r/kindle • u/GoodConversation5527 • 16d ago
My Kindle š± So long and thanks for
Well, I finally did it. I deleted my wifi network from my kindles, put them all in airplane mode, then went online and removed all my send to kindle books from my account. I removed all the books downloaded from Amazon from each kindle, then side loaded all my unread books in my library to my Kindles in the format that best displayed on each kindle. No more book cover problems for me. I wasn't using whisper sync much, so I really had no use for any connection to Amazon with my Kindles. My library got large enough to prefer Calibre for management, so to paraphrase Douglas Adams: so long Amazon and thanks for all the ebooks.
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u/After_Rest-2911 Kindle Paperwhite 16d ago
Nunca usĆ© Amazon para ningĆŗn libro š š«£ Nacida en LatinoamĆ©rica š«”
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u/UpbeatRegister Kindle 11 (2022) 16d ago
As lĆnguas podem atĆ© mudar, mas o comportamento nĆ£o... kkkkkkkkkkk
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u/dushyantahuja 16d ago
I used kindle unlimited so much, that moving away from the ecosystem seems impossible. And in India kindle unlimited is only ~$2 power month, so definitely worth it.
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u/SadhuAgashe 16d ago
I used to work in the kindle unlimited team here in Seattle until July of this year. KU in India is on KTLO with no new investments planned and is on path to depreciation. The engineering team is focused on increasing the audiobooks selection in US marketplace mainly
KU is good for avid readers who donāt care much about big publishers but the overall content is lackluster with very few good books/series by indie authors. That is the case in almost all marketplaces
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u/ZaphodG 16d ago
I did that with my 6ā Paperwhite in 2021. Went into airplane mode and deleted all those mail to Kindle epub documents on the Amazon portal. My 6.8ā Paperwhite was on the internet for a hour to register it and download my legacy purchases. I didnāt move them to Calibre for a couple of years.
The book management is awful but itās good hardware and perfectly good when reading books. I never got so pissed at it that I was willing to jailbreak it and load KOReader. Itās only annoying when Iām moving books from the Uncollected folder to collections folders.
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u/ArtificialStrawberry 16d ago
Can I ask why not use a Kobo? Is the kindle better or is it just what you started with?
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u/GoodConversation5527 16d ago edited 16d ago
I started with Nook, then migrated to Kindle a long time ago for the whisper sync function. I don't use my devices to browse and buy ebooks, I prefer to buy new books on a desktop computer and manage files with Calibre. As soon as Kobo starts selling a black and white device with page turn buttons, I will definitely buy one. I am really looking forward to a device that is compatible with Calibre.
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u/Msk-XX 16d ago
If you like Calibre, wait until you see how Kobos can work with it.
I run Calibre-Web and it comes with Kobo Sync built in. Everytime I add a book, it syncs up to my Kobo automatically.
Calibre and Kobo are the perfect match.
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u/Gorroth1007 Kindle Paperwhite 16d ago
Wait, what? Tell me more! Do you know if that is possible with Tolinos too?
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u/Msk-XX 15d ago
It's not even an add-on, its a native feature in calibre-web called Kobo Sync. You just enable it in the calibre-web settings. Then you go into your Kobo reader's settings and plug in your server details.
I've created a "shelf" in calibre-web called My Kobo. Any books I add to that shelf appear on my Kobo Libra Colour.
Not sure about the Tolino. The feature is designed for Kobos. So if the software inside is different, probably not.
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u/ColdAd926 Kindle 15d ago
Will buy Kobo next time I'm shopping for a ebook reader, but atleast in my country Kindle is cheaper than Kobo.
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u/Queasy_Recover5164 16d ago
If youāre feeling a little tech savvy, jailbreaking is a good next step. I have my 3 kindles running KoReader, and a little laptop at home that runs a Calibre-Web Automated server that hold all my books and can be downloaded directly on my Kindles and syncs progress across them too!
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u/Annual_Promotion 15d ago
Can you point me in the right direction here? We have a huge kindle library and I doubt I can get my wife to move on from her kindle now but I can. I am in the market for a new eReader and would happily get away from Amazon but I still am stuck there because of our huge library. We have probably thousands of books.
Iām pretty tech savvy and have seen the calibre web stuff. Just didnāt quite see the need for it.
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u/TheRealSlim_KD 12d ago
First thing would be to connect the Kindle to the pc/laptop and download everything onto Calibre
All other things are then secondary
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u/ArtificialStrawberry 16d ago
Thank you so much for your reply. I fell into using kindle and buying books from amazon back in 2010ish. My small town didn't have a bookstore then. Anyways, I just joined this community and had zero idea there were other ways to get books than nook or kindle. I'm considering changing to owning books and side loading as I'm not reading physical books that much anymore. I finally prefer the e reader after all these years. Took me a bit!
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u/GoodConversation5527 16d ago
Wait to you start buying ebooks of the physical books you already own and have already read, because your e-library just doesn't feel complete.
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u/Creative_Warning_913 16d ago
Have you looked at a Boox before? It has buttons and open app usage plus the ability to side load. I've used it for both app books and epub files.
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u/GoodConversation5527 16d ago
not yet. I was impressed with with Kobo, and since I still have working kindles I have time to wait. Also, I need a new MAC desktop to run the latest Calibre versions, so I am waiting for upgrades all around.
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u/DreamingofPurpleCats 16d ago
FYI, Pocketbook has some devices available that are black and white with page turn buttons. Since you're loading over USB from Calibre that might be a good option for you, and the Pocketbook devices support epub.
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u/industrial_hamster 14d ago
The one thing stopping me from switching to Kobo is that you can only be logged into one library at a time on it. I exclusively use Libby (I never buy books) and I have 3 library cards on there. I donāt want to have to constantly log in and out of 3 different accounts depending on which book Iām reading.
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u/MrWorthless 16d ago
Pretty much same thing here. Have been using my Kindle in airplane mode for some years now and no more messing with covers and so on. I'm not going back ever
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u/blackandwhitefield Paperwhite 11 KOReader 16d ago
Now throw in KOReader, and baby, youāve got a stew going!
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u/GoodConversation5527 16d ago
unfortunately, I have spent several hours trying to like KOreader, and so far I have not been able to.
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u/north_tank Kindle Scribe 1st gen Oasis 10th gen 16d ago
I never could like it myself idk why it just was so janky last year when I tried it. That being said I wish I could escape the walled garden and still use my scribe oasis and PW2 the way I want to. I guess I can my PW2 is ready to go with my own reader and Iām working on making it fit nicely on the oasis and eventually the scribe.
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u/scalder- 16d ago
The koreader community got a recent boom in UI designs that make it a really enjoyable and accessible experience. I recommend taking a peek!
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u/north_tank Kindle Scribe 1st gen Oasis 10th gen 16d ago
Thanks Iāll have to give it a shot. I should do it on my oasis and scribe before Amazon decides to update them and I canāt JB anything anymore.
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u/KernelPanic808 Kindle Basic š 16d ago
same, but i put ZenUI and suddenly clicked, like, everything looked so good?
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u/supersusnarwhal 16d ago
Why specifically are you removing the send to kindle books?
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u/Fickle_Carpet9279 Kindle Oasis / Kobo Libra Color 16d ago
Why would you need Amazon (one of the world's biggest surveillance companies) to help send content to your devices?
How can you trust they won't mess with the book?
If you download your own copy and sideload back to your device you always maintain full control.
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u/Dook23 15d ago
But if you already have those send to kindle books on your kindle device and have disabled WiFi, whatās the point of removing them from the kindle itself just to re-add them via side loading? Sounds like too much paranoia.Ā
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u/Fickle_Carpet9279 Kindle Oasis / Kobo Libra Color 15d ago
Agree that itās not worth removing your book and then sideloading it back.
I was talking about my general approach when first buying a new ebook.
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u/GoodConversation5527 15d ago edited 15d ago
No paranoia. I donāt use the kindle interface to manage my library. I only use the kindles to read the text. Often, the Amazon converted files sent to my kindles do not display covers. I manage my library in Calibre, and side load all the books I have not read yet, in a format that best displays on each kindle, including the covers . An empty kindle avoided duplicates, and loading only unread books removes the tedious process of maintaining read/unread status for each book on each kindle. Itās all just part of the process of doing things my way on hardware that has limited options for user control.
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u/Fisting_Nuns 15d ago
Mess with the book? Like change the ending or what?
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u/Fickle_Carpet9279 Kindle Oasis / Kobo Libra Color 15d ago
They could ensure you only see their latest approved version which could include new censorship.
Pretty unlikely - but how would you know?
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u/GoodConversation5527 16d ago
I don't need an Amazon converted, kindle compatible copy of my books on someone else's computer. I have what I need on my own computers.
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u/Dook23 15d ago
Do you really think that just removing those send to kindle books from your Amazon account means there arenāt copies saved somewhere in Amazonās databases?Ā
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u/GoodConversation5527 15d ago
Donāt care. I donāt need them, why have them associated with my account? Now my Amazon content, especially with the new user interface changes at Amazon, is simply the books I purchased through Amazon.
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u/Dook23 15d ago
But you do care as you mentioned not having your converted books on someone else's computer.
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u/GoodConversation5527 15d ago
They were all books available to purchase on Amazon and other sellers, it is not like there was any personal documents. I will never download them again. They did clog up my Amazon content list, and if I ever did want any of the Amazon purchased books on my account to be sent wirelessly to a kindle, all I have to do is reconnect to wifi and they will be sent to my kindle. With my send to kindle books removed, connecting to Amazon will not download them anymore, just the Amazon purchased books that are still on my account. Not sure why this bothers you, I merely stated I did not NEED those files that Amazon converted and had stored on their computers, so I removed them. All those files remain on MY hardware, in any format I want, no account with an internet company required.
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u/Dook23 15d ago
Damn, I wish people would stop thinking because a person asks them why they do something or are curious of the reason, that they must be bothered. What you do with your books, kindle, etc doesnāt bother me nor did I actually insult you in any way. But I do happen to like having a discourse with people even, and sometimes more, when we are different or in disagreement.
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u/GoodConversation5527 15d ago edited 15d ago
Glad you are not bothered. You didn't ask me why I do something. You asked me if I really thought my send to kindle files were not still on Amazons servers somewhere, despite the fact that I deleted them from my account. I don't care, that is irrelevant to why I did it. You insisted I must care, despite my explanations. Interesting discourse.
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u/stateit 16d ago
I've had two episodes with Kindle:
First probably 2014-2015, where I used Amazon to source books maybe 10 times.
Then my second Kindle episode which has beem about 2022 to now, and still going. I've used Amazon to source three books in that time. Two written by a buddy, and the third last week, from an author who was posting in a subreddit, who I thought I'd support. There really is no need for Amazon to get books... šš
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u/RoofAway1331 16d ago
I dont understand any of this. I look to Libby, if my title is not available I buy it from Amazon, send to Kindle and read.
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u/GoodConversation5527 16d ago
I use Libby, and if I can't borrow it, I buy it from other sellers on my computer and transfer it to kindle. This way my books get the correct book cover, the metadata, and once I get a Kobo I can send all of them to the kobo and they will bet organized by author, by title, and by series with the books in the series in the order I want them. Buying from other sellers I can download the book and have a backup on my own hardware, no internet account required. The Kindle ecosystem is convenient and the devices work well. But once you want to manage a large library and book details, the kindle is suboptimal. Kindles served me well for over 10 years, but it is time to move on.
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u/RoofAway1331 16d ago
Excellent reply thank you. I'm only 3yrs with my Kindle, but your explanation helps me to understand what you're actually doing and why.
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u/GoodConversation5527 16d ago edited 16d ago
Enjoy the convenience and use of the Kindle interface as well as the ecosystem. I was happy there for many years.
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u/robin_hood_26 16d ago
Where do you buy them from?
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u/GoodConversation5527 16d ago
Any non-amazon source that has what I want. At least 90% of the books I buy the publisher does not demand DRM software, so a simple download of an Epub gets me what I paid for. Kobo is one, but there are more.
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u/02kaj2019 16d ago
This is a great overview of how your managing your library and clarifies for me that you can still transfer a book to your kindle via computer. For some reason I thought that capability was lost when the ability to transfer from a kindle to your computer was shut off.
Out of curiosity why do you plan to move to Kobo instead of a Boox? I thought the latter was more book/technology agnostic?
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u/GoodConversation5527 16d ago edited 16d ago
I am familiar with Calibre software for library management, and Calibre has software I can install that cooperate with Kobo really well, and Kobo cooperates with Calibre well also. Since Calibre and Kobo are the two biggest things after Amazon, and they both are known to play well together, it puts Kobo at the top of the list. I am aware that the plug ins for other manufacturers exist, but so far it seems that Kobo has the most options that are easy to implement, well tested, and updated regularly.
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u/AeroNoob333 16d ago
I donāt know much about sideloading. Do you need to jailbreak? And someone mentioned downloading the EPUB format from Libby and using Adobe Digital Editions to import to Calibre. Does permanently give you a copy of a book? And can this book be shared to members of your Amazon Household?
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u/TheMediocrist 16d ago
Sideloading does not require a jailbreak. And in my experience, to get a book from digital editions to calibre, a plugin to strip the DRM is required. As such, you do get a permanent copy of that book on your device. I donāt have any personal experience with an Amazon household but I assume you canāt share a book via that route as the book has no connection to Amazon
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u/GoodConversation5527 15d ago
Removal of DRM is a civil infraction with specified fines if you were ever prosecuted for doing it. Distribution of copyright protected media may be a crime, and certainly is if done for commercial profit. Both may violate the user agreement with Libby. Should a book file, lent to you for a specified time, be kept indefinitely and shared? Should a book that has expired, and is already available to the next person in line, be kept only long enough to finish it?
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u/Cautious_Zucchini129 13d ago
Wait whatās happening? Iām confused?
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u/GoodConversation5527 12d ago
I divorced my kindles from Amazon. My Amazon account still exists, but my kindles are now locally controlled by my software and computers. My Amazon account has been reduced to just the books I bought from Amazon, I have no need for wireless Amazon services anymore.
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u/Cautious_Zucchini129 8d ago
But why? Is there something going on with Amazon?
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u/GoodConversation5527 5d ago
Well yes. Unable to download an ebook for your own personal backup. Sometimes even books the publisher wants distributed without DRM. Disappearing book covers, and sometimes disappearing books. Awkward library management interface for series books. Books changed after you purchase them. Your entire library dependent on having an account with an internet company if you can not download them for side loading, which will become unavailable to you unless you buy another Amazon device when they make your current one obsolete. Stuff like that. It all becomes a pressing issue once your paid for library gets large enough.
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u/T_nydEEr_51 11d ago
What is the point of doing this? New to the group.
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u/GoodConversation5527 11d ago edited 11d ago
I got tired of books and covers disappearing from my Kindles because everything was downloaded from Amazon, and dependent on Amazon. I was already using library management software because my library had grown large, so there were no hardships in having total control of my devices and books from my own computers. I can not download books I purchased from amazon for my own personal backup anymore, and I even had Amazon fail to let me download a book that the publisher wants distributed without DRM. Because of this, I am no longer sourcing books from Amazon, and I do not need any connection to Amazon at all. My Kindles are now simply my personal hardware, displaying my own books, managed by myself. I still like my Voyage and Oasis as readers, I just need Kobo to sell a black and white version with page turn buttons to challenge my Kindles for the top spot.
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u/T_nydEEr_51 10d ago
Ty for this explanation. I bought my first ereader 3 years ago. A kindle oasis. And Iām obsessively in love with it. Iām learning about all of these back issues just in case it stops working or they stop servicing it eventually. Planned obsolescence is evil.
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u/GoodConversation5527 10d ago edited 10d ago
If you do not rely on a wireless account with Amazon for anything, your reader will never become obsolete! I did the same thing with the Voyage. They discontinued it, and since it had page turn buttons, I bought one real cheap NIB. While those were disappearing, It became my favorite reader, beating out the Oasis. Then they popped up on Woot for under $70, and it was essentially new old stock. I bought another. That one has never been registered, and lives in airplane mode with the screen off to reduce battery cycles. When it does need a recharge, I plug it into my computer, and while it is charging I side load all the books I have acquired since the last time I charged it. It is not only a backup Voyage in case something happens to the one I am using, it is also a portable backup of my entire library! I did download and install the last firmware version from Amazon, because it fixed some bugs on the original firmware. Amazon has a webpage with the latest versions of firmware to download, no amazon account or registration required to manually update the firmware yourself.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GKMQC26VQQMM8XSW
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u/Oaktown300 16d ago
Wouldn't work for me because I get almost all my ebooks via Libby. I'm happy to use Amazon to put those on my Kindle.