Copying books to Kindle

[tamhas]

I am a Calibre user who uses either the Kindle OTA update or Calibre to get books on my Paperwhite. I have a friend, new to Kindle, for whom Calibre seems overkill. I suppose that most of her books will also come OTA, but there are some I would like to share.

I had been thinking that all I needed to do was to instruct her about connecting her Kindle with USB and then copying the KFX from her computer disk to the Kindle, but when I looked at what was actually on my Kindle, I saw a directory for each book with half a dozen files rather than the simple KFX (or earlier version) file. Is this some magic of the Kindle OS or do I need to do something more complicated?

[DNSB]

Those multiple files are how KFX is distributed. It does allow starting to read before a download is completed. OTOH, copying KFX downloaded on her computer directly to her Kindle will not work due to DRM (all KFX ebooks are infested with DRM, just that some have a common key which Amazon claims is the same as being DRM free). OTOH, if your friend has a Kindle registered to the same account that their computer application uses, she should just be able to download the files over the air.

When you import KFX books to calibre, the multiple files are combined into a single file so you don't see the multiple files you will find on Amazon devices and applications.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by tamhas

I am a Calibre user who uses either the Kindle OTA update or Calibre to get books on my Paperwhite. I have a friend, new to Kindle, for whom Calibre seems overkill. I suppose that most of her books will also come OTA, but there are some I would like to share.

I had been thinking that all I needed to do was to instruct her about connecting her Kindle with USB and then copying the KFX from her computer disk to the Kindle, but when I looked at what was actually on my Kindle, I saw a directory for each book with half a dozen files rather than the simple KFX (or earlier version) file. Is this some magic of the Kindle OS or do I need to do something more complicated?

Also you can only share PD ebooks, which are always DRM free.

Amazon is misleading about "Gifting" ebooks and the DRM free option on publish upload:

Gifting an ebook is simply paying for it and the recipient has to be in same Amazon region (Even same marketplace isn't enough).
"Read on any device" means any Kindle or Kindle App the recipient has that is registered to account where they redeem the ebook.
Not all Kindle ebooks are real reflowable ebooks. Some don't work (won't deliver) on any eink Kindle. Some might work on the Scribe. Some only work on an App, but might need a large screen and now may not work on Mac or Windows (they have never officially worked on Linux). In the past the iPad/iOS Kindle App was inferior to the Android (or Fire) App due to Apple's bizarre App rules. Not sure if that's fixed.

Gift "tokens" are also frought. You have to buy them on the marketplace the recipient will spend them on. They can't be refunded or transferred and now may not work for any purchase.

In general you can't legally copy most bought ebooks between users (sometimes there is a Family clause) and even if you own two Kindles, you usually can't copy bought Kindle ebooks between them due to DRM; you have to get a fresh OTA download.

Amazon is by far the most popular ebook platform, but their processes, rules and systems stink.

You can get a refund on a Gifted ebook if the recipient refuses it, or redemption fails (any reason), or the recipient never gets email etc. So safer than a "gift token".

[tamhas]

Perhaps I should have noted that part of my loading my own books into Calibre is stripping the DRM. This is necessary for us since Amazon is the primary source of books for us and my wife reads on an epub device so almost every book in our library is present in both a Kindle and epub version.

So, while our friend purchases her own books which update OTA, what I am trying to do here is provide a channel by which I can send her a few books ... introduce a new author and that sort of thing. We lend out a lot of our paper books, particularly when we have a complete set.

So, with the DRM handled, can I just copy the KFX or is some other magic required?

[issybird]

Originally Posted by tamhas

So, while our friend purchases her own books which update OTA, what I am trying to do here is provide a channel by which I can send her a few books ... introduce a new author and that sort of thing. We lend out a lot of our paper books, particularly when we have a complete set.

Ebooks are not pbooks; different rules apply. And your analogy fails anyway, since when you lend a pbook you no longer have access to it.

Sharing ebooks is piracy. We don't allow justification of piracy here. So, if you're going to do it, please don't talk about it or make it obvious that's the kind of help you're asking for.

[tamhas]

I only mentioned DRM because of the assumption that we could not load the book. It doesn't relate to the question I asked. In particular, our library includes epub books we have received directly from the author without DRM and which I have then used Calibre to convert to Kindle format. So, assume we are talking one of those.

As to who is the pirate, that is a discussion for another time.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by tamhas

…
So, while our friend purchases her own books which update OTA, what I am trying to do here is provide a channel by which I can send her a few books ... introduce a new author and that sort of thing. We lend out a lot of our paper books, particularly when we have a complete set.
…

Unless it's Public domain you shouldn't make your friend a copy. Most authors don't even make a living wage or minimum wage.

The Amazon "Gift an ebook" to your friend works well with Kindles if you are in the same country. That's how to introduce an author.

Or the library.

Or send a free summary to your friend via Amazon.


An ebook direct from an author can't be given to someone else without permission. Even if free.

People also need to download their own copies of copyright works offered "free".

[tamhas]

The subject is lots more complicated than what Amazon would like you to believe and is unrelated to the question I asked. Can I just get an answer to the technical question and leave the other issues for another time and place?

[Quoth]

The technical issues were answered. Also using azw3/KF8 is "better" as it's closer to epub and almost all Kindle ebooks are upload to Amazon as epub.

[tamhas]

The only answer I see to the technical issues is the gift an ebook, which is not what I am asking. The question is, if I have a book in KFX or AZW3 (don't see KF8 as a Calibre option) format on the hard disk of her computer and I copy it to her Kindle connected vi USB, does that work ... even though looking at the Kindle directly in the USB mount shows the books as directories, not files.

[John F]

Assuming the books are public domain (or it is OK to distribute them and they are DRM free)... You could also use the email method (each kindle has an email associated with it?) or give the person the ebook and they can use Send to Kindle (I don't know the details of either).

Good luck.

[j.p.s]

^To be clear, the EPUB file would need to be sent by email or Send to Kindle. amazon does not accept KF8/azw3 or KFX by those methods. (And might have stopped accepting mobi.)

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

^To be clear, the EPUB file would need to be sent by email or Send to Kindle. amazon does not accept KF8/azw3 or KFX by those methods. (And might have stopped accepting mobi.)

Or sent locally by calibre with a conversion to azw3/KF8 or KFX.

And yes, Amazon no longer accepts mobi. What? You expect them to eat their down dogfood?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by tamhas

The only answer I see to the technical issues is the gift an ebook, which is not what I am asking. The question is, if I have a book in KFX or AZW3 (don't see KF8 as a Calibre option) format on the hard disk of her computer and I copy it to her Kindle connected vi USB, does that work ... even though looking at the Kindle directly in the USB mount shows the books as directories, not files.

As long as the books are DRM free, calibre can copy them to a Kindle, If the ebooks are in azw3/KF8 or KFX, they will be copied directly. If they are not a Amazon ereader supported format (say, ePub or fb2), they will be converted and sent.

[Sirtel]

You can copy an AZW3 file directly to the documents folder on her Kindle, without calibre. Not sure about KFX.