Where to buy US/UK ebooks from France?

Semirh · 07-17-2011, 10:47 AM

Hi

My aunt (we live in France) wants to buy an ebook reader to read US/UK books as well as French books, which are mainly sold as EPUB with DRM. This means the Kindle isn't an option (unless you can resume how to consistently strip DRM and convert in less than 10 steps).

So which ebook stores allow you to buy from overseas?

thanks

afa · 07-17-2011, 11:10 AM

Stripping DRM is by no means a 10 step process.

You'll have to install some plug-in for Calibre, but once done it's extremely. You just drag and drop the file into Calibre, and it gets stripped and added to your library as a MOBI file.

Yes, it's that easy.

CommonReader · 07-17-2011, 01:12 PM

I live in Germany and I have found kobobooks.com to be the best source for English language epubs. I suppose they "deliver" to France just as well.

Converting books into a different format usually works quite well but often enough it doesn't. I have also found that the "just drag them into Calibre and it will remove the DRM" didn't work with some German epubs, despite the proper plug ins. I would certainly not buy a reader that depends on the ability to remove DRM and to convert books into a different format.

EowynCarter · 07-17-2011, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Stripping DRM is by no means a 10 step process.

It's just a pain. And conversion will sometimes be bad.Pus, calibre is not installed on PC

Quote:

Converting books into a different format usually works quite well but often enough it doesn't. I have also found that the "just drag them into Calibre and it will remove the DRM" didn't work with some German epubs, despite the proper plug ins. I would certainly not buy a reader that depends on the ability to remove DRM and to convert books into a different format.

Weird, the only time i had inept fail was when i screwed up and forgot to authorize ADE before downloading. Ad my cybook of course, couldn’t read the file either.
And indeed, buying something trusting that a "hack" will work : bad idea !

Main option as mentionned by CommonReader :kobobooks.com
Because they are canadian, selling in the US and UK market required working the rights out. And will they where on it they set it right for us frenchs too. Some books are missing, but it's someting. I'm still seriously pissed at the decision from the UK shops to stop selling outside UK when the agency switch occurred. What the hell happened to Europe ??

Then, the other solution is saying you live in the US / UK to get the content. It works for BooksOnBoard and the sonystore. (For now...)

For books in french, google epagine, numilog. And the fnac of course.

Semirh · 07-18-2011, 03:43 PM

Well with your 3 answers I'm going to go with DRM stripping as 'not aunt-friendly'. I won't mind when I get a reader for myself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CommonReader

I live in Germany and I have found kobobooks.com to be the best source for English language epubs. I suppose they "deliver" to France just as well.

Thanks, I'll tell my aunt to check it them out, see if she likes the selection and if she can buy something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Main option as mentionned by CommonReader :kobobooks.com
Because they are canadian, selling in the US and UK market required working the rights out. And will they where on it they set it right for us frenchs too. Some books are missing, but it's someting. I'm still seriously pissed at the decision from the UK shops to stop selling outside UK when the agency switch occurred. What the hell happened to Europe ??

Then, the other solution is saying you live in the US / UK to get the content. It works for BooksOnBoard and the sonystore. (For now...)

For books in french, google epagine, numilog. And the fnac of course.

Don't you need a US-based credit card? she does plan on having a friend in the US buy her the ebook reader once I decide which one she should buy... dunno if her friend is close enough that he/she'll let my aunt buy stuff on her card.

Oh, thanks for more French ebook stores, I only knew about fnac. Does google sell ebooks in France now? I'm in Asia right now and all I see are free books, but I'm sure it depends on region.

Btw, if a store sells an EPUB with DRM, they can't restrict which device can read it right (as long as the device can read EPUB+DRM)? like Fnac store won't sell me an EPUB+DRM that's only compatible with their chosen readers (there's a few of them from different brands)?

EowynCarter · 07-18-2011, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Don't you need a US-based credit card? she does plan on having a friend in the US buy her the ebook reader once I decide which one she should buy... dunno if her friend is close enough that he/she'll let my aunt buy stuff on her card.

Both accept my perfectly french card. (or paypal account linked to it)

Quote:

Oh, thanks for more French ebook stores, I only knew about fnac. Does google sell ebooks in France now? I'm in Asia right now and all I see are free books, but I'm sure it depends on region.

Not as far as I know.

Quote:

Btw, if a store sells an EPUB with DRM, they can't restrict which device can read it right (as long as the device can read EPUB+DRM)? like Fnac store won't sell me an EPUB+DRM that's only compatible with their chosen readers (there's a few of them from different brands)?

ePub with DRM (with the exception of apple and Barnes and noble), is an adobe thingy named adept.
Basicly : books are linked to adobe account (you have to create one). When installing Adobe digital edition, it will ask for the account. Then you plug the reader to the pc, and use ADE to authorize the reader.
Any ade compatible device will be able to read the book once link to the account. There is a limit to the number of device (5 I think). But Adobe, forgetting to be stupid, make sure to add some authorizations every now and then, to make up for installation , new devices and whatever else. Never bumped onto that limit.
Lire :
http://www.epagine.fr/aidelivrel.php...#categorie_DRM

I did bump onto the "3 download per books" limit though. After that, you have to contact adobe support to renew. So, once the file is downloaded, backup it !
And never download a book without authorizing ADE first.

I get the DRM off my books, not that hard, and avoid some potential headache later.

Semirh · 08-01-2011, 04:41 AM

Sorry for not replying, I was waiting an answer from my aunt, who just came back from her trip and said she was going to buy a Kindle anyway since one of her friends said she could buy French ebooks for it (not sure from which store).

Oh well, thanks everyone anyway

bevdeforges · 08-01-2011, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Semirh

Sorry for not replying, I was waiting an answer from my aunt, who just came back from her trip and said she was going to buy a Kindle anyway since one of her friends said she could buy French ebooks for it (not sure from which store).

Oh well, thanks everyone anyway

Amazon is starting to sell Kindle books in French, German and whatever, but their selection is pretty limited. Besides FNAC you also have Darty selling standard French titles - in ePub - and while the prices are comparable with those for French pbooks (i.e. outrageous), you at least get a broad selection of current titles. It's the current titles that Amazon seems to be having difficulty getting the rights to sell in e-format.

From the Sony store, you always have the option of registering your Reader as a US one and then having said friend pick up Sony gift cards and just e-mailing you the code you need to activate them.

Fbone · 08-01-2011, 09:28 PM

https://www.bookeenstore.com/fr/

Another possibility but not for Kindles.

neilmarr · 08-02-2011, 05:36 AM

Good to have your company, Semirh. I live in France, too, and there is a problem with geographical sales restrictions on some ebooks. Kindle, by the way, imposes (I think unjustifiably) a near $4 loading on cover price outside the USA, Canada and the UK.

A good option is an ePub-capable reading device, coupled with the excellent but free Calibre Library software so many thousands of us here (and a million others) swear by. You'll find the download here: http://www.calibre-ebook.com)

You can download it right now and find your way around, even start collecting books, both cheap and paid for. It might well help in your choice of device. I use a Sony and find Sony-Calibre a marriage made in heaven.

Good hunting and very best wishes. Neil

PS: Drop me a line to let me know your preferred genre and I'll happily send you a couple of books as attachments from our DRM-free catalogue in Mobi, ePub and PDF editions to experiment with. You'll catch me on ntmarrATbewrite.net (use the @ sign, of course). N

DMB · 08-02-2011, 06:50 AM

I really hope Amazon extend the Kjndle to France soon, as they have done to Germany. They do supply a very small selection of books in French for the Kindle. I just got Le Comte de Monte Christo from amazon.co.uk. IIRC it cost £0.86.

I have a UK account with Amazon, even though I don't live there, but I do have a UK address for my account.

Semirh · 08-04-2011, 08:20 PM

Woah, so many responses, I feel bad because my aunt already decided on the Kindle

Although I do appreciate all the French ebook store links in case my aunt can't find the books she wants (I'll have to convert them though).

Quote:

Originally Posted by bevdeforges

Amazon is starting to sell Kindle books in French, German and whatever, but their selection is pretty limited. Besides FNAC you also have Darty selling standard French titles - in ePub - and while the prices are comparable with those for French pbooks (i.e. outrageous), you at least get a broad selection of current titles. It's the current titles that Amazon seems to be having difficulty getting the rights to sell in e-format.

From the Sony store, you always have the option of registering your Reader as a US one and then having said friend pick up Sony gift cards and just e-mailing you the code you need to activate them.

Thanks. Why are they having trouble with the publishers or editors? and are you talking about French books or English ones?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbone

https://www.bookeenstore.com/fr/

Another possibility but not for Kindles.

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilmarr

Good to have your company, Semirh. I live in France, too, and there is a problem with geographical sales restrictions on some ebooks. Kindle, by the way, imposes (I think unjustifiably) a near $4 loading on cover price outside the USA, Canada and the UK.

A good option is an ePub-capable reading device, coupled with the excellent but free Calibre Library software so many thousands of us here (and a million others) swear by. You'll find the download here: http://www.calibre-ebook.com)

You can download it right now and find your way around, even start collecting books, both cheap and paid for. It might well help in your choice of device. I use a Sony and find Sony-Calibre a marriage made in heaven.

Good hunting and very best wishes. Neil

PS: Drop me a line to let me know your preferred genre and I'll happily send you a couple of books as attachments from our DRM-free catalogue in Mobi, ePub and PDF editions to experiment with. You'll catch me on ntmarrATbewrite.net (use the @ sign, of course). N

Thanks, I will when I buy a reader for myself! Got to find a new place and get a part time job first. I hope my aunt can buy the books she wants though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMB

I really hope Amazon extend the Kjndle to France soon, as they have done to Germany. They do supply a very small selection of books in French for the Kindle. I just got Le Comte de Monte Christo from amazon.co.uk. IIRC it cost £0.86.

I have a UK account with Amazon, even though I don't live there, but I do have a UK address for my account.

Yeah I saw that they had the store in Germany, France can't be too far away in the future.

07-17-2011, 10:47 AM	#1
Semirh Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	Where to buy US/UK ebooks from France? Hi My aunt (we live in France) wants to buy an ebook reader to read US/UK books as well as French books, which are mainly sold as EPUB with DRM. This means the Kindle isn't an option (unless you can resume how to consistently strip DRM and convert in less than 10 steps). So which ebook stores allow you to buy from overseas? thanks

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07-17-2011, 11:10 AM	#2
afa The Forgotten Posts: 1,136 Karma: 4689999 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Dubai Device: Kindle Paperwhite; Nook HD; Sony Xperia Z3 Compact	Stripping DRM is by no means a 10 step process. You'll have to install some plug-in for Calibre, but once done it's extremely. You just drag and drop the file into Calibre, and it gets stripped and added to your library as a MOBI file. Yes, it's that easy.

07-17-2011, 01:12 PM	#3
CommonReader Fanatic Posts: 528 Karma: 2530000 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Sony PRS-T3, PRS-650, Vaio Tap 11, iPad Mini	I live in Germany and I have found kobobooks.com to be the best source for English language epubs. I suppose they "deliver" to France just as well. Converting books into a different format usually works quite well but often enough it doesn't. I have also found that the "just drag them into Calibre and it will remove the DRM" didn't work with some German epubs, despite the proper plug ins. I would certainly not buy a reader that depends on the ability to remove DRM and to convert books into a different format.

08-01-2011, 04:41 AM	#7
Semirh Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	Sorry for not replying, I was waiting an answer from my aunt, who just came back from her trip and said she was going to buy a Kindle anyway since one of her friends said she could buy French ebooks for it (not sure from which store). Oh well, thanks everyone anyway

08-01-2011, 09:28 PM	#9
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,189 Karma: 100500000 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	https://www.bookeenstore.com/fr/ Another possibility but not for Kindles.

08-02-2011, 05:36 AM	#10
neilmarr neilmarr Posts: 7,216 Karma: 6000059 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Monaco-Menton, France Device: sony	Good to have your company, Semirh. I live in France, too, and there is a problem with geographical sales restrictions on some ebooks. Kindle, by the way, imposes (I think unjustifiably) a near $4 loading on cover price outside the USA, Canada and the UK. A good option is an ePub-capable reading device, coupled with the excellent but free Calibre Library software so many thousands of us here (and a million others) swear by. You'll find the download here: http://www.calibre-ebook.com) You can download it right now and find your way around, even start collecting books, both cheap and paid for. It might well help in your choice of device. I use a Sony and find Sony-Calibre a marriage made in heaven. Good hunting and very best wishes. Neil PS: Drop me a line to let me know your preferred genre and I'll happily send you a couple of books as attachments from our DRM-free catalogue in Mobi, ePub and PDF editions to experiment with. You'll catch me on ntmarrATbewrite.net (use the @ sign, of course). N

08-02-2011, 06:50 AM	#11
DMB Old Git Posts: 958 Karma: 1840790 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Switzerland (mostly) Device: Two kindle PWs wifi, kindle fire, iPad3 wifi	I really hope Amazon extend the Kjndle to France soon, as they have done to Germany. They do supply a very small selection of books in French for the Kindle. I just got Le Comte de Monte Christo from amazon.co.uk. IIRC it cost £0.86. I have a UK account with Amazon, even though I don't live there, but I do have a UK address for my account.

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