I just got my first ereader, and am wondering if anyone has suggestions as to where I can purchase books but also download them (.epub, etc) after purchasing. I want to support the authors, but I also want to actually own the thing I’m paying for. Is ebooks.com a good option?
What you shouldn’t do, because corporations destroyed reasonable free-use with the DMCA, is buy ebooks from Kobo and use the easily installed de-DRM plugin for Caliber to strip the DRM, after which you can then sync them with the e-reader of your choice. Which is absolutely the moral and ethical way things should work, if the publishing industry hadn’t bought themselves some crooked politicians.
Absolutely do support publishers who sell DRM-free ebooks, though. That’s the message we want to send.
I definitely won’t look into that plugin. Owning things you pay for is immoral and a sin. Thank you :)
Sometimes, I sincerely wonder just how mortified the founding fathers would have been if you could have communicated Donald Trump in the White House and his actions this term so far; and things and capitalism like renting the heated seat feature in your car.
ebooks.com has a toggle for drm-free books, most of mine comes from there. Your library is there, you can download it.
TOR publishing doesn’t use DRM, and their books’ page have links to places to buy them
Be aware that a drm-free eBook bought on amazon will have drm applied. Fuck Amazon. Kobo doesn’t do that, I have a Clara now.
I also have a Kobo. If I buy books from their market place, do I have the ability to also download the files?
You can download books from your kobo to your pc when downloaded to the device, but if it’s a book with DRM then you won’t be able to do much beyond having a backup.
From the website, if with DRM, you will download a link that you can only open with (I believe) some adobe DRM software. You are not downloading the book.
Only if you buy drm-free from them will you be able to download and use / transfer your books. They supposedly have a dedicated section for that, but it’s messy and doesn’t show all drm-free books ; the way I do it is by searching for the keywords “At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software” which will show me all of them.
Now Calibre has a plugin to remove the drm, it works 99 times out of 100.
Some authors also sell books on their shops, DRM free. That’s usually the best way to support them.
Hear, hear! I always check for authors’ sites first. Lo and behold, wonderful authors like Victoria Goddard (Hands of the Emperor) sell their books on their own websites, DRM free.
Might check out these two sites:
Thanks!
Are you opposed to buying a physical copy and getting the ebook through Anna’s Archive? If you’ve paid for a copy it shouldn’t matter which medium you prefer to read it in. I’m not sure if you can donate directly to authors or not, but that would also count in my book.
