Sony Reader Compatibility

cerise · 02-18-2011, 10:49 PM

I am the proud new owner of a the Sony 350 and have been buying books from the Sony Reader store/Kobo like a maniac. I know that you can't read ebooks from Amazon on the Sony reader. But what about books from Barnes and Noble? As I understand it, Barnes and Noble also uses ePubs, so does that mean that I can read ebooks from B&N too?

As a side note, I noticed that B&N and Amazon both lists relatively current books as free sometimes. Will these books also be free on Kobo or Reader Store soon then or is this exclusive to the booksellers?

Thanks!!

SeaBookGuy · 02-18-2011, 11:04 PM

B & N uses their own proprietary version of Epub for nooks only.

Welcome to MR, cerise!

vulcan_girl · 02-19-2011, 01:44 AM

Inkmesh.com lists free books.

delphin · 02-19-2011, 01:56 AM

Yes, welcome and hope you are enjoying your new reader.

Be sure to check out your local libraries to see if any of them are offering e-book lending services through 'Overdrive'.

Sometimes Kobo, Sony, B&N and Amazon will have similar promotional books, because sometimes it's the publisher running the promotion, but this is rare.

As far as the compatibility of books from Amazon and Barnes and Nobel goes, unfortunately, as already stated, these guys have formats that are not directly compatible with your Sony reader.

Both Amazon and Barnes and Nobel do have FREE 'apps' for your PC or Mac that will usually let you download those freebie books and read them on your computer.

So if you want the Kindle or B&N freebies, then install their FREE Reader apps and use them to grab the books you want.

I know that this situation with e-books from different sources being incompatible is annoying.

Google around and you may find that their are ways to 'unswindle' that Kindle book, or deal with those pesky 'ignoble' B&N books.

Also, be sure to check out the incredible free Calibre e-book library software. By itself this program can't help you with DRM issues, because the author wisely doesn't want to get into hassles about DRM.

Calibre is a wonderfully flexible program though, with lots of nice 'plugins'

For some really nicely formatted totally free EPUB books with NO DRM HASSLES, you might want to also check out the Public Domain section of feedbooks.com

They have thousands of really nicely formatted EPUB titles, including public domain classics by the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.G. Wells, etc. plus more recent titles donated by lesser known contemporary authors who are hoping to impress you with their work.

Just be sure to download in EPUB format and you can use either Calibre or the Sony Reader Library to import them and send them to your reader.

Solitaire1 · 02-19-2011, 02:04 AM

To add to delphin's comments, a source of public domain ebooks is Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page). You might have to do some work to format them, but it's a great resource.

AlexBell · 02-19-2011, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by delphin

Yes, welcome and hope you are enjoying your new reader.

For some really nicely formatted totally free EPUB books with NO DRM HASSLES, you might want to also check out the Public Domain section of feedbooks.com

They have thousands of really nicely formatted EPUB titles, including public domain classics like Mark Twain, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, as well as many more recent books donated by lesser known contemporary authors.

Just be sure to download in EPUB format and you can use either Calibre or the Sony Reader Library to import them and send them to your reader.

And you might like to check the free ePubs in the Mobile Read library, which is where I get most of my books from.

Regards, Alex

HistoryWes · 02-19-2011, 02:24 AM

Don't forget manybooks.org and Smashwords.com.

delphin · 02-19-2011, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

To add to delphin's comments, a source of public domain ebooks is Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page). You might have to do some work to format them, but it's a great resource.

Good point,

Gutenberg has a HUGE number of titles, but Feedbooks also has a few you wont find on Gutenberg, so it works both ways.

Yet another source is Manybooks

In some cases Manybooks and Feedbooks actually draw on Gutenberg for source text and then reformat it.

It is good to know about several sources though, in case you are looking for a hard to find title.

I think Feedbooks has the best formatted EPUBs, with Manybooks running second, and Gutenberg a VERY distant third. Gutenberg's EPUBs, when they do have them at all, tend to be bare-bones unformatted text with no cover, no Table of Contents, no nothing (except occasional typos and weird formating codes, which sometimes creep in)

Also Gutenberg mucks things up with several pages of really silly and pretty much meaningless legalese at the beginning of every title (I guess the worthless lawyers wanted to feel like they were contributing something).

I suggest that you check out some identical titles from all three and pick your own favorite.

02-18-2011, 10:49 PM	#1
cerise Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Sony PRS-350	Sony Reader Compatibility I am the proud new owner of a the Sony 350 and have been buying books from the Sony Reader store/Kobo like a maniac. I know that you can't read ebooks from Amazon on the Sony reader. But what about books from Barnes and Noble? As I understand it, Barnes and Noble also uses ePubs, so does that mean that I can read ebooks from B&N too? As a side note, I noticed that B&N and Amazon both lists relatively current books as free sometimes. Will these books also be free on Kobo or Reader Store soon then or is this exclusive to the booksellers? Thanks!!

02-19-2011, 01:56 AM	#4
delphin Evangelist Posts: 434 Karma: 346901 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: SONY PRS-650	Yes, welcome and hope you are enjoying your new reader. Be sure to check out your local libraries to see if any of them are offering e-book lending services through 'Overdrive'. Sometimes Kobo, Sony, B&N and Amazon will have similar promotional books, because sometimes it's the publisher running the promotion, but this is rare. As far as the compatibility of books from Amazon and Barnes and Nobel goes, unfortunately, as already stated, these guys have formats that are not directly compatible with your Sony reader. Both Amazon and Barnes and Nobel do have FREE 'apps' for your PC or Mac that will usually let you download those freebie books and read them on your computer. So if you want the Kindle or B&N freebies, then install their FREE Reader apps and use them to grab the books you want. I know that this situation with e-books from different sources being incompatible is annoying. Google around and you may find that their are ways to 'unswindle' that Kindle book, or deal with those pesky 'ignoble' B&N books. Also, be sure to check out the incredible free Calibre e-book library software. By itself this program can't help you with DRM issues, because the author wisely doesn't want to get into hassles about DRM. Calibre is a wonderfully flexible program though, with lots of nice 'plugins' For some really nicely formatted totally free EPUB books with NO DRM HASSLES, you might want to also check out the Public Domain section of feedbooks.com They have thousands of really nicely formatted EPUB titles, including public domain classics by the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.G. Wells, etc. plus more recent titles donated by lesser known contemporary authors who are hoping to impress you with their work. Just be sure to download in EPUB format and you can use either Calibre or the Sony Reader Library to import them and send them to your reader. Last edited by delphin; 02-19-2011 at 02:17 AM.

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02-18-2011, 11:04 PM	#2
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,015 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	B & N uses their own proprietary version of Epub for nooks only. Welcome to MR, cerise!

02-19-2011, 01:44 AM	#3
vulcan_girl Groupie Posts: 156 Karma: 1010345 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: PRS 350	Inkmesh.com lists free books.

02-19-2011, 02:04 AM	#5
Solitaire1 Samurai Lizard Posts: 14,264 Karma: 66698846 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: NookColor	To add to delphin's comments, a source of public domain ebooks is Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page). You might have to do some work to format them, but it's a great resource.

02-19-2011, 02:24 AM	#7
HistoryWes Teacher/Novelist Posts: 632 Karma: 2274466 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Nevada Device: Nook STR, iPad	Don't forget manybooks.org and Smashwords.com.

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