E-books

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Started 9 months ago by MTNgirl
Latest reply from lottielot
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MTNgirl
Member

I received a Kindle for my birthday last year and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! I have been replacing some of my favorite physical books available on kindle with the kindle version. Then I have been getting rid of the physical copy.

But now I am a little paranoid about what happens when technology changes and a new shinier version comes along, will my purchased books go away? Or as one of my friend tells me, the "cloud" will burst. Some of the books are classic, like Jane Austen or Little Women. But I have replaced my Robin Pilcher books and others that aren't classics with Kindle versions, these are ones that could go out of print and not be readily available down the road.

What do you think?

Posted 9 months ago #
Zora
Member

The free e versions of public domain books will never go away. Whatever your ereader, you can always download all of Dickens or the Brontes from Manybooks/Project Gutenberg/many other sites.

If it's a purchased book, with DRM (Digital Rights Management), you may be out of luck if you change readers. I bought a trilogy that is linked to a long-dead PDA and hence completely useless. I can't remember where I bought the ebooks, so I can't re-download them. I would also be out of luck if I remembered the store, but the store had disappeared. At least Kindle books are likely to be available for re-download for years into the future.

If you are computer savvy, you can remove the DRM, store the books on your main computer, back them up, and be sure that you have them forever. Or at least as long as we have a technological civilization.

Posted 9 months ago #
MTNgirl
Member

Zora, I am soooo not computer savvy, but I wondered if it was possible to back them up somehow. I will look into it! I love having a few less things in my home and don't really miss the physical book feel.

Posted 9 months ago #
susanintexas
Member

You can also set up the same kindle account on your computer and have the books downloaded there too at no extra cost if that would make you feel safer -- at least you're not tied to the kindle machine that way.

Technology is NEVER totally secure -- but then neither is paper.

Posted 9 months ago #
Vivace
Member

Like Susan said, if you install the Kindle software on your computer you can download all your ebooks there as a back-up, and once they're on your computer you can back them up however you back up your other data. (Mine are also on my external hard drive, for example.)

If they ever become completely unreadable due to Amazon DRM, you will probably be able to find a way to unlock them - I have seen Calibre plug-ins that can turn your (legally purchased) Kindle books into DRM-free books for other readers.

Posted 9 months ago #
Nyssa
Member

Yes, this is unfortunately the problem with the current state of e-books. Books with DRM created for one brand of device (Kindle or Nook or Sony) are deliberately blocked from working with other device brands. It's the only reason I haven't yet purchased an e-book reader although I would love to switch to digital books. You're pretty much locked in to that one brand of e-reader for life, and with Amazon's Kindle books, you can't even "purchase" a book. You only rent the license to the book for as long as Amazon condescends to allow you to read it on your device; they can revoke that license if they feel like it (and they have in some cases, even remotely deleting books directly from customers' devices!).

Your best bet is what Vivace recommended. Use a program like Calibre to strip the DRM and convert them into a different format, and keep it backed up. I don't think you have to be too tech-savvy to figure it out. You may love your Kindle now, but if it breaks tomorrow or in three years, you might decide that Sony or Google or Barnes & Noble has a more affordable model with the features that you prefer. Good luck!

Posted 9 months ago #
lucy1965
Member

MTNgirl, we use Calibre to manage our e-books and back them up to one of the innumerable stick drives we have lying around; it's not difficult at all. I have a 1st edition Nook that's been rooted (Linux household: it's my toy, I paid for it, I'm gonna play with it) and when it goes to Silicon Heaven I plan to pick up one of the new ones with a touch screen.

(Does anyone else boggle at the fact that stick drives are given away, when they have data storage capabilities that I distinctly remember paying scary amounts of money for not so very long ago?)

Posted 9 months ago #
MTNgirl
Member

I moved my favorites to the laptop yesterday and will figure out how to back them up on the hard drive.

Some of the fear is things discussed on other threads, difficulty letting go of items. I am most sentimental about books. I like reading on the kindle, so much easier on the joints! But letting go of the physical book is a little scary!

Posted 9 months ago #
lucy1965
Member

Keep in mind that it doesn't have to be an all or nothing solution: my Nook is a constant companion, but you'll pry my hardback copy of The Annotated Alice from my cold, dead hands. Some books need to be on paper: I expect chacha to wander over soon and rhapsodize about her collection, and she's right to do so.

You can read Paddington or The Lord of the Rings in electronic format, and when my vision is being especially difficult, I do that. (Like our gracious hostess, I have an "invisible" disability.) But seeing that enormous chunk of blue leather and paper on the shelf delights my heart, and as long as it continues to do so, it will stay there.

Posted 9 months ago #
MTNgirl
Member

Alas, though I love the series, I have (had) only lowly thrift store purchased paperbacks of the Lord of the Rings! I traded them in for credit at the used book store! I will purchase a kindle version sometime down the road.

Looking through the collection I have deliberately purchased with money (I mostly get the free books)for the kindle are mostly the really long books like Sacagawea, the Pillars of the Earth and the Outlander series. If Harry Potter Or Rosamunde Pilcher's Coming Home ever goes to the Kindle, I would keep my much cherished hardbacks. Those are my "pry them out of my cold dead hands books."

And you can find obscure out of print books if you look. I am worrying over nothing!

Posted 9 months ago #
pkilmain
Member

Ah, MTNgirl, your favorites are also mine! Have you read Robin Pilcher's books? He ranks right up there with his mother imo. Starburst is my favorite.

Posted 9 months ago #
chacha1
Member

@lucy1965, how did you know?? LOL

As a relatively new Kindle user, I'd just like to say that I very much doubt that virtual libraries in this format will become unavailable in any of our lifetimes. The device will undoubtedly be upgraded, but purchases will almost certainly be "readable" on the new version(s). Just as old DVDs will still play on a Blu-Ray and ancient WordPerfect diskettes can still be read by Word 2007.

We have Kindle PC as well as a standalone Kindle reader, my DH is planning to get a tablet computer and install Kindle reader on that as well - he has tested and determined that the content can be viewed simultaneously on more than one device, as long as it's all on the same account.

Re: paper books, and back to lucy's callout ... yes, I must rhapsodize. But I will point out that in my quest to get my "hard" collection to under 1000 volumes, I have gotten REALLY ruthless. :-)

Posted 9 months ago #
MTNgirl
Member

pkilmain, I adore Robin Pilcher as much as his mother. Starburst is my favorite as well. Every time I read one of his (or her) books, I close the book with a satisfied sigh. I like satisfying and happy endings and the Pilcher's deliver!

ChaCha1, sending heaps of gratitude your way!

Posted 9 months ago #
bandicoot
Member

i decided one day that i was a happy amazon customer, so i was going to just throw my hat into their ring and go kindle and be done with it.
i have donated a lot of books lately and when i get home, i am getting rid of a lot more.
my kindle books are accessible on my ipad, my iphone, my husband's ipod, the office computer, and re-downloadable any time from my amazon account ....how many more back ups and copies do i really need?
if amazon comes crashing down this afternoon, i have decided that i simply do not care.
nothing is for certain in this world, there are no guarantees at all....do i allow that to stop me enjoying kindle benefits right now, or not?
worrying about future imaginary scenarios is a bit dangerously close to hoarder behaviour.

Posted 9 months ago #
lucy1965
Member

chacha: It's like I remember the things you talk about or something! LOL

Posted 9 months ago #
MTNgirl
Member

Bandicoot, you are right! You can't take it with you when you die, and things are always replaceable, but people aren't!

Although the cheapskate part of me would be a little ticked off to pay for them again!

Posted 9 months ago #
bandicoot
Member

o i completely agree!
i wouldn't CHOOSE to pay for them all again.
but i decided to stop letting the fear of that possibility prevent me from choosing a direction right now.

i have just spent a leisurely few days immersed in a game of thrones and enjoying it thoroughly.
without the amazon suggestions and reviews, i would never have come across the book....without kindle i would never have been able to get my hands on a copy so easily whilst on holiday...and now i have finished, i have of course immediately downloaded the next book in the series!

Posted 9 months ago #
lottielot
Member

I'm really hoping that Kindle books will be available as library books at some stage in the UK. Other formats are, you can download them for 2 or 3 weeks, but not Kindle ones. When/if that happens, I will be even happier with my Kindle, there are lots of books I won't want to re-read which are surplus to requirements even if they take up no physical space. I know I can visit the library in person, check out the books and read and enjoy them. My problem is that I end up spending sooo much time hunting for the books which go missing, spend a fortune in overdue fines (they stopped stamping books, you can log on and renew them online, but who can remember to do that?) that it's just easier to buy Kindle books, and probably not much more expensive by the time you factor in adult fines (15p per day!! and £1 per reminder!!). When my kids were little and I needed to fill my days and borrow lots of kids books, the library was great. Now I have less time, and no patience for the mental clutter which comes from having to keep track of library books. Not to mention the irritation which comes from having to pay £10-20 in fines every time I visit...Even if I had to pay a fee for borrowing Kindle books, that would be cheaper than having to buy them.

Posted 9 months ago #
susanintexas
Member

According to the Kindle site, they will start lending books at 11,000 US libraries before the end of the year.

Posted 9 months ago #
MTNgirl
Member

I have been eyeing the Game of Thrones because isn't there a British TV series of it with Sean Bean in it? I put that on my Netflix list! I am glad to hear the good review! I will put it on my wish list!

Lottilot, I think Kindle will have updates for library lending in December, at least in the US, I have not heard about Europe.

Posted 9 months ago #

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