Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018) • Hacker News Board

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#71

Post by harshreality » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 3:56 PM UTC

billfruit wrote: post #31

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard people complain about Calibre's EPUB conversion utility, but I've never seen anyone do a deep-dive to explain exactly why it's bad. Is it comparable to the HTML-soup that Microsoft Word spits out when you export a Word doc to HTML? FWIW, I still heed those warnings, and so I still hold on to the de-DRM'd AZW file even after I convert it to EPUB.

For me the most obvious mangling the converting process is doing is inconsistent paragraphing, some times a single paragraph in original splits into two at an arbitrary place after conversion, and vice versa, seriously disrupting the readability.

What format are you starting with? That doesn't happen if you start from a modern, flowed (kf8) format with proper markup. Calibre tends to preserve all markup. It might add some trivial css fixups in some cases, but usually that's only when tags it thinks are important have no associated css already.

There are two reasons I can think of for why you'd get broken paragraph separation. First, the markup in the kindle version (if it's old style mobi, or really badly generated kf8) could be broken, so when calibre tries to split into multiple files to prevent single (x)html files from being too big, it can't tell where paragraphs are so it might split in the middle of a paragraph.

Second, you might be converting a pdf or azw4 (essentially a pdf) to epub, in which case you'll get paragraph breaks across pages. You shouldn't convert those formats to epub without extensive editing.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#72

Post by shorts_theory » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 3:58 PM UTC

maskros wrote: post #9

Calibre is great, if you configure it properly. By default, converting books to another format will change the layout! Destroying the original formatting by default is unacceptable behaviour to be honest, so user beware. For Kindle, I suggest using the KindleUnpack plugin instead; which can extract the EPUB file embedded in the AZW/KF8 format file losslessly for use with EPUB based readers without having to worry abo…

I'm pretty surprised. I've used Calibre's inbuilt EPUB -> AZW3/MOBI converter for hundreds of books to left-align them for my Kindle. The only books where the formatting was messed up were the ones in which the EPUB wasn't formatted properly in the first place.

I'm also interested to know more about why Calibre destructively converts EPUBs instead of making a copy to work on instead. Do you have any sources for how this works?

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#73

Post by burnte » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:01 PM UTC

umvi wrote: post #60

I have this great idea for a business: "ewhiteout" for ebooks. Basically you can selectively "patch" ebooks to censor profanity, sex scenes, violence, (and more) depending on your tastes and on what you like (and don't like) to consume. However, this is extremely unpopular with authors/publishers for the same reason that censoring movies is extremely unpopular with Hollywood (hence why companies like VidAngel are con…

"hence why companies like VidAngel are constantly mired in legal issues despite widespread popularity with consumers"

Widespread popularity with an incredibly small number of consumers who are generally very religiously oriented. And as seems to be common in the highly-religious groups, VidAngel commits copyright and trademark violations with the justification of "it's for families!" Just like a thousand religious summer camps who make "Reese's Jesus" shirts and shirts with "Jesus Christ" written like the Coca Cola logo because "it's for Jesus!"

The vast majority of people don't feel the need to censor the content they watch because they either understand what's in the content, or simply avoid tainted content altogether. If you're censoring things like ASoIaF, then maybe ASoIaF isn't for you, considering how important incest is to the plot.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#74

Post by umvi » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:10 PM UTC

sfotm wrote: post #67

umvi wrote: post #60

I have this great idea for a business: "ewhiteout" for ebooks. Basically you can selectively "patch" ebooks to censor profanity, sex scenes, violence, (and more) depending on your tastes and on what you like (and don't like) to consume. However, this is extremely unpopular with authors/publishers for the same reason that censoring movies is extremely unpopular with Hollywood (hence why companies like VidAngel are con…

I don't really see religious/conservative populations going out of their way to abridge a book that includes scenes that they need need "whited out". There are plenty of other books to read, and they'd probably prefer not to support works they disapprove of, anyway. That's even assuming that the books make sense with the sex and violence torn out; if you were to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with everything a…

> if you were to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo with everything a puritan found objectionable torn out of it, there wouldn't be a very sensible story left.

I think you misunderstand what religious people really want. Most people with "puritanical" objections to media content are just wanting it to be less explicit (i.e. left to the imagination) - not completely whitewashed from the story. After all, most religious texts themselves are rife with sex and murder; the acts themselves are usually not explicitly described in great detail, however.

"Lysanderoth's sword tore into Archibald's neck, spraying blood and chunks of windpipe across the battlefield and leaving him loudly gurgling as he slumped to the ground"

vs.

"Lysanderoth slew Archibald with the sword"

You can easily retain the story while eliminating the explicit aspect of the prose.

For example, I edited the entirety of the "A Song of Fire and Ice" series, and you may be interested to learn that eliminating every instance of explicit violence, sex, and profanity altered slightly less than 1% of the total word count of each book.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#75

Post by aw3c2 » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:11 PM UTC

ptah wrote: post #54

atemerev wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are not “generally cheaper” (ebooks are usually about 30-50% cheaper), and much less convenient if you travel a lot.

also you have to buy a device to read them on

Once.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#76

Post by umvi » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:15 PM UTC

Kevin_S wrote: post #63

umvi wrote: post #60

I have this great idea for a business: "ewhiteout" for ebooks. Basically you can selectively "patch" ebooks to censor profanity, sex scenes, violence, (and more) depending on your tastes and on what you like (and don't like) to consume. However, this is extremely unpopular with authors/publishers for the same reason that censoring movies is extremely unpopular with Hollywood (hence why companies like VidAngel are con…

I knew someone that used the vidangel service, but I don't really get it. If you remove the cursing/sex/violence from much of the works that use them, does it not remove context that is necessary? You mention ASoIaF, which is littered with all three right? How can you consume a "patched" version and still retain the themes and messages of these works? If you don't want to be exposed to these things, why not just only…

> How can you consume a "patched" version and still retain the themes and messages of these works?

From context! You don't need to explicitly see two characters having sex or read an erotic paragraph about them having sex to figure out they have an incestuous relationship.

And most, if not all religious folks just want the sex and violence to be less explicit (left to the imagination) not completely whitewashed from the story. Otherwise you wouldn't even be able to read the Bible/Quran/Book of Mormon/etc. without encountering sex and violence.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#77

Post by jxdxbx » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:19 PM UTC

simcop2387 wrote: post #51

aswanson wrote: post #39

Anyone know of a good way to browse & put pdfs into the kindle? The Amazon PC application purports to do as much but is really bad at it.

Easiest way I know of is to email it to the kindle, https://www.amazon.com/gp/sendtokindle/email Haven't done it often, but it seems to work fine.

You can use this app, too

https://www.willus.com/k2pdfopt/

to pre-process them in various ways so they are actually readable on a Kindle. (Crop whitespace, flip to landscape etc)

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#78

Post by umvi » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:19 PM UTC

jedimastert wrote: post #69

umvi wrote: post #60

I have this great idea for a business: "ewhiteout" for ebooks. Basically you can selectively "patch" ebooks to censor profanity, sex scenes, violence, (and more) depending on your tastes and on what you like (and don't like) to consume. However, this is extremely unpopular with authors/publishers for the same reason that censoring movies is extremely unpopular with Hollywood (hence why companies like VidAngel are con…

> Honestly, I don't understand why since at the end of the day everyone gets paid, and indeed get paid more than they normally would have (I guess it's more of a "you are altering my art so people can consume it in ways I didn't intend" attitude). The problem with "you are altering my art so people can consume it in ways I didn't intend" can be a purely economic one, as it's misrepresenting the "brand" that is the au…

The way I see it: it's not me or my company altering the brand, it's the consumers themselves altering the brand so that they can enjoy it more fully.

How is a consumer altering a movie experience or book experience any different from a consumer altering a:

- music experience (remix, etc.)

- food experience (customizing a chef's dish)

- video game experience (with game genie, mods, etc.)

- picture experience (with photoshop, memes, etc.)

?

People create derivative works all the time of all media types to suit their tastes, dreams, and whims - I don't see why that should be illegal as long as they aren't trying to resell it or create a competing brand.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#79

Post by umvi » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:29 PM UTC

burnte wrote: post #73

umvi wrote: post #60

I have this great idea for a business: "ewhiteout" for ebooks. Basically you can selectively "patch" ebooks to censor profanity, sex scenes, violence, (and more) depending on your tastes and on what you like (and don't like) to consume. However, this is extremely unpopular with authors/publishers for the same reason that censoring movies is extremely unpopular with Hollywood (hence why companies like VidAngel are con…

"hence why companies like VidAngel are constantly mired in legal issues despite widespread popularity with consumers" Widespread popularity with an incredibly small number of consumers who are generally very religiously oriented. And as seems to be common in the highly-religious groups, VidAngel commits copyright and trademark violations with the justification of "it's for families!" Just like a thousand religious su…

> The vast majority of people don't feel the need to censor the content they watch because they either understand what's in the content, or simply avoid tainted content altogether

Right, but said people number in the millions, and would consume said content if only there were a way to selectively censor what they find objectionable.

> If you're censoring things like ASoIaF, then maybe ASoIaF isn't for you, considering how important incest is to the plot.

Speaking from experience, me and my family/friends agree that ASoIaF is a fantastic series, even when completely censored to remove all instances of explicit violence, sex, and profanity.

The only thing you really lose is explicit detail when it comes to specific sex scenes or violent acts - and that constitutes less than 1% of the total prose. Everything else (intrigue, politics, etc. - the 99%) is still there.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#80

Post by extra88 » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 4:30 PM UTC

skrowl wrote: post #57

adrianN wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Breakable DRM is there for legal reasons. IANAL but you can make copies of copyrighted materials for private use, but you are not allowed to circumvent copy protection mechanisms.

I believe it is legal to break DRM for purposes of backup / personal use on unsupported devices / etc in the United States, but I'm also not a lawyer.

It is not legal. Making backup copies for yourself works as a fair use defense of copyright infringement but DRM breaking is a separate matter; that's why that part of the DMCA is reviled, it prevents people from doing what copyright otherwise permits them to do.

There is an exemption for breaking DRM on ebooks to enable their use with assistive technologies used by people with disabilities. There are some audiovisual exemptions for educational use that encompass "multimedia ebooks" but only for specific purposes.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/10/26/2018-23...