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Kindle downloads

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Oh, and if you want to make Calibre look more like a macOS app, then these are the settings I suggest you tweak.
 
This sort of nonsense by Kindle etc is pushing me back towards hard copy, at least for things I definitely want to read again without them having been bowdlerised.
 
The battery of my Kindle Oasis is starting to go so I've been looking at replacement devices recently. I'm sorely tempted to ditch Kindle completely and just pick up an iPad mini which will have the added bonus of being compatible with my Apple Pencil so I can make notes. The downside of course is that the iPad isn't e-ink and the battery life won't be as good but I think I can live with that.
 
dpmcalister said:
The battery of my Kindle Oasis is starting to go so I've been looking at replacement devices recently. I'm sorely tempted to ditch Kindle completely and just pick up an iPad mini which will have the added bonus of being compatible with my Apple Pencil so I can make notes. The downside of course is that the iPad isn't e-ink and the battery life won't be as good but I think I can live with that.
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I have both an iPad and a Kobo.

Pros for the iPad:
-Better for PDFs
-Online
-Colour

Cons for the iPad:
-Online (i.e. distractions)
-Battery life isn't that brilliant
-Storage with all else on there
-Content split across various storefront apps

Pros for the Kobo:
-eInk
-Battery life much better
-Decent number of book on device (I have all my ePubs - 6000+ and smaller PDFs)
-Lightweight (at least my Forma is with the plastic substrate)
-No distractions
-Everything in one interface

Cons for the Kobo:
-B&W (colour is still something of a gimmick)
-Offline (at least that's how I've got mine set up)

I read mostly on the Kobo.
 
That's handy, thanks. Colour is another bonus actually as I do have a load of 2000AD and Knights of the Dinner Table graphic novels from various bundles over the years that I could dive into :D
 
I read comics on my tablet and novels on my Kindle.
 
dpmcalister said:
That's handy, thanks. Colour is another bonus actually as I do have a load of 2000AD and Knights of the Dinner Table graphic novels from various bundles over the years that I could dive into :D
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eInk colour is very washed out compared to an iPad. I plan to wait until the technology matures before I replace my B&W Forma with a colour device. I read my graphic novels on the iPad (imported into Apple Books) or directly on my computer using Preview.
 
I keep looking at ereaders, but I already have a tablet with Kindle and Kobo apps on it, so it would be hard to justify the expense.

Comparing the apps, the Kindle (sometimes) lets you sideload PDFs by emailing them to yourself, and remembers what page you were on; the Kobo doesn't, but will let you buy things directly from the bookstore, which the Kindle won't. I don't use enough features beyond reading to have noticed anything else.
 
Sablemage said:
I keep looking at ereaders, but I already have a tablet with Kindle and Kobo apps on it, so it would be hard to justify the expense.

Comparing the apps, the Kindle (sometimes) lets you sideload PDFs by emailing them to yourself, and remembers what page you were on; the Kobo doesn't, but will let you buy things directly from the bookstore, which the Kindle won't. I don't use enough features beyond reading to have noticed anything else.
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It depends on your use case. If your primary desire is to read fiction/non-fiction in ePub, then a Kobo is worth the expense. PDFs I prefer reading on my iPad or on screen. If you managed to download your Kindle books before the cut-off earlier this year, then it's trivial to convert them to ePub using Calibre (thank goodness we were up-to-date on that front; between us we had over 2100 titles).

It is (was?) possible to 'acquire' the Kindle files if you have an eInk Kindle on older firmware, otherwise: the more technically minded may find this interesting - https://blog.pixelmelt.dev/kindle-web-drm/
 
The Kindle cutoff pushed me in an unexpected direction... I looked at my collection and realised that I typically only read a book once, so not being able to access it again is less of an issue than I first thought.

However, that means even the cost of a Kindle edition on offer is quite high per hour of reading, so I signed up for my local library's ebook programme. They don't have that much of what I'm interested in reading, but there is enough to justify installing the app. (One can also find audiobooks in podcast apps, but I've gone off podcasts at the moment.) I used to have a Scribd account as well, and may restart that at some point.

Folks who've tried Kindle Unlimited or Kobo Plus, do you/did you find you use it enough to justify the subscription?
 
Sablemage said:
However, that means even the cost of a Kindle edition on offer is quite high per hour of reading, so I signed up for my local library's ebook programme. They don't have that much of what I'm interested in reading, but there is enough to justify installing the app. (One can also find audiobooks in podcast apps, but I've gone off podcasts at the moment.) I used to have a Scribd account as well, and may restart that at some point.
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I've done the same, especially for books / authors I'm not sure about. Unfortunately, like you, I find the selection of genre fiction to be poor, and I also find that series have gaping holes in them.

Kobo keep nagging me about joining Kobo Plus, but I prefer to control my own books. 99p for a sale title is worth it, even if I only read it once - it's less than a cup of coffee you only drink once. That's how I rationalise it.
 
Maddz said:
99p for a sale title is worth it, even if I only read it once - it's less than a cup of coffee you only drink once. That's how I rationalise it.
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I like that! Makes sense.
 
I have found Kindle Unlimited of value now they have a better graphic novel offering when I regularly reading graphic novels.

I often compare things to a cup of coffee from a shop.

Looks at 900+ undrunk cups of coffee..
 
( I presently sometimes pick a Kindle for reading, but my book reading is much lower volume than others on this thread. )
 
Back when I used a Palm Pilot, I was reading books from PocketBooks on Peanut Reader if I remember correctly.
 
Not directly related to ebooks, but I've been using an Audible alternative for my audiobooks. It's called Libro.fm and while it's catalogue isn't perhaps as complete as Audible's I've been able to find what I've wanted - and you get to pick a local real bookstore and they get a share of your purchase so I don't feel guilty about not buying from them directly.

They have a referral scheme (which I get a free book for anyone who signs up) but I'm not sure on the rules about using referral links here so here's the non-referral version: https://libro.fm/
 
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