kindle best practices for managing ebooks from various sources

codrutoctavian · 01-22-2012, 11:14 AM

I have a 'Kindle Keyboard'. I have finally recovered my library from the Sony ebook store (worth about 300 EUR), I have deDRMed them and I am using Calibre to update my Kindle with my books. I have now books purchased from the Sony ebook store and from amazon. Now the question is what are the best practices for managing these ebooks? Should I deDRM all of my ebooks, turn amazon synchronization off and handle all of the ebooks via Calibre? I am not using wireless much anyway. I can buy new books from amazon via my computer and manually synchronize them. What is the best option?
Thanks!

HarryT · 01-22-2012, 11:17 AM

Yes. Doing it all via Calibre would be my strong suggestion.

moyogi2 · 01-22-2012, 12:03 PM

I have books from multiple sources, and I have a Kindle and a Sony Reader. I use Caibre to keep things organized. I let Amazon books synch to my Kindle, but I also deDRM them and keep them in Calibre, so I can put them on the Sony or any reader. Whispersynch is just so convenient to use, I leave it on.

HarryT · 01-22-2012, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moyogi2

I have books from multiple sources, and I have a Kindle and a Sony Reader. I use Caibre to keep things organized. I let Amazon books synch to my Kindle, but I also deDRM them and keep them in Calibre, so I can put them on the Sony or any reader. Whispersynch is just so convenient to use, I leave it on.

Having Calibre load your books, and using Whispersync are not incompatible. Content loaded by Calibre will still synch just fine.

nynaevelan · 01-22-2012, 12:58 PM

personally I purchase from 4 or 5 sources, and I too use Calibre to sync all books to my various devices. I do not use any other source to load my devices. Although I keep copies of all of my original files from the various sources, it is only the Calibre created books which I keep on my devices. I was never one that was big on dedrming books but after loosing access to books from sources that no longer offer mobi support, I have adopted the practice to ensure I always have access to my books in the future when I upgrade my devices.

Nyn

pidgeon92 · 01-22-2012, 01:07 PM

I use Calibre to catalog all of my ebooks. For me it is a must, especially since I have multiple ebook readers.

emellaich · 01-22-2012, 06:26 PM

If you want best practices, then a third step would involve backing up your Calibre directory with Dropbox. Since you have multiple sources, including some DRM sources, your library is literally irreplaceable unless you want to repurchase it all. If your home catches on fire, you could loose your computer, your ereader, and your books if you don't use Dropbox.

Eliasoz · 01-22-2012, 06:31 PM

I'm very confused as to the purpose of Calibre for sync-ing and stuff. Why not just copy/paste the books to your Kindle through USB?

pidgeon92 · 01-22-2012, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eliasoz

I'm very confused as to the purpose of Calibre for sync-ing and stuff. Why not just copy/paste the books to your Kindle through USB?

Calibre offers lots of nice features. You can change book titles. You can categorize by series' names. You can tag your books. You can add book ratings. You can add your own personalized fields. You can convert formats. There are dozens of plug-ins that add additional fuctionality (One I use adds my ebooks titles to my Goodreads account.) The possibilities are endless.

Synamon · 01-22-2012, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eliasoz

I'm very confused as to the purpose of Calibre for sync-ing and stuff. Why not just copy/paste the books to your Kindle through USB?

It's a lot nicer to work from a database, even if all you are doing is transferring books. You can see what is already on your device, you can fix titles or authors so they display the way you want on your Kindle (ie. very handy for series), you can have calibre manage your collections instead of moving books manually on your Kindle. There are lots of cool things you can do with calibre.

RainingLemur · 01-22-2012, 08:11 PM

As it comes highly recommended, I too suggest using Calibre. It's been probably one of the more useful programs I've used in a long while.

Blossom · 01-22-2012, 09:22 PM

I use Calibre as well to keep track of everything. I buy ebooks from all over so I even have custom fields telling which store its from and if it was free or paid. I don't use Calibre to transfer books to my Kindle though. I use the Save To Disk feature usually save it to my dropbox.

When I want to add books to my Kindle I use the Send To Kindle program that uploads them directly to Amazon's server before that I emailed them but the new program works much better and faster.

All books added that way are add to your personal documents cloud and you can synch everything just fine.

This works for K3.3, K4 and KT.

arcadata · 01-22-2012, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

I use Calibre as well to keep track of everything. I buy ebooks from all over so I even have custom fields telling which store its from and if it was free or paid.

What a cool idea! (off to do the same thing...)

nynaevelan · 01-23-2012, 04:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blossom

I use Calibre as well to keep track of everything. I buy ebooks from all over so I even have custom fields telling which store its from and if it was free or paid.

Same here, not to mention it keeps track of my read status, series info and allows me to sync with my Goodreads account via a plugin. It has so much potential you could customize it meet practically every need that you have.

Nyn

tovare · 01-23-2012, 09:40 AM

I also use Calibre for a few books and agree it's a very usefull piece of software, but, most frequently I just use the send to kindle email.

- I drop my O'Reilley books into Calibre and a few misc. sources (material I which to keep).

- For Fictionwise books I just use the send to kindle e-mail feature from the site itself.

- Books and my HBR subscription from amazon go the usual wifi route.

- Articles on the web also take the kindle email route via a Chrome extension.

- Work-documents and misc. also take the email route to the kindle.

- And also the amazon send to kindle windows software for items downloaded via the browser (typically read-once and discard material).

01-22-2012, 11:14 AM	#1
codrutoctavian Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Bucharest, Romania Device: Kindle 3	kindle best practices for managing ebooks from various sources I have a 'Kindle Keyboard'. I have finally recovered my library from the Sony ebook store (worth about 300 EUR), I have deDRMed them and I am using Calibre to update my Kindle with my books. I have now books purchased from the Sony ebook store and from amazon. Now the question is what are the best practices for managing these ebooks? Should I deDRM all of my ebooks, turn amazon synchronization off and handle all of the ebooks via Calibre? I am not using wireless much anyway. I can buy new books from amazon via my computer and manually synchronize them. What is the best option? Thanks!

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01-22-2012, 11:17 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Yes. Doing it all via Calibre would be my strong suggestion.

01-22-2012, 12:03 PM	#3
moyogi2 ereader apprentice guru Posts: 44 Karma: 300000 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: the Great Midwest Device: Kindle 3, Sony PRS-T1, Sony 300 (so far)	I have books from multiple sources, and I have a Kindle and a Sony Reader. I use Caibre to keep things organized. I let Amazon books synch to my Kindle, but I also deDRM them and keep them in Calibre, so I can put them on the Sony or any reader. Whispersynch is just so convenient to use, I leave it on.

01-22-2012, 12:58 PM	#5
nynaevelan eBook Junkie Posts: 1,526 Karma: 1464018 Join Date: May 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle Fire 2020, Kindle PW2	personally I purchase from 4 or 5 sources, and I too use Calibre to sync all books to my various devices. I do not use any other source to load my devices. Although I keep copies of all of my original files from the various sources, it is only the Calibre created books which I keep on my devices. I was never one that was big on dedrming books but after loosing access to books from sources that no longer offer mobi support, I have adopted the practice to ensure I always have access to my books in the future when I upgrade my devices. Nyn

01-22-2012, 01:07 PM	#6
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 3,144 Karma: 8426142 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle PW2, Kindle Voyage, Kindle DXG, Boox M90, Kobo Aura HD	I use Calibre to catalog all of my ebooks. For me it is a must, especially since I have multiple ebook readers.

01-22-2012, 06:26 PM	#7
emellaich Wizard Posts: 1,101 Karma: 4388403 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Palm>Ebookman>IPaq>Axim>Cybook>Kndl2>IPAD>Kndl3SO>Voyager>Oasis	If you want best practices, then a third step would involve backing up your Calibre directory with Dropbox. Since you have multiple sources, including some DRM sources, your library is literally irreplaceable unless you want to repurchase it all. If your home catches on fire, you could loose your computer, your ereader, and your books if you don't use Dropbox.

01-22-2012, 06:31 PM	#8
Eliasoz Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kindle Touch	I'm very confused as to the purpose of Calibre for sync-ing and stuff. Why not just copy/paste the books to your Kindle through USB?

01-22-2012, 08:11 PM	#11
RainingLemur Spork Connoisseur Posts: 2,355 Karma: 16780603 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Nook Color	As it comes highly recommended, I too suggest using Calibre. It's been probably one of the more useful programs I've used in a long while.

01-22-2012, 09:22 PM	#12
Blossom Treasure Seeker Posts: 18,708 Karma: 26026435 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kobo HD Glo, Kindles, Kindle Fires, Andriod Devices	I use Calibre as well to keep track of everything. I buy ebooks from all over so I even have custom fields telling which store its from and if it was free or paid. I don't use Calibre to transfer books to my Kindle though. I use the Save To Disk feature usually save it to my dropbox. When I want to add books to my Kindle I use the Send To Kindle program that uploads them directly to Amazon's server before that I emailed them but the new program works much better and faster. All books added that way are add to your personal documents cloud and you can synch everything just fine. This works for K3.3, K4 and KT.

01-23-2012, 09:40 AM	#15
tovare Addict Posts: 221 Karma: 1133312 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Oslo/Norway Device: PRS-600, Kindle kb Wifi, new Kindle NT, PW2, Kindle Oasis	I also use Calibre for a few books and agree it's a very usefull piece of software, but, most frequently I just use the send to kindle email. - I drop my O'Reilley books into Calibre and a few misc. sources (material I which to keep). - For Fictionwise books I just use the send to kindle e-mail feature from the site itself. - Books and my HBR subscription from amazon go the usual wifi route. - Articles on the web also take the kindle email route via a Chrome extension. - Work-documents and misc. also take the email route to the kindle. - And also the amazon send to kindle windows software for items downloaded via the browser (typically read-once and discard material).