M.I.N.I.O.N.

angwe:

1) PDFs can be read on most of them. Live PDFs can be re-flowed by the software in the reader, but if you have a scanned article, you can still get something reflowable. If you own Acrobat Professional, use the OCR built in. (At least, versions 8 and above have a decent engine.) If you don’t, try http://www.onlineocr.net/ or uploading to Google Docs and getting it converted.

2) Already mentioned, but very important, http://www.manybooks.net/ . Public domain, free, any format you want. Prefer the epub to the native format for your reader? Download it. Want the PDF? How about the Amazon formats (Mobi or AZW).

3) Whether you’re really happy with the software that came for your reader or not, consider downloading a copy of Calibre. http://www.calibre-ebook.com/  If you end up in a situation where the only thing you can find for your book is a scanned stack of TIFFs, Calibre can walk you through getting it into a format you like. (Do your own OCR on it first and export the text first, though.)

4) Check out Adobe Digital Editions and figure out how your device operates with it. Sony Readers are just recognized by the software and can be authorized that way. Others can be more complicated. ADE is a simplified way to read ebooks on your desktop/laptop and some smartphones, and it is part of the Adobe protection setup that most libraries use to lend books out. Also, some smaller ebook retailers (and now, apparently, Google’s new Google Editions Google Play Books) use this same format. Adobe’s site for DE: http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/ and the full list of supported devices: http://blogs.adobe.com/digitalpublishing/supported-devices

And now, shameless self-promotion: I work for the division that does the technical fulfillment for the University of Chicago Press Free E-Book of the Month Program: http://press.uchicago.edu/books/freeEbook.html

Reblogging this because I’ve seen some pittance of a selection of free ebooks from Planet eBooks going around, and I wanted to bold #2 above. Seriously, just go to ManyBooks.net. All of Project Gutenberg, and then some, available in whatever format you please: PDF? ePub? Kindle native? Kindle generic? Sony? nook? plain text? Kobo?

alpha-lima-lima:

librarianpirate:

harperperennial:

HarperTeen is offering 10 ebooks for just 99 cents each!

Anyone looking for some good Christmas presents?

Oh, I might pick up a few of these for myself!

They’ve got direct links to your preferred formats right from the FB page too, just mouse-over the book cover and get a link.

(via alpha-lima-lima-papa)

Angwe says: Top posting because I’m putting my $0.02 in, but the reality is that you can scroll down to the bottom to see Abhi basically lay it all out for you. My summation? THE E-READER MARKET HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CLOSING OF SMALL BOOKSTORES. That was happening before e-readers. Amazon was already doing that to small bookstores, as were a large number of other factors in the economy. Did you, by any chance, buy a lot of your books at Borders or Barnes & Noble or Amazon before, all you “I pledge to read the printed word” folks? Then you were already contributing to this. Small bookstores were killed by the vagaries of the publishing markets, not the e-reader.

OK. Done now. Scroll down to Abhi’s comments for a less-ranty explanation.

picassowashere:

s0ngfordeadtime:

thatkidkayden:

lenaasaurus:

hiimspencer:

This truly breaks my heart

I pledge to read the printed word

sigh.

This is what happens to the world when technology advances.

this has genuinely made me really upset

okay, but you all do realize that an eReader has absolutely nothing to do with this right? harsh economic conditions, the emergence of Big Business as a viable middleman, and the propensity of year-on-year increase in marketing budgets of the same are but a few factors that have resulted in the closing down of many of these stores.

bookstores have been going out of business since before the eReader, and would have continued to go out of business even if eReaders did not exist.

thekindlemonologues:

angwe:

…and even though you have a form-email to do it for you, you still relish the experience.

Serioisly, Sony, B&N, Kobo, iOS, Android, computers, everyone else…just not Kindle.

[Tags are OPs own]

1) If it’s a book of your own [i.e. one that you’ve written] - put it in the Kindle store, and direct Kindle users to that version.

2) If it’s a book on the internet - why not simply point visitors towards Calibre? Calibre will pretty much convert any format, into any format.

Seems kinda silly to ignore such a potentially large “install base”

In this case, nothing will be able to render it readable on a Kindle. Amazon has chosen not to allow the Kindle to interact with the Adobe Content Server, nor to allow a third-party app developer to create something that will interact with ACS.

Adobe Content Server is used by OverDrive, many libraries, and many presses to protect their ebook content with a minimum of hurdles to accessibility. (It’s trying to be iTunes-like - as non-inconveniencing as possible - it’s almost there…)

This is simply a case of Amazon wanting to face off against Adobe. Kindle users are caught in the middle. All the other devices have confirmed that what their users want is choice, and that they will benefit from giving users these options. Amazon wants to control what you read on your device as much as possible.

Please note that I have talked extensively about how to use Calibre, especially for Kindles and other e-reader devices:

http://angwe.tumblr.com/post/3835049061/e-reader-tricks-to-keep-your-self-happy

http://angwe.tumblr.com/post/6003425263/hot-tip-2-ive-said-this-before-but-ill-say-it

(via )