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I have a Kindle ebook reader. How can I liberate ebooks that are stored on it? (transfer to my PC and make them readable on any device).

Also, I tried copying my ebooks to Kindle directly, but they don't get recognized in any format I tried. I send them to my email address @kindle.com and they appear on my Kindle alright, but they get converted to azw3 format. Is there a better way to transfer ebooks to Kindle, e.g. just make it read mobi files?

I use Linux, so I can't use Apprentice Alf because apparently it is Windows and Mac-only (even though Calibre works on Linux)

Recap: I'm concerned about freedom of both Amazon and non-Amazon content:

  1. I would like my ebooks bought from Amazon to be readable on other devices (the most pressing issue)

  2. I would like to be able to get my ebooks (not bought from Amazon) back from Kindle, if necessary.

Nickolai Leschov
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  • Presumably you have Calibre, which should meet you needs. Is there a specific problem you are encountering? – James Jenkins Mar 31 '14 at 15:46
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    If you question is about non-amazon content, where the only version you have is on the kindle, can you edit the question to clarify? – James Jenkins Mar 31 '14 at 15:48
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    Kids, please note the distress of Nickolai and learn from it: stay away from DRM and platform/format lock-in! – Raphael Apr 01 '14 at 13:39
  • @Raphael Also, never settle for anything less than total freedom. If a computer contains non-free firmware in any of its devices - don't use a computer. If a vehicle uses non-free firmware in its ignition system or any of its dozens of computers - don't use a vehicle. If a device has a lithium-ion battery that contains a controller with a non-free firmware - don't use a battery-operated device. This way you will achieve total freedom. – Nickolai Leschov Apr 01 '14 at 13:54
  • @Raphael Well, I'm happy that there exist people like this, like Richard Stallman, the Don Quixote of freedom, and I truly support this noble cause, but most people in their lives make compromises. As long as the compromise is informed and reasonable, I'm ok with this. – Nickolai Leschov Apr 01 '14 at 13:57
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    You replying to things I never wrote. Sore point or an attempt at forming an argument (in the latter case, I recommend some reading)? As for the matter at hand, with EPUB and lots of DRM-free reading material, you don't have to go all Stallman if all you want is not get locked in with one company and their technology. Heck, you are even better off with (Adobe) DRMed EPUB than you are with Amazon. Thus, I have nothing but ridicule for folks that consciously choose Amazon or Apple and then look for ways out. Sorry. – Raphael Apr 01 '14 at 14:04
  • @James I'm concerned about both, but firstly about the ebooks that I'm going to buy from Amazon. Added the clarification. – Nickolai Leschov Apr 01 '14 at 14:04
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    By clarifying 1. in your edit, are you not openly planning to and asking for help with violating Amazon's terms of service? (Honest question, I'm not familiar with their terms.) – Raphael Apr 01 '14 at 14:05
  • @Raphael I got the impression that DRM-free vendors have extremely limited choice compared to Amazon, which, roughly speaking, got all the books. That's why I mentioned Stallman: I got the impression that one has to make radical sacrifices to go DRM-free. Also because I thought I noticed sarcasm in your tone, I thought it would be only pertinent to respond in kind. I'm not choosing Apple, though I love the design, but I got the impression that Amazon's convenience of having all books readily accessible on their nice reders outweighs other considerations in terms of practicality. – Nickolai Leschov Apr 01 '14 at 14:17
  • @Raphael I, too, am not familiar with their terms, but I don't have an intention to violate them. I agree with you that it's unreasonable to choose an ecosystem as closed as Apple and then desire for freedom, that's why after careful consideration I'm going for Android as my first smartphone, even though I love Apple's design and don't think Android is ideal, and in certain ways any smartphone will be a downgrade from my trusty Nokia 1202 – Nickolai Leschov Apr 01 '14 at 14:19
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    @NickolaiLeschov Regarding availability of titles, as long as you are fine with DRM, you can get any book from a number of sources (B&N, Kobo, local stores, ...). There is also lots of DRM-free quality material around, e.g. classics, magazines and everything by Tor, but your choices are definitely limited -- today. (I'm certain that book publishers will learn the same lesson music labels learned years ago and drop DRM eventually.) – Raphael Apr 01 '14 at 14:22
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    @NickolaiLeschov Regarding ToS, see Amazon Kindle Store Terms of Use, section 1, Use of Kindle Content: "[Seller] grants you [...] right to view, use, and display [...] solely on the Kindle or a Reading Application or as otherwise permitted as part of the Service [...] Kindle Content is licensed, not sold, to you by the [seller]." So there you go: you are not allowed to liberate your books. (Hence my stance towards Amazon in this regard.) – Raphael Apr 01 '14 at 14:26

1 Answers1

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I had the exact same issue you are having now when I first bought my Kindle. I had many books in EPUB that the Kindle just didn't read (got used to it - found http://www.epub2mobi.com/ :-) ) and then I bought first e-book on the Amazon. Boom, stuck in there. I wanted to put it on my iPad and eventually I managed but was it worth it? Meh, not sure...

First I had to get rid of DRM - I am a Mac user, so I used Mac DRM removal. Questions here: Is it legal? Is it right? -- I didn't share it with anyone but I was not sure. It required that the book was on the reader downloaded and it needed the serial number of the reader. Because only with that the software was able to remove it.

For you, I suggest reading this article for getting the tools for the workflow I described above. And then I suggest reading also this article for converting the book formats. However...as I said - the work was simply not worth it. I still read the books most of the times on my Kindle only. Once I read them I don't come back to them so why would I store them anywhere else?

Michal
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