Books only available for Kindle...

[Davimee]

There are a few books I am interested in, but when I search for them, many of them are only available for the Kindle. I don't want to strip the DRM or do anything illegal, so I was wondering what all of you do when you run across this? Do you write to the publisher? I'm guessing that wouldn't do any good, but I figure it's worth a shot. Or is there someone other than the publisher I should contact? These are books I have in paperback, but would also like to have them on my Pocket Pro. I've thought about just typing up the relevant pages, or even scanning them, but that is a lot of work. (They're devotional type books, so I don't need the entire book, but if I could buy the book somewhere in an epub, I would.)

Thanks!

[hidari]

BooksonBoard is good. There are heaps of alternatives to Amazon. Baen is also another..It depends on what type of books you are looking for.. fiction, fantasy. history, etc....

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by Davimee

There are a few books I am interested in, but when I search for them, many of them are only available for the Kindle. I don't want to strip the DRM or do anything illegal, so I was wondering what all of you do when you run across this? Do you write to the publisher? I'm guessing that wouldn't do any good, but I figure it's worth a shot. Or is there someone other than the publisher I should contact? These are books I have in paperback, but would also like to have them on my Pocket Pro. I've thought about just typing up the relevant pages, or even scanning them, but that is a lot of work. (They're devotional type books, so I don't need the entire book, but if I could buy the book somewhere in an epub, I would.)

Thanks!

Dear Davimee:

If you will send me a PM I will send you to a new website just coming online later this week. I need you to Sneak Peek and maybe you will find the books you are interested in.

[Davimee]

Thanks, Hidari. Some of the books I'm looking for only seem to be available in the Kindle format. I've checked booksonboard, fictionwise, and the sony book store. I did find one book at Barnes and Noble, but I guess those won't work because the DRM is different. Most books I'm interested in I've found, but it seems a few are only available in the Kindle format.

Thanks Robert, the PM is sent!

[irenas]

I am wondering if you can re-format Kindle format to a format of your interest. For example, this article is talking about it:
http://www.bit-101.com/blog/?p=2428

[wallcraft]

Many of the Amazon-only ebooks are in the TOPAZ format. One way to tell is to look at the ebook's Kindle Store web page, which will not list a File Size:. See for example The Princess Bride by William Goldman (search for B001ELJQJU), which is a TOPAZ ebook. Like most TOPAZ ebook web pages, this includes Print Length: but not File Size:.

A TOPAZ ebook is based on a scan of the paper book made (with the publishers permission) by Amazon. The Quality of the OCR transfer is often low. It is possible to strip the DRM from a TOPAZ, but converting it to an alternative format is often more trouble than it is worth. So the only realistic option is to read it on a Windows PC using Kindle for PC or with some other Kindle software (e.g. iPhone or Black Berry). The entire point of making a TOPAZ version is that there is no alternative ebook available. Sometimes the publisher does later on make a proper ebook version (so that they can sell it on other sites), but this is relatively rare.

Note that in the US it is probably legal to strip DRM and format shift an ebook you bought yourself for your own personal use. This is only probably legal because it has never been tested in court and as a practical matter this is unlikely to ever end up in court (who would sue their paying customers?). To get a Kindle AZW ebook (the most common kind) onto the Pocket Pro, download it to Kindle for PC and use unswindle.pyw to strip the DRM. The resulting MOBI will work as in on the Pocket Pro, or convert it to ePub (say) using Calibre.

[hidari]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

Many of the Amazon-only ebooks are in the TOPAZ format. One way to tell is to look at the ebook's Kindle Store web page, which will not list a File Size:. See for example The Princess Bride by William Goldman (search for B001ELJQJU), which is a TOPAZ ebook. Like most TOPAZ ebook web pages, this includes Print Length: but not File Size:.

A TOPAZ ebook is based on a scan of the paper book made (with the publishers permission) by Amazon. The Quality of the OCR transfer is often low. It is possible to strip the DRM from a TOPAZ, but converting it to an alternative format is often more trouble than it is worth. So the only realistic option is to read it on a Windows PC using Kindle for PC or with some other Kindle software (e.g. iPhone or Black Berry). The entire point of making a TOPAZ version is that there is no alternative ebook available. Sometimes the publisher does later on make a proper ebook version (so that they can sell it on other sites), but this is relatively rare.

Note that in the US it is probably legal to strip DRM and format shift an ebook you bought yourself for your own personal use. This is only probably legal because it has never been tested in court and as a practical matter this is unlikely to ever end up in court (who would sue their paying customers?). To get a Kindle AZW ebook (the most common kind) onto the Pocket Pro, download it to Kindle for PC and use unswindle.pyw to strip the DRM. The resulting MOBI will work as in on the Pocket Pro, or convert it to ePub (say) using Calibre.

All the more reason to avoid Amazon closed system. I stay away from those systems like the plague.....Apple. amazon...etc...

better off to buy a pbook if you need the book that badly.