How do I know which version is on my Kindle?

[ChipAHoy]

Isn't the AZW3 format supposed to look fairly polished, and appear the same as the printed book? I am not if MOBI would have a better format.

I try to convert all my ebooks in Calibre to the azw format, but often when I am reading the book on the Kindle, the format and layout is so bad sometimes that it is distracting.

When I do convert to AZW3, it is always a MOBI that I choose for conversion (because I understand that converting an epub to azw leaves a lot to be desired).

[BetterRed]

If you have MOBI and EPUB originals for the same book why not try converting both to AZW3 and see for yourself which is better on the Kindle.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ChipAHoy

Isn't the AZW3 format supposed to look fairly polished, and appear the same as the printed book? I am not if MOBI would have a better format.

I try to convert all my ebooks in Calibre to the azw format, but often when I am reading the book on the Kindle, the format and layout is so bad sometimes that it is distracting.

When I do convert to AZW3, it is always a MOBI that I choose for conversion (because I understand that converting an epub to azw leaves a lot to be desired).

Personally, I've found that epub to azw3 on the average is the better conversion path as they are a lot closer than mobi is to either.

OTOH, if you are not happy with the results of a mobi to azw3 conversion, try sending the unconverted mobi to your Kindle or even open it with calibre's built-in viewer. Surprisingly often, the format and layout are lousy in the original and so you get GIGO. Alternatively download a sample from Amazon and compare those two versions.

[Sirtel]

If the azw3 looks bad on your Kindle, then the original format was probably as bad. Or you have changed something in the conversion settings.

The best way is to convert the epub directly to azw3 and leave the mobi out altogether. And you should take a look at your epubs in the Calibre viewer. If they look good, but the converted azw3 will look bad, then there's something in your conversion settings that messes up the result.

[theducks]

I would almost always say: EPUB > AZW3
Conversion can't put back things lost making a Mobi (That format did not have all the styling options that EPUB supports).
For most part, Conversion can only change what IS THERE to begin with.

[BetterRed]

To be fair to the OP, this ==>> Calibre User Manual: What are the best source formats to convert has the following:

In order of decreasing preference: LIT, MOBI, AZW, EPUB, AZW3, FB2, FBZ, DOCX, HTML, PRC, ODT, RTF, PDB, TXT, PDF

BR

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by ChipAHoy

When I do convert to AZW3, it is always a MOBI that I choose for conversion (because I understand that converting an epub to azw leaves a lot to be desired).

Mobi is more limited when it comes to formatting than ePub or AZW3 (which are pretty close to each other). Converting from Mobi isn't going to add anything unless you're then going to go in and edit the file to alter the formatting. Simple conversion won't add something that wasn't there to begin with.

[dwig]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Mobi is more limited when it comes to formatting than ePub or AZW3...

Which can be a major advantage when converting poorly made commercially distributed ebook. The original (mis)format choices are more limited so there is likely to be few annoyances in the converted file.

I usually convert ePubs to AZW3 for my Kindle. I have found, though, that when dealing with some of the antique ebooks in my (overly largre) TBR list, that it can be easier to get a decent readable result from an old FB2, MOBI, or Mobi PRC then from an ePub from the same source. The conversions often require less massaging than working on the ePub to get something clean for conversion.