this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2023
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Science Fiction

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Lemmy World Rules

founded 1 year ago
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submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

Hi all,

I hope i'm allowed to ask this, but i was wondering; do you buy your ebooks free from DRM? If so, where can you buy them, preferably globally?

EDIT: thank you all for your valuable comments, it's much appreciated! Have a great weekend :-)

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 11 months ago (3 children)

i can never find the ebooks i want drm free so i use calibre to make them drm free

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I checked but on the website it explicitely implies it doesn't remove the drm restrictions?

**Why does calibre not support DRM? ** calibre is open source software while DRM by its very nature is closed. If calibre were to support opening or viewing DRM files it could be trivially modified to be used as a tool for DRM removal which is illegal under today’s laws. Open source software and DRM are a clash of principles. While DRM is all about controlling the user, open source software is about empowering the user. The two simply can not coexist.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 11 months ago

There's plugins that remove DRM.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Ah, thank you, didn't know calibre could do that

[–] [email protected] 26 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Please be careful with your wording. Calibre does not remove DRM. Calibre does support plugins, and as it is a totally open source application, these plugins include third party ones for which the Calibre developers have no responsibility. One of these third party plugins will remove most types of ebook DRM.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

Very helpful clarification, thank you

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

it's a plugin but it's not too hard to configure. just a pain to download the files and copy them over.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

I also do the same thing. I want to really own what I buy, after all.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I use Libby to borrow ebooks, they let you download epub version with DRM. Then I just strip the DRM with calibre and immediately return so i don't take up the library copy anymore. Then I use the DRM-free epub I get from calibre to read whenever I have time, no 3-week time limit.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I need to learn how to do this. Not the borrowing books part, I’ve got that down. It’s the other part I don’t know how to do.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I don't know if it's a grey area legally. I dont buy the books, but i still have a permanent copy available whenever I need to.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

And of course, you ethically delete the file once you have finished reading it.

Nudge. Right?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

If it's not read again, and forgotten about...is it not the same?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Yes. I buy on ebooks dot com, where you can filter by the DRM-free critter. It is also a neat trick to discover new authors.

I do this absolutely out of personal opinion on the matter, and would rather buy dead-tree-and-ink than a closed version (that won't open on my e-reader anyway).

The whole - and excellent - Murderbot Diaries series is DRM-free ! I wonder what/who make the decision on that matter.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

I agree with you. I bought two paperbooks, just because i refuse to buy DRM ebooks. Thank you so much for your reply, i will check out the website!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Thank's for the book tip, sounds promising!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

If there is a DRM free version of anything I use or need, I go out of my way to buy it. Otherwise I dont buy anything I use or need.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I want to say that Tor Books releases DRM-free ebooks by default, and most of the authors I like these days are published via Tor. (And Tor being a SFF imprint is relevant to this sub.)

So I kind of get DRM-free eBooks by default.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Yep. I just bought Sleep in a Sea of Stars from Kobo, and because it was Tor published I could download a DRM free copy to convert and slap on my kindle.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Great! Thank you for sharing. I'm happy i asked the question, because everyone is giving a lot of useful info

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Baen library as well. I love DRM free books.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

I only buy DRM-free books, and I buy them from Bookapy. Small shop, relatively unknown authors, but some of them seriously good. I recommend Alan Steiner's "Intemperance" series.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

i have a magic hard drive that stuff just appears when i buy something physical

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

I always try to buy physical copies of books. I will not buy a book with drm.

I’d rather get a physical copy sent to my parents house in the us and then find a digital Copy without drm. That way everybody wins.

(I don’t live in the US and it can be hard to find some books.)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago
[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The books I buy don't typically have D's that need their R's M'd. If you know what I am saying.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

I think I gather where you're sailing, aye.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

OP, you should consider editing your post and list the legal sources being suggested here.

I'll add Smashwords. None of their books have DRM and they also act as a distributor for other outlets (B&N, Amazon, etc) and even give away ISBNs for fledgeling authors. Author have an incredible control over their work through them.

Lastly, allow me to leave two cents on the entire DRM debate.

I've trying my best to write and eventually publish my work. I could not care less for editors and publishers as they take the lions share for an authors work. What I care is recognition for what I've written.

Any author would be very lucky to have their book "pirated"; what best free publicity? Even you manage to sell 100 million copies of your book, you are still unknown to the majority of the world. Books are expensive for many.

I wish I can have, someday in the future, a fan writting me an email saying they got my book from a pirate site because they couldn't afford even my work in ebook format and I'll thank them for their support. At least whatever shit I write will be enjoyed and will have made someone happy.

DRM is a cancer. True fans, somehow, sometime, find a way to get a copy. And those who can't or won't for any reason, if they enjoy, they share and eventually new fans come.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I exclusively buy DRM-free books/games/videos. I don't pay for DRM.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Exactly, that's why i'm asking. Where do you buy them, and can you also buy modern titles?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Same here. I'm happy to pay for the games I enjoy playing as long as I effectively can own a copy. So i either buy them on GOG.com (or publisher website for some indie stuff) or find other ways to acquire them, because f**k vendor lock-in (looking at you Steam).

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Most public libraries have a very extensive collection of ebooks that can be borrowed.

Though I greatly prefer physical books. The sole exception is technical things that then let me search for what I need

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I love physical books, but i prefer to buy them only when i know i will love them. So, books that i don't know at all, would accumulate quickly and take up unnecessary space if it turns out i don't even like it that much. Good point about the library, thanks!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I get it, also there's some convenience with readers when you're in a place you'll read... alot... but, yeah. I'd certainly go broke if my reading list was satisfied with buying them, instead of visiting the library.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I used to only read physical books and couldn't even consider reading ebooks. Then I ran out of space in my book case and was forced to start reading ebooks. Now I have my whole book collection on my phone (and backed up on my hard drive and gdrive).

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

I recently found out that my local library has ebooks available to borrow via cloudlibrary - https://www.yourcloudlibrary.com/

I suspect many other libraries of people here do the same. They don't have everything, but, they have enough and you can use your phone, computer or kindle or whatever to borrow and read them.

It's been great... and free

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Get them on Anna's Archive and then mail the author a check.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Who's still got checks? Email the cash.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I still get physical print books. I like the smell and the feel more than just reading on a screen, even if it's that e-paper stuff. E-paper still doesn't appeal to my other senses. Most of the e-books I have are audiobooks, none of which have DRM, I use while also reading the physical book just cuz I have found it helps absorb it faster.

I do specifically get DRM files because in the past, DRM has gotten in the way of transferring the files to another device from what I initially got them on. I'd rather just have a friggin .mp3 or .ogg and will pirate it if it's unavailable DRM free.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I agree and i love paper books, but i prefer to buy them when i know they are worth my precious storage space. Nothing better than opening a new book and smell it. It's the first thing i do :-)

Edit to add that i will never buy books with DRM though

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I don't know where to buy them DRM free, but I can usually buy a DRM book from Amazon kindle, for example, then just download the DRM free book from a website like oceanofpdf.org

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Anywhere that's not Amazon, assuming the publishers are not being assholes. Usually between the American and the British edition you can almost always find a DRM free epub version.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I've never seen that a publisher who's locking it's books would sell them different on different platforms. I just checked Andy Weir from his own website, it is all amazon / apple / google etc locked versions - or pulp-tree-and-ink.

But I'd be very happy to be wrong; have you got sites to recommend?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I'm not in the US or UK, and here i find that a lot of books come with DRM

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

So, this is a website where you proof you bought the book legitimately and then, they remove the DRM software for you? Or do i misunderstand it? How much would they charge for this?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

It's a piracy website, but if I've already payed for the book legitimately, I don't feel bad about using it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I have in the past, but I just do not have time to read right now. So I mostly listen to audio books that I get from Audible while I work.

If I do read, its work related and not for pleasure. Which sadly I'm behind on.