Where do I go from here?

[simplyparticular]

In recent years, nearly all of my reading is done while nursing a baby in the wee hours, so the iPhone's backlighting and one-handed operation have been essential.

Neither Fictionwise nor eReader.com has added back the publishers lost during the Agency Model shift, and based on several things I'm reading on MR and elsewhere, it is unlikely they ever will - B&N has shifted resources to their main operations, as I expected when they bought FW for the eReader format. Selection at FW/eReader has been in a noticeable spiral since last year.

I used to read ADE and Mobi library eBooks borrowed via Overdrive, but the iPhone does not support these formats and I don't have hours to spend at my desktop or laptop anymore. I miss that convenience and cost-saving, but my sleep-deprived brain just can't figure out the deDRM process, and Palm/Mac sync was an ongoing nightmare that I don't miss at all!

I don't have the time or energy to deDRM right now, but I don't want to purchase a format that is impossible to deDRM if I really need to later.

So what format books do I invest in to get me some level of future proofing? It needs to be iPhone WiFI friendly, but still be downloaded as as separate file if I need it later.

eReader from B&N? Kindle for iPhone? Something else?

I've spent days reading posts on MR and haven't come to any conclusion. I'm tired and just want to read. Reading ebooks is the only thing keeping me sane during these crazy days/years.

Bree

[amjbrown]

Bree,

I share your concerns, although my children are slightly older and less draining!

I had been focussing on ePub, as sold for my Sony with ADE. The emergence of the Nook and the iPad have made me rather disillusioned with that choice.

Recently I have been using the Kindle software. I have it on my Mac and iPhone, and I like the bookmark and furthest read sync. I plan to buy an iPad when they are available in the UK. I also hope that the Amazon will discount their Kindle which I will then buy so my wife can also read my books.

This gives me access to a range of books, and although the DRM is proprietary to Amazon, it means I can access the books across a range of mchines. I have found myself reading briefly from my iPhone in all sorts of random places!

Good luck
amjb

[stargazertony]

I noticed you have Stanza on your iPhone. If you are also, or can get, comfortable with Calibre you have a solution. As long as your iPhone and the computer that's running Calibre are on the same wifi network, you can transfer epub files via Calibre's content server directly to Stanza on your iPhone.

[simplyparticular]

amjb- Thank you for responding to my whining (whinging in the UK?) post. Now that I'm re-reading it after (some) sleep, I'm cringing. Your reasons for choosing Kindle format are the reasons I stuck with eReader for so long - every time I was ready to upgrade or shift platforms, eReader had a software version for me. Mobi didn't ever support the Mac, so that cost them my book $.

stargazertony- I do have Stanza, but with no iPad version, I suspect that Stanza won't make the transition to iPhone OS 4. I may not make that transition on my 3G (I'll have to wait for an unlock/jailbreak for T-Mobile usage anyway) but I'm not going to hold back forever. Also, I get very little time at a desktop to make those conversions. That's one of the reasons I pretty much stopped using eNYPL.

Bree

[nikkie]

@simplyparticular It is possible to read ADE books on the iPhone using the txtr application. The experience isn't my favorite, but if you don't mind reading black text on white background, it will suffice.

I personally am currently investing in both Adept and B&N ePubs. Both are deDRM-able and can be read on my iPhone, iPad, and iRex DR800SG without running cracking them.

The only bookseller I'm not investing in is Amazon, because they do not license their DRM out to any other eBook reader devices.

[pilotbob]

Get the kindle app for your iphone and see if the ebook selection works for you. You can also read your purchases on a PC a Mac and iPad and of course a Kindle2 and Kindle DX... if you ever decide you want a dedicated device.

Also, 95% of the Kindle books are easy to liberate if you decide you want to get a non-kindle dedicated reader in the future. (Although my reco is to not buy more books then you can read. Chances are when you get a new device you wont have to liberate tons of books cause you already read them.)

BOb

[simplyparticular]

Nikkie- Are you using ADE's from Overdrive, or purchasing? And how do you get the books onto the iPhone? The MR threads I've read about txtr indicated there were issues with having to have a German ADE account...

BOb- (I've always wondered - are you the same pilotbob from various Palm forums years ago?) Amazon's selection doesn't appear to be a problem, but I was still under the impression the Kindle format was uncrackable. I rarely buy more than 4-5 books at a time and read them before I buy more. I managed a Waldenbooks during grad school and amassed a scary TBR pile thanks to employee discounts and ARCs. Moving that collection 3 times taught me a few lessons. Tracking and backing up eBooks can be just as laborious. Although, I was in the best shape of my life when I ran that store.

Bree

[nikkie]

Originally Posted by simplyparticular

Nikkie- Are you using ADE's from Overdrive, or purchasing? And how do you get the books onto the iPhone? The MR threads I've read about txtr indicated there were issues with having to have a German ADE account...

BOb- (I've always wondered - are you the same pilotbob from various Palm forums years ago?) Amazon's selection doesn't appear to be a problem, but I was still under the impression the Kindle format was uncrackable. I rarely buy more than 4-5 books at a time and read them before I buy more. I managed a Waldenbooks during grad school and amassed a scary TBR pile thanks to employee discounts and ARCs. Moving that collection 3 times taught me a few lessons. Tracking and backing up eBooks can be just as laborious. Although, I was in the best shape of my life when I ran that store.

Bree

Oh, pardon, ADE books from Overdrive won't work right now on the iPhone. The application does not do remote authorization, which overdrive books require.

Purchased ADE books work fine. You do not need a German ADE account to use TXTR, I purchased a book off the Sony store, authenticated TXTR on my iPhone using my standard ADE account, and was able to read the book without problems.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by simplyparticular

BOb- (I've always wondered - are you the same pilotbob from various Palm forums years ago?) Amazon's selection doesn't appear to be a problem, but I was still under the impression the Kindle format was uncrackable.

No, never participated in any Palm forums.

Amazon has two formats. One is basically mobipocket and can be liberated with mobidedrm. The other is Topaz... and while I'm pretty sure it has been cracked... I don't think the script was ever made public. Most of the Kindle books are mobipocket, while a very small percent, mostly backcatalog stuff is Topaz.

BOb

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

No, never participated in any Palm forums.

Amazon has two formats. One is basically mobipocket and can be liberated with mobidedrm. The other is Topaz... and while I'm pretty sure it has been cracked... I don't think the script was ever made public. Most of the Kindle books are mobipocket, while a very small percent, mostly backcatalog stuff is Topaz.

BOb

Topaz can easily be liberated now, but converting it is a much more convoluted process. Can't just throw it into Calibre. And the results apparently vary, according to user reports it may take some effort to get good results. I personally had only 2 files (which I bought in the past before checking up first what format the books were in), those actually look very good in Epub now and I did nothing to fix them.

If you just remove the DRM but do not convert you can at least read them on any Kindle device or software.