diff --git a/resources/content-server/index.html b/resources/content-server/index.html
index 5460c8cc33..f93c9522db 100644
--- a/resources/content-server/index.html
+++ b/resources/content-server/index.html
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
         <meta name="robots" content="noindex">
         <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
         <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="favicon.png">
-        <script>window.calibre_entry_point = 'ENTRY_POINT';</script>
+        <script>window.calibre_entry_point = 'ENTRY_POINT'; window.calibre_username = USERNAME;</script>
         <script type="text/javascript" src="static/main.js"></script>
         <link rel="stylesheet" href="static/reset.css"></link>
         <link rel="stylesheet" href="static/font-awesome/fa.css"></link>
diff --git a/src/calibre/srv/ajax.py b/src/calibre/srv/ajax.py
index 95bb66d488..701899206c 100644
--- a/src/calibre/srv/ajax.py
+++ b/src/calibre/srv/ajax.py
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ from calibre.ebooks.metadata.book.json_codec import JsonCodec
 from calibre.srv.errors import HTTPNotFound
 from calibre.srv.metadata import book_as_json
 from calibre.srv.routes import endpoint, json
-from calibre.srv.session import defaults
 from calibre.srv.content import get as get_content, icon as get_icon
 from calibre.srv.utils import http_date, custom_fields_to_display, encode_name, decode_name
 from calibre.utils.config import prefs, tweaks
@@ -562,27 +561,43 @@ def search(ctx, rd, library_id):
         return _search(ctx, rd, db, query, num, offset, rd.query.get('sort', 'title'), rd.query.get('sort_order', 'asc'))
 # }}}
 
+def get_basic_query_data(ctx, query):
+    library_id = query.get('library_id')
+    library_map, default_library = ctx.library_map
+    if library_id not in library_map:
+        library_id = default_library
+    db = get_db(ctx, library_id)
+    skeys = db.field_metadata.sortable_field_keys()
+    sorts, orders = [], []
+    for x in query.get('sort', '').split(','):
+        if x:
+            s, o = x.partition('.')[::2]
+            if o not in ('asc', 'desc'):
+                o = 'asc'
+            if s.startswith('_'):
+                s = '#' + s[1:]
+            s = sanitize_sort_field_name(db.field_metadata, s)
+            if s in skeys:
+                sorts.append(s), orders.append(o)
+    if not sorts:
+        sorts, orders = ['date'], ['desc']
+    return library_id, db, sorts, orders
 
-@endpoint('/ajax/interface-data/{library_id=None}', postprocess=json)
-def interface_data(ctx, rd, library_id):
+
+@endpoint('/ajax/interface-data', postprocess=json)
+def interface_data(ctx, rd):
     '''
     Return the data needed to create the server main UI
 
-    Optional: ?num=50
+    Optional: ?num=50&sort=date.desc&library_id=<default library>
     '''
-    session = rd.session
-    ans = {'session_data': {k:session[k] for k in defaults.iterkeys()}}
+    ans = {'username':rd.username}
     ans['library_map'], ans['default_library'] = ctx.library_map
-    ans['library_id'] = library_id or ans['default_library']
-    sorts, orders = [], []
-    for x in ans['session_data']['sort'].split(','):
-        s, o = x.partition(':')[::2]
-        sorts.append(s.strip()), orders.append(o.strip())
+    ans['library_id'], db, sorts, orders = get_basic_query_data(ctx, rd.query)
     try:
         num = int(rd.query.get('num', 50))
     except Exception:
         raise HTTPNotFound('Invalid number of books: %r' % rd.query.get('num'))
-    db = get_db(ctx, library_id)
     with db.safe_read_lock:
         ans['search_result'] = _search(ctx, rd, db, '', num, 0, ','.join(sorts), ','.join(orders))
         ans['field_metadata'] = db.field_metadata.all_metadata()
diff --git a/src/calibre/srv/code.py b/src/calibre/srv/code.py
index 1a39d2fc9d..3cf0389fa4 100644
--- a/src/calibre/srv/code.py
+++ b/src/calibre/srv/code.py
@@ -4,10 +4,11 @@
 
 from __future__ import (unicode_literals, division, absolute_import,
                         print_function)
-import re
+import re, json
 from functools import partial
 from threading import Lock
 
+from calibre import prepare_string_for_xml
 from calibre.srv.routes import endpoint
 
 html_cache = {}
@@ -43,4 +44,5 @@ def get_html(name, auto_reload_port, **replacements):
 def index(ctx, rd):
     return rd.generate_static_output('/', partial(
         get_html, 'content-server/index.html', getattr(rd.opts, 'auto_reload_port', 0),
-        ENTRY_POINT='book list', LOADING_MSG=_('Loading library, please wait')))
+        USERNAME=json.dumps(rd.username), ENTRY_POINT='book list',
+        LOADING_MSG=prepare_string_for_xml(_('Loading library, please wait'))))
diff --git a/src/calibre/srv/handler.py b/src/calibre/srv/handler.py
index 5ad89d5e69..38a3187693 100644
--- a/src/calibre/srv/handler.py
+++ b/src/calibre/srv/handler.py
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ from threading import Lock
 from calibre.db.cache import Cache
 from calibre.db.legacy import create_backend, LibraryDatabase
 from calibre.srv.routes import Router
-from calibre.srv.session import Sessions
 from calibre.utils.date import utcnow
 
 def init_library(library_path):
@@ -80,21 +79,18 @@ class Context(object):
     url_for = None
     CATEGORY_CACHE_SIZE = 25
     SEARCH_CACHE_SIZE = 100
-    SESSION_COOKIE = 'calibre_session'
 
     def __init__(self, libraries, opts, testing=False):
         self.opts = opts
         self.library_broker = LibraryBroker(libraries)
         self.testing = testing
         self.lock = Lock()
-        self.sessions = Sessions()
 
     def init_session(self, endpoint, data):
-        data.session = self.sessions.get_or_create(key=data.cookies.get(self.SESSION_COOKIE), username=data.username)
+        pass
 
     def finalize_session(self, endpoint, data, output):
-        data.outcookie[self.SESSION_COOKIE] = data.session.key
-        data.outcookie[self.SESSION_COOKIE]['path'] = self.url_for(None)
+        pass
 
     def get_library(self, library_id=None):
         return self.library_broker.get(library_id)
diff --git a/src/calibre/srv/session.py b/src/calibre/srv/session.py
deleted file mode 100644
index f6109861a3..0000000000
--- a/src/calibre/srv/session.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,66 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python2
-# vim:fileencoding=utf-8
-# License: GPLv3 Copyright: 2015, Kovid Goyal <kovid at kovidgoyal.net>
-
-from __future__ import (unicode_literals, division, absolute_import,
-                        print_function)
-from copy import deepcopy
-from uuid import uuid4
-from threading import Lock
-
-from calibre.utils.lru_cache import lru_cache
-
-defaults = {
-    'sort': 'date:desc',
-    'library_id': None,
-    'view_mode': 'cover_grid',
-}
-
-class Session(object):
-
-    def __init__(self):
-        self._data = deepcopy(defaults)
-
-    def __getitem__(self, key):
-        return self._data[key]
-
-    def __setitem__(self, key, val):
-        self._data[key] = val
-
-
-class SessionProxy(object):
-
-    ''' Prevent the creation of a long-lived session object for every new
-    request without a session cookie. Instead, this object lives only as long
-    an individual request, and unless some setting is changed from the default
-    simply returns values from the global defaults object. '''
-
-    def __init__(self, sessions, key):
-        self.sessions = sessions
-        self.key = key
-        self.actual_session = None
-
-    def __getitem__(self, key):
-        if self.actual_session is None:
-            return defaults[key]
-        return self.actual_session[key]
-
-    def __setitem__(self, key, val):
-        with self.sessions.lock:
-            if self.actual_session is None:
-                self.actual_session = self.sessions.cache[self.key] = Session()
-        self.actual_session[key] = val
-
-class Sessions(object):
-
-    def __init__(self):
-        self.cache = lru_cache(size=2000)
-        self.lock = Lock()
-
-    def get_or_create(self, key=None, username=None):
-        key = key or str(uuid4()).replace('-', '')
-        try:
-            with self.lock:
-                return self.cache[key]
-        except KeyError:
-            return SessionProxy(self, key)
diff --git a/src/pyj/ajax.pyj b/src/pyj/ajax.pyj
index 7ade844f37..924a1ce6f1 100644
--- a/src/pyj/ajax.pyj
+++ b/src/pyj/ajax.pyj
@@ -1,10 +1,21 @@
 # vim:fileencoding=utf-8
 # License: GPL v3 Copyright: 2015, Kovid Goyal <kovid at kovidgoyal.net>
 
-def ajax(path, on_complete, on_progress=None, bypass_cache=True, method='GET'):
+def ajax(path, on_complete, on_progress=None, bypass_cache=True, method='GET', query=None):
+    query = query or {}
     xhr = XMLHttpRequest()
+    keys = Object.keys(query)
+    has_query = False
+    if keys.length:
+        for i, k in enumerate(keys):
+            val = query[k]
+            if val is undefined or val is None:
+                continue
+            path += ('?' if i == 0 else '&') + window.encodeURIComponent(k) + '=' + window.encodeURIComponent(val.toString())
+            has_query = True
     if bypass_cache:
-        path += ('&' if '?' in path else '?') + Date().getTime()
+        path += ('&' if has_query else '?') + Date().getTime()
+
     xhr.request_path = path
 
     def progress_callback(ev):
diff --git a/src/pyj/book_list/globals.pyj b/src/pyj/book_list/globals.pyj
index 34681493e8..ebc1b77bb9 100644
--- a/src/pyj/book_list/globals.pyj
+++ b/src/pyj/book_list/globals.pyj
@@ -2,11 +2,20 @@
 # License: GPL v3 Copyright: 2015, Kovid Goyal <kovid at kovidgoyal.net>
 
 boss = None
+session_data = None
 
 def get_boss():
-    nonlocal boss
     return boss
 
 def set_boss(obj):
     nonlocal boss
     boss = obj
+    return boss
+
+def set_session_data(sd):
+    nonlocal session_data
+    session_data = sd
+    return session_data
+
+def get_session_data():
+    return session_data
diff --git a/src/pyj/book_list/item_list.pyj b/src/pyj/book_list/item_list.pyj
index f835f271f3..3eb35283f6 100644
--- a/src/pyj/book_list/item_list.pyj
+++ b/src/pyj/book_list/item_list.pyj
@@ -70,8 +70,9 @@ class ItemsView:
             a = ul.lastChild.firstChild
             if item.subtitle:
                 a.appendChild(E.div(item.subtitle, class_='subtitle'))
+            a.addEventListener('click', def(event): event.preventDefault();)
             if item.action:
-                a.addEventListener('click', def(event): event.preventDefault(), item.action();)
+                ul.lastChild.addEventListener('click', item.action)
 
 
 def create_item(title, action=None, subtitle=None, icon_name=None):
diff --git a/src/pyj/book_list/views.pyj b/src/pyj/book_list/views.pyj
index a423a3a89b..3dbeae6512 100644
--- a/src/pyj/book_list/views.pyj
+++ b/src/pyj/book_list/views.pyj
@@ -4,11 +4,13 @@
 from dom import set_css, build_rule
 from elementmaker import E
 from gettext import gettext as _
+from book_list.globals import get_session_data
 
-bv_counter = 0
 THUMBNAIL_MAX_WIDTH = 300
 THUMBNAIL_MAX_HEIGHT = 400
 
+bv_counter = 0
+
 class BooksView:
 
     def __init__(self, interface_data):
@@ -27,7 +29,7 @@ class BooksView:
             E.div(id='get-more-books')
         )
         document.body.appendChild(div)
-        self.set_view_mode(interface_data['session_data']['view_mode'])
+        self.set_view_mode(get_session_data().get('view_mode'))
 
     def set_view_mode(self, mode='cover_grid'):
         if self.mode == mode:
diff --git a/src/pyj/session.pyj b/src/pyj/session.pyj
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2200a5d9d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/pyj/session.pyj
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+# vim:fileencoding=utf-8
+# License: GPL v3 Copyright: 2015, Kovid Goyal <kovid at kovidgoyal.net>
+
+def storage_available(which):
+    which = which or 'localStorage'
+    try:
+        storage = window[which]
+        x = '__storage__test__'
+        storage.setItem(x, x)
+        storage.removeItem(x)
+        return True
+    except:
+        return False
+
+session_storage = None
+
+class FakeStorage:
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.data = {}
+
+    def getItem(self, key):
+        return self.data[key]
+
+    def setItem(self, key, value):
+        if type(value) != 'string':
+            value = JSON.stringify(value)
+        self.data[key] = value
+
+    def clear(self):
+        self.data = {}
+
+def get_session_storage():
+    nonlocal session_storage
+    if session_storage is None:
+        if storage_available('localStorage'):
+            session_storage = window.localStorage
+        elif storage_available('sessionStorage'):
+            session_storage = window.sessionStorage
+            console.error('localStorage not available using sessionStorage instead')
+        else:
+            session_storage = FakeStorage()
+            console.error('sessionStorage and localStorage not available using a temp cache instead')
+    return session_storage
+
+class SessionData:
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.storage = get_session_storage()
+        self.overflow_storage = {}
+        self.has_overflow = False
+
+    def get(self, key, defval):
+        if defval is undefined:
+            defval = None
+        if self.has_overflow:
+            ans = self.overflow_storage[key]
+            if ans is undefined:
+                ans = self.storage.getItem(key)
+        else:
+            ans = self.storage.getItem(key)
+        if ans is undefined:
+            return defval
+        return JSON.parse(ans)
+
+    def set(self, key, value):
+        value = JSON.stringify(value)
+        try:
+            self.storage.setItem(key, value)
+            v'delete self.overflow_storage[key]'
+            return True
+        except:
+            self.overflow_storage[key] = value
+            self.has_overflow = True
+            console.error('session storage has overflowed, using a temp cache instead')
+        return False
+
+    def clear(self):
+        self.storage.clear()
+        self.overflow_storage = {}
+        self.has_overflow = False
+
+class UserSessionData(SessionData):
+
+    def __init__(self, username):
+        self.prefix = (username or '') + ':'
+        self.has_user = bool(username)
+        self.username = username
+        SessionData.__init__(self)
+
+    def get(self, key, defval):
+        return SessionData.get(self, (self.prefix + key), defval)
+
+    def set(self, key, value):
+        return SessionData.set(self, (self.prefix + key), value)
+
diff --git a/src/pyj/srv.pyj b/src/pyj/srv.pyj
index d81764d019..a77be229e1 100644
--- a/src/pyj/srv.pyj
+++ b/src/pyj/srv.pyj
@@ -4,17 +4,19 @@
 from ajax import ajax
 from elementmaker import E
 from gettext import gettext as _
+from session import UserSessionData
 from book_list.boss import Boss
-from book_list.globals import set_boss
+from book_list.globals import set_boss, set_session_data
 
 def on_library_loaded(end_type, xhr, ev):
     p = document.getElementById('page_load_progress')
     p.parentNode.removeChild(p)
     if end_type == 'load':
-        boss = Boss(JSON.parse(xhr.responseText))
+        interface_data = JSON.parse(xhr.responseText)
+        boss = Boss(interface_data)
         set_boss(boss)
     else:
-        document.body.appendChild(E.p(style="color:red", str.format(_(
+        document.body.appendChild(E.p(style='color:red', str.format(_(
             'Failed to download library data from "{}", with status: [{}] {}'),
         xhr.request_path, xhr.status, xhr.statusText)))
 
@@ -23,11 +25,16 @@ def on_library_load_progress(loaded, total):
     p.max = total
     p.value = loaded
 
+def load_book_list():
+    sd = set_session_data(UserSessionData(window.calibre_username))
+    ajax('ajax/interface-data', on_library_loaded, on_library_load_progress, query={
+        'library_id':sd.get('library_id'), 'sort':sd.get('sort')}).send()
+
 def on_load():
     if window.calibre_entry_point == 'book list':
-        ajax('ajax/interface-data', on_library_loaded, on_library_load_progress).send()
+        load_book_list()
 
 # We wait for all page elements to load, since this is a single page app
 # with a largely empty starting document, we can use this to preload any resources
 # we know are going to be needed immediately.
-window.addEventListener("load", on_load)
+window.addEventListener('load', on_load)