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

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#11

Post by drakenot » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 1:05 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…

Any tips for what settings to change to prevent the destructive behavior you mentioned?

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#12

Post by moviuro » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 1:06 PM UTC

tuesday20 wrote: post #7

How legal is stripping the DRM like this? Can one get in trouble for this?

> Use of Kindle Content. [...]. Kindle Content is licensed, not sold, to you by the Content Provider. The Content Provider may include additional terms for use within its Kindle Content. Those terms will also apply, but this Agreement will govern in the event of a conflict. Some Kindle Content, such as interactive or highly formatted content, may not be available to you on all Kindle Applications.

> [...]

> Termination. Your rights under this Agreement will automatically terminate if you fail to comply with any term of this Agreement. [...].

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_...

So you may get in trouble if you're caught doing stupid things, yes. Will they bother though? Unlikely.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#13

Post by misiti3780 » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 1:08 PM UTC

this only works with purchased books. if you sent an epub to your kindle, it will not show up in the devices section of the amazon website.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#14

Post by AdmiralAsshat » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 1:10 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'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.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#15

Post by ptah » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 1:10 PM UTC

moviuro wrote: post #12

tuesday20 wrote: post #7

How legal is stripping the DRM like this? Can one get in trouble for this?

> Use of Kindle Content . [...]. Kindle Content is licensed, not sold, to you by the Content Provider. The Content Provider may include additional terms for use within its Kindle Content. Those terms will also apply, but this Agreement will govern in the event of a conflict. Some Kindle Content, such as interactive or highly formatted content, may not be available to you on all Kindle Applications. > [...] > Terminat…

physical books are so much better for this reason and generally cheaper

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#16

Post by Kihashi » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 1:12 PM UTC

tuesday20 wrote: post #7

How legal is stripping the DRM like this? Can one get in trouble for this?

In the US, it is probably[^1] illegal under the DMCA, however, exceptions to that law are determined every ?2? years by the library of congress.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1201

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/victory-users-libraria...

> The exemptions we requested—ripping DVDs and Blurays for making fair use remixes and analysis; preserving video games and running multiplayer servers after publishers have abandoned them; jailbreaking cell phones, tablets, and other portable computing devices to run third party software; and security research and modification and repairs on cars—have each been accepted, subject to some important caveats.

[^1]: I am not a lawyer.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#17

Post by moviuro » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 1:19 PM UTC

ptah wrote: post #15

moviuro wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Use of Kindle Content . [...]. Kindle Content is licensed, not sold, to you by the Content Provider. The Content Provider may include additional terms for use within its Kindle Content. Those terms will also apply, but this Agreement will govern in the event of a conflict. Some Kindle Content, such as interactive or highly formatted content, may not be available to you on all Kindle Applications. > [...] > Terminat…

physical books are so much better for this reason and generally cheaper

https://twitter.com/rdonoghue/status/1144011630197522432 and discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20297331

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#18

Post by manojlds » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 1:20 PM UTC

What are folks using for Audible? Open Audible? It wasn't pulling my library correctly last time I tried.

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#19

Post by atemerev » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 1:22 PM UTC

ptah wrote: post #15

moviuro wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Use of Kindle Content . [...]. Kindle Content is licensed, not sold, to you by the Content Provider. The Content Provider may include additional terms for use within its Kindle Content. Those terms will also apply, but this Agreement will govern in the event of a conflict. Some Kindle Content, such as interactive or highly formatted content, may not be available to you on all Kindle Applications. > [...] > Terminat…

physical books are so much better for this reason and generally cheaper

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

Re: Backing Up My Kindle Ebooks (2018)

#20

Post by Wowfunhappy » Tue, Jul 02, 2019, 1:28 PM UTC

manojlds wrote: post #18

What are folks using for Audible? Open Audible? It wasn't pulling my library correctly last time I tried.

There are a variety of DRM Free audiobook providers:

https://www.downpour.com https://libro.fm

Most titles on audiobooksnow.com are free as well, but not quite all, so make sure there's no "DRM Protected" symbol.

I bounce between these providers (subscribing and cancelling to their various plans as needed) based on book availability and price. I believe I pay slightly less overall than if I used Audible for everything, even if acquiring books takes more work.

In a pinch, you can also remove Audible DRM with various tools (see sibling comment), but we should support proper DRM Free providers wherever possible!