Content Getting books for Kindle from Other Places

[emonti8384]

Okay, I know it is probably somewhere in here but I'm not having much luck finding answers. My friend just got a Kindle (she's even more computer illiterate than I am lol) and wants to know:

Where she can buy books outside of Amazon, and which format
Can she get library books, and if so, which format
How does she find and get free books from Amazon
Can she download the books from here

Thanks for all the help! I have a Sony so I've never had this problem, lol. Sorry if it's somewhere else, I just couldn't find anything specific to what she's looking for. She said she's interested in free books (the kids bought it for her b-day), lol.

[Shack70]

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92311 is a great place to start.

You may want to get Calibre to manage your collection. It makes moving books to the PC so much easier and will convert books such as epub to a format the Kindle will except.

[ATDrake]

1) She can get books in DRM-free Mobipocket/AZW format, or any DRM-free format which can be converted to Mobipocket (say, ePub via Calibre).

Examples may be found via Fictionwise's "MultiFormat" offerings and Baen's Webscription.net, which give you all the formats with a single purchase, and AllRomance eBooks, which only allows you to select one format, but has plenty of DRM-free Mobipocket offerings.

She should avoid "Secure Mobipocket", whose DRM the Kindle does not read, unless she's willing and capable of handling the tools to deal with it.

By the same token, she can get regular and password-protected PDF, but should avoid "Secure PDF" or "Secure Adobe PDF" which requires Adobe Digital Editions, because that DRM is incompatible with the Kindle.

2) Library books are a no-go, unless she's personally comfortable with stripping and breaking DRM and can handle the skills that go with it (fewer than it used to require, practically point and click nowadays).

She could legally get the (increasingly fewer) Secure Mobipocket books that libraries offer, but that still requires the use of a few tools to tweak the files so that the Kindle can read the old Mobi-DRM (this does not strip DRM; the books will still "expire" and become unreadable when the loan time is over).

3) In the US and UK at least, Amazon has a "free" category for its Bestsellers list. Otherwise there's a couple of sites which aggregate the time-limited free promo books. There's eReader IQ, Inkmesh, Books on the Knob, Randomize Me. The last two are blogs run by our very own MR members. And of course, the Deals forum here

4) Sure. She can pick any PRC/Mobi book from our Patricia Clark Memorial Library, and for that matter, any other format and convert it via Calibre.

Hope this helps.

[Mike L]

You might start here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...11&postcount=3.

Regarding formats, if a site doesn't specifically list Kindle as a format, look for Mobi instead. In general, Mobi books can be read on a Kindle.

Personally, I obtain most of my books from the E-Books section right here on Mobile Read, and also from Feedbooks. And, of course, from Amazon.

To find a free ebook at Amazon, go to the Kindle store and search or browse in the usual way. When you've narrowed your choice, set the "Sort by" control to "Price : Low to High". In most cases, you'll see a bunch of free books at the top of the list.

Hope this helps.

[emonti8384]

Thanks! Yeah, I don't mind breaking the DRM to change the format on my books but I delete them when I'm done, and I don't think she's adept enough to figure out how to strip, convert, and delete it completely. I appreciate the help!

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by emonti8384

Where she can buy books outside of Amazon, and which format

There are two issues: format and DRM.

The Amazon Kindle uses the MobiPocket ebook format. (Amazon bought Mobi and used their work at the basis for Kindle editions.) Books in the ePub format used by the Sony Reader and the B&N nook will not be viewable on the Kindle. Neither will PDF files, unless you have the Kindle DX model.

If the book is not encumbered by Digital Rights Management, you can get MobiPocket format ebooks from a number of sources and side load and read them on the Kindle.

If the book is encumbered by DRM, and you did not buy it from Amazon, you will need to remove the DRM to be able to read it on the Kindle.

Amazon wants to be your sole source for purchased ebooks, and their setup is designed to encourage that.

Can she get library books, and if so, which format

It depends upon her library, and whether they offer MobiPocket format ebooks. There are ways of converting ebook formats, such as the case where the library offers EPub but you have a Kindle. However, those are not for the technically unsophisticated user.

How does she find and get free books from Amazon

I don't own a Kindle or do it myself, so can't answer. Lots of other folks here do and will likely chime in.

Can she download the books from here

Yes. The MR Library has many ebooks in MobiPocket format, free, and not encumbered by DRM. Additional sources or free ebooks in Mobi format include ManyBooks, Munseys, FeedBooks, and Project Gutenberg. Check here first: the MR editions are hand-crafted for optimal display. Versions elsewhere are normally created automatically from HTML source by a script, and vary in quality.
______
Dennis

[DreamWriter]

There are several ways to search for free ebooks at Amazon, but here are four links to the Amazon freebies that have been helpful to me. There is duplication within these results, but each list of freebies is presented a bit differently.

• Amazon Top 100 bestselling ebooks--freebies are on the right side
  
• Amazon - Links to both free classics (out-of-copyright, pre-1923) and limited-time promo freebies (recent books)
  
• Amazon - Most recently published free ebooks listed first
  
• Free ebooks at Amazon

(edited to add another link)