won't be available while the 48 KB frame buffer is held.
+          // The cache will be rebuilt on the next render.
+          UITheme::getInstance().getMutableTheme().invalidateFrameCache();
+
           const std::string cacheBase = "/.crosspoint/sidecar_" + std::to_string(std::hash<std::string>{}(book.path));
           const std::string placeholder = cacheBase + "/[HEIGHT].bmp";
           bool success = true;
@@ -239,8 +244,8 @@ void HomeActivity::loadRecentCovers(int coverHeight) {
             book.coverBmpPath = placeholder;
           } else {
             LOG_ERR("HOME", "Failed to convert sidecar cover for %s", book.path.c_str());
-            RECENT_BOOKS.updateBook(book.path, book.title, book.author, book.series, "");
-            book.coverBmpPath = "";
+            // Don't permanently clear the path on failure — keep the raw sidecar path
+            // so the next home visit can retry (e.g. after more memory becomes available).
           }
           coverRendered = false;
           nextRecentCoverIndex++;
diff --git a/src/activities/reader/ReaderActivity.cpp b/src/activities/reader/ReaderActivity.cpp
index a9fa44be..e115391b 100644
--- a/src/activities/reader/ReaderActivity.cpp
+++ b/src/activities/reader/ReaderActivity.cpp
@@ -62,13 +62,11 @@ std::string ReaderActivity::sidecarCoverPath(const std::string& bookPath) {
   const std::string base = bookPath.substr(0, dot);
   for (const char* ext : {".jpg", ".jpeg", ".png", ".bmp"}) {
     const std::string candidate = base + ext;
-    LOG_DBG("SIDECAR", "Checking: %s", candidate.c_str());
     if (Storage.exists(candidate.c_str())) {
       LOG_DBG("SIDECAR", "Found sidecar cover: %s", candidate.c_str());
       return candidate;
     }
   }
-  LOG_DBG("SIDECAR", "No sidecar found for: %s", bookPath.c_str());
   return "";
 }
 
diff --git a/src/components/themes/lyra/Lyra3CoversTheme.cpp b/src/components/themes/lyra/Lyra3CoversTheme.cpp
index 5e8671bf..06f5f230 100644
--- a/src/components/themes/lyra/Lyra3CoversTheme.cpp
+++ b/src/components/themes/lyra/Lyra3CoversTheme.cpp
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ void Lyra3CoversTheme::drawRecentBookCover(GfxRenderer& renderer, Rect rect, con
               const float ratio = bitmapWidth / bitmapHeight;
               const float tileRatio =
                   static_cast<float>(tileWidth - 2 * hPaddingInSelection) / static_cast<float>(coverHeight);
-              const float cropX = 1.0f - (tileRatio / ratio);
+              const float cropX = std::max(0.0f, 1.0f - (tileRatio / ratio));
 
               renderer.drawBitmap(bitmap, tileX + hPaddingInSelection, tileY + hPaddingInSelection,
                                   tileWidth - 2 * hPaddingInSelection, coverHeight, cropX);