I need an english/US ebook store without DRM

NASCARaddicted · 09-22-2012, 08:15 AM

Hello. I think this fits best in General Discussions, so ...

I totally hate DRM. So far I bought no book (or mp3) with DRM, and I don't plan on changing that.

Currently, most ebooks that I have are either old ones from Gutenberg.org or they are selfscanned. Oh, and to add: I hardly read any paper books nowadays.

But now, I heard about a book about NASCAR, that I really want to read. The book is also available as ebook, and so of course, I would love to read it on my ebook-reader. I already found it (sometimes along with other interesting NASCAR ebooks) in a few different ebook-stores, but they all use DRM.

So, is there an ebook-store that doesn't use DRM? Or is the use of DRM mandated by the ebook-publisher (that means I would have no chance)

Also, as far as I know, it is illegal to remove the DRM, at least in some countries. Is that true?

Hellmark · 09-22-2012, 08:53 AM

Any books from Tor, Baen, Smashwords or O'Reilly are DRM free. Some books from Amazon are, just look to see if it has "unlimited" for its device limit. Outside of that, expect DRM. Many publishers require it.

susan_cassidy · 09-22-2012, 03:01 PM

Yes, it is true that in many countries removing DRM is illegal.

cromag · 09-22-2012, 03:14 PM

The Fictionwise site carries both "Secure" ebooks, with DRM, and "Multiformat" ebooks, without DRM.

Still, if you're looking for a specific title, you might go to a search engine like Inkmesh to find what stores carry it and then check the individual stores to see if they impose DRM.

6charlong · 09-22-2012, 03:48 PM

Delphi Classics sells compilations of the complete works of classic authors. Yes, they are out of copyright and you can find many of them on Guttenberg but these editions have much value added.

First, they are well formatted and of those I've seen all were free of errors.

Second, they have a TOC to all the author's works and another TOC within individual works.

Next, they include all the author's works including essays, plays, poems and often the extent library of the author's letters. They continue to add new authors so if one you're looking for isn't available it pays to check back.

These books cost from .99 to 2.99 for the complete sets and, of course, they are DRM free. The major online bookstores are starting to carry them now or you can get them directly from the publisher at:

http://delphiclassics.com/

fjtorres · 09-22-2012, 04:30 PM

DRM is generally a *publisher* requirement, not a retailer requirement.
Most retailers sell both DRM'ed and DRM-free ebooks.
So what you need to find out is if the publisher of that Nascar book insists it be sold with DRM. If they do, it won't matter which retailer you go for.
(And most do.)

banjobama · 09-25-2012, 01:18 PM

If you have access to an online library you might check and see if they have the book you want there. It'll have DRM but at least it will be free to borrow.

Shot in the dark here, but if you're in the US military, they have an awesome ebook library. At least the Navy does, through NKO.

robbw · 09-26-2012, 06:54 PM

The books you get here are also DRM free.

NASCARaddicted · 09-26-2012, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robbw

The books you get here are also DRM free.

What do you mean by "here"? Do you mean MobileRead? Or did you forget to add the link?

fjtorres · 09-26-2012, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NASCARaddicted

What do you mean by "here"? Do you mean MobileRead? Or did you forget to add the link?

Mobileread.
Here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/ebo...&sort=dateline

NASCARaddicted · 09-26-2012, 07:46 PM

well, thanks. Of course, I know about the ebooks from MR, but that doesn't really help me. The ebooks in here don't have a copyright (anymore) but the books that I am searching still are protected by copyright.

But thanks again for posting the link.

TheSFReader · 09-27-2012, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

DRM is generally a *publisher* requirement, not a retailer requirement.
Most retailers sell both DRM'ed and DRM-free ebooks.

That's true. However, it seems some retailers (most big ones) don't make any effort to ease publishers "no-DRMs" choice. For example at Kobo (but I hear it's the same at Amazon), for each publisher "chanel", a chanel-wide "DRM-Selector" is used, with absolutely no per-title granularity.

In Kobo's specific case, the publisher needs to create two chanels, one with DRMs, and one without, hence enhancing the effort.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

So what you need to find out is if the publisher of that Nascar book insists it be sold with DRM. If they do, it won't matter which retailer you go for.
(And most do.)

Absolutely. Only if the publisher does NOT want DRM, will you have any chance of finding the book it legally available without them.

NASCARaddicted · 09-27-2012, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSFReader

Absolutely. Only if the publisher does NOT want DRM, will you have any chance of finding the book it legally available without them.

I just checked and it seems as if the publisher is called "Free Press". (interesting Name)
I am not sure if that is only the publisher for the printed book or if they also publish ebooks (you should think it is the same publisher, but ... who knows ...) . I will write to them and ask about ebooks and DRM.

pdurrant · 09-27-2012, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NASCARaddicted

Also, as far as I know, it is illegal to remove the DRM, at least in some countries. Is that true?

As far as I know, no-one has ever been prosecuted (publicly or privately) in any country for removing the DRM from an ebook they bought.

Whether it is illegal according the the current laws in your country another matter. Sometimes even the lawyers can't agree.

If you decide you must have this ebook, even though it is sold with DRM, you might want to google for Apprentice Alf's blog.

I do admire your principled stand. I bought only a handful of DRMed ebooks from 2003 to 2008, but the availability of DRM removal tools changed my mind.

NASCARaddicted · 09-27-2012, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

As far as I know, no-one has ever been prosecuted (publicly or privately) in any country for removing the DRM from an ebook they bought.

Whether it is illegal according the the current laws in your country another matter. Sometimes even the lawyers can't agree.

If you decide you must have this ebook, even though it is sold with DRM, you might want to google for Apprentice Alf's blog.

I do admire your principled stand. I bought only a handful of DRMed ebooks from 2003 to 2008, but the availability of DRM removal tools changed my mind.

Thanks pdurrant, you helped me a lot.

I want this ebook (and some others, too) for my own personal use. I don't want to give them away, so basically, once I bought the ebooks, no one would know what I do with them.

Oh, but I what I wanted to add (to my own post a little earlier): It seems as if Free Press is related to Simon & Schuster. I don't know them, but as far as I know, they are big in the USA, right? Maybe I should write to Simon & Schuster, too

09-22-2012, 08:15 AM	#1
NASCARaddicted Addict Posts: 340 Karma: 43106 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Germany Device: BeBook One, Pocketbook Touch, Pocketbook Touch HD	I need an english/US ebook store without DRM Hello. I think this fits best in General Discussions, so ... I totally hate DRM. So far I bought no book (or mp3) with DRM, and I don't plan on changing that. Currently, most ebooks that I have are either old ones from Gutenberg.org or they are selfscanned. Oh, and to add: I hardly read any paper books nowadays. But now, I heard about a book about NASCAR, that I really want to read. The book is also available as ebook, and so of course, I would love to read it on my ebook-reader. I already found it (sometimes along with other interesting NASCAR ebooks) in a few different ebook-stores, but they all use DRM. So, is there an ebook-store that doesn't use DRM? Or is the use of DRM mandated by the ebook-publisher (that means I would have no chance) Also, as far as I know, it is illegal to remove the DRM, at least in some countries. Is that true?

09-22-2012, 03:14 PM	#4
cromag Surfin the alpha waves ~~ Posts: 26,037 Karma: 459735575 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: New Jersey Device: Jetbook Lite & Mini, Nook STR, Kobo, Hanvon N516, Kindle 2, Androids	The Fictionwise site carries both "Secure" ebooks, with DRM, and "Multiformat" ebooks, without DRM. Still, if you're looking for a specific title, you might go to a search engine like Inkmesh to find what stores carry it and then check the individual stores to see if they impose DRM. Last edited by cromag; 09-22-2012 at 03:21 PM.

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09-22-2012, 08:53 AM	#2
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,591 Karma: 4290425 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Foristell, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3, Kobo Libra 2	Any books from Tor, Baen, Smashwords or O'Reilly are DRM free. Some books from Amazon are, just look to see if it has "unlimited" for its device limit. Outside of that, expect DRM. Many publishers require it.

09-22-2012, 03:01 PM	#3
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	Yes, it is true that in many countries removing DRM is illegal.

09-22-2012, 03:48 PM	#5
6charlong friendly lurker Posts: 896 Karma: 2436026 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: US Device: Kindle, nook, Apple and Kobo	Delphi Classics sells compilations of the complete works of classic authors. Yes, they are out of copyright and you can find many of them on Guttenberg but these editions have much value added. First, they are well formatted and of those I've seen all were free of errors. Second, they have a TOC to all the author's works and another TOC within individual works. Next, they include all the author's works including essays, plays, poems and often the extent library of the author's letters. They continue to add new authors so if one you're looking for isn't available it pays to check back. These books cost from .99 to 2.99 for the complete sets and, of course, they are DRM free. The major online bookstores are starting to carry them now or you can get them directly from the publisher at: http://delphiclassics.com/

09-22-2012, 04:30 PM	#6
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	DRM is generally a publisher requirement, not a retailer requirement. Most retailers sell both DRM'ed and DRM-free ebooks. So what you need to find out is if the publisher of that Nascar book insists it be sold with DRM. If they do, it won't matter which retailer you go for. (And most do.)

09-25-2012, 01:18 PM	#7
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	If you have access to an online library you might check and see if they have the book you want there. It'll have DRM but at least it will be free to borrow. Shot in the dark here, but if you're in the US military, they have an awesome ebook library. At least the Navy does, through NKO.

09-26-2012, 06:54 PM	#8
robbw Connoisseur Posts: 60 Karma: 567618 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: K2, K3	The books you get here are also DRM free.

09-26-2012, 07:46 PM	#11
NASCARaddicted Addict Posts: 340 Karma: 43106 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Germany Device: BeBook One, Pocketbook Touch, Pocketbook Touch HD	well, thanks. Of course, I know about the ebooks from MR, but that doesn't really help me. The ebooks in here don't have a copyright (anymore) but the books that I am searching still are protected by copyright. But thanks again for posting the link.