submitted 10 months ago by heygooberman@lemmy.today to c/foss@beehaw.org

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I've been using the Kindle ebook reader for over a decade now, and I've accumulated quite a big digital library from Amazon. However, now I'd like to move away to another ebook reader, preferably Kobo, but I don't want to leave my Kindle ebooks behind. I'd like to bring them with me.

Does anyone have any advices or tools that they can recommend that will allow me to move my Kindle ebooks over to Kobo or some other ebook reader (e.g. Nook)?

P.S. Sorry if this post has nothing to do with this community. Out of all the communities I follow, this one seemed to be the most appropriate for such a question.

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[-] FlareHeart@lemmy.ca 22 points 10 months ago

I think (but I have not tested) that if you can use the DeDRM plugins to import your books into Calibre... You might be able to use Calibre's conversion function to make them all ePubs (which are Kobo friendly). I don't have a Kindle but I do use a Kobo and have had to run DeDRM and some conversions to make books compatible.

Good luck!

[-] yote_zip@pawb.social 17 points 10 months ago

I wrote a short guide on this method recently: https://lemmy.ml/comment/6708735

[-] ursakhiin@beehaw.org 9 points 10 months ago

This works for me. So long as you have a Kindle device registered on Amazon, you should be able to download directly to a desktop. The DeDRM plugin mentioned removes the DRM during ingestion into Calibre and requires an actual token from Amazon which is linked to the Kindle device you downloaded from.

I use this to get Amazon eBooks into my Remarkable 2 which requires DRM free.

[-] jlow@beehaw.org 6 points 10 months ago

Yeah, +1 for Calibre amd DeDrm, recently I needed to jump through some more hoops since Amazon stopped delivering to that old Kindle Desktop version for PC and needed to use the Android version but generally works pretty well. I'm also surpised how many of the books I read actually don't have DRM at all but that is obviously down to my obscure taste (mostly indie SFF).

If all else fails I just buy the book with DRM and then pirate it from the high seas, no harm done (except for the harm supporting big platforms like Amazon does 🤷‍♀️).

[-] dr_robot@kbin.social 6 points 10 months ago

It's worth noting that you don't even need to still have the Kindle device physically with you. I had to throw mine out (I still had the original first ever model), but it's still registered and the token is valid for Calibre's DeDRM.

[-] Penguincoder@beehaw.org 6 points 10 months ago

I have a Kobo Clara HD, also moved quite a few years ago from a Kindle to this. I really love the accessibility of the Kobo ecosystem. The store, while not as vast as Amazon, has good books to choose from. You can also load your own items onto it. Calibre has good support. All in all, I am happier with it than the Kindle; not worried about a book disappearing on me.

[-] lud@lemm.ee 7 points 10 months ago

I have a Kobo Libra 2 and I also like the Kobo ecosystem.

You can ignore the store entirely if you want (I have done that) or you can use the store and it appears to have plenty of books at a reasonable price.

I'm pretty sure you don't even have to login or make an account if you don't want too.

[-] filcuk@lemmy.zip 2 points 10 months ago

I have Kobo Forma. Selecting text doesn't work well, and it seems the battery always drains quickly in sleep mode. But otherwise very good, love the large screen.

[-] TurtleTourParty@midwest.social 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

On my Kobo Libra 2 the battery only drained with wifi on. It won't charge over 76% for some reason though.

[-] senseamidmadness@beehaw.org 6 points 10 months ago

Personally I just abandoned my Kindle library when I bought a Nook. That's not particularly helpful, of course, but it's what I did as part of kicking Amazon out of my life entirely. I started buying my books from non-DRM sources.

I will say this: you may have paid for "licenses" for those books, but you don't actually own them. Amazon can rip away your access to them at any time. Were it me, I'd simply pirate DRM-free copies of the same books. Though if you can successfully strip off the DRM and convert them to open-source formats, that's just as good and carries less risk. Every time I've converted ebook formats with Calibre it's done weird stuff to the text: letters incorrectly interpreted, missing punctuation, page breaks in odd places, and enough of them to be annoying. Something to consider. Maybe that kind of thing can be corrected but I haven't yet figured out how.

[-] heygooberman@lemmy.today 2 points 10 months ago

Yes, I do realize that what I purchased may have been "licenses" to access the book. That's why I'm looking for a solution that will allow me to keep what I purchased. I'm not in a position where I can just re-purchase every eBook that I got on Kindle.

I am aware of Calibre, but like you, I have also been told that it doesn't always work as expected.

What is your experience with the Nook? I haven't seen that many positive reviews of the Nook when compared to Kindle and Kobo.

[-] senseamidmadness@beehaw.org 1 points 10 months ago

I have an older touchscreen, non-backlit e-ink Nook, and I don't use any of the Web interfacing or store to buy books. I do all my library management and acquisition on desktop and then USB transfer it. Mine freezes and stutters occasionally, mostly when browsing menus or waking up from standby mode, so it's not perfect. But it's acceptable and I've done plenty of reading on it. Mostly it was cheap. I think I paid less than $40 for mine used. My last Kindle was a Kindle 3G and it behaved pretty much the same after I jailbroke it to read epub format.

[-] zeekaran@sopuli.xyz 4 points 10 months ago

🏴‍☠️

[-] hedgehog@ttrpg.network 2 points 10 months ago

I picked up an Onyx Boox recently (specifically the Note Air 3C, which is a color e-ink tablet rather than just e-reader) and since it has the Google Play Store, I was able to just install the Kindle app. The Boox Page ($250) and Boox Poke5 ($170) make up their traditional sized e-reader lineup, and both appear to support the same thing. You could also install the Kobo Books app and make future purchases there, as well as library apps like Libby and Hoopla.

[-] Radiant_sir_radiant@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

No specific suggestions, but sort of a half-anti-recommendation:

I used to own a Tolino Vision 2. It was a great device for its purpose and time - lightweight, sturdy, very pleasant e-ink screen and backlight, easy to use and didn't mind a little sand or water. Sadly I lost it.
The new models I could try out look even nicer, but they all share one common problem: half of the home screen is an online book shop that can't be changed or hidden. That was reason enough for me not to buy another one.
If you don't mind that and Tolino devices are available where you live, they may be worth a try. Otherwise I recommend you steer clear of them.

As for the DRM issue, de-DRMing with Calibre for some reason didn't work for me (quite possibly a wetware problem), so I ended up buying ePubor Ultimate, which works very well and can do a lot of things but isn't free.

[-] beto@lemmy.studio 2 points 10 months ago

I bought a Mobiscribe recently, for the same reasons. It's an eReader with an eink display, but it's an Android tablet. I installed F-Droid, and then NextCloud (to access my ebooks) and Librera Reader. I also use it for listening to podcasts (via Bluetooth, since it's an Android tablet) and taking notes with the stylus.

[-] Naate@beehaw.org 1 points 10 months ago

This little thing looks very interesting. What is the battery life like? Is the handwriting-to-text stuff only viable in specific apps, or can it be used in place of keyboard input?

I would probably use it just like my Kindle, keeping it in airplane mode until I actually need to download something (or in this case, upload notes).

[-] beto@lemmy.studio 0 points 10 months ago

Battery life is good, I use it with the wifi off and only had to charge it once, and I read a full book on it.

I haven't played with the handwriting recognition yet, let me take a look and I'll report back.

[-] Naate@beehaw.org 0 points 10 months ago

Awesome, thanks!

[-] beto@lemmy.studio 1 points 10 months ago

Ok, I played with it and it seems like the recognition only works in the "Notes" app. It doesn't work as a general text input for applications.

It works pretty well, though. You select the text with the pen by circling it, and then you can copy it to the clipboard or replace the drawing with the actual text.

[-] Naate@beehaw.org 2 points 10 months ago

Interesting. Thanks for the extra effort to help out an internet stranger!

I'll dig some more into these little buggers!

[-] whereisdani_r@lemmy.ml 1 points 10 months ago

Anyone have experience with pocketbook? Have been looking into this myself https://pocketbook.ch/en-ch/catalog

this post was submitted on 21 Dec 2023

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