Finally got around to backing up my over 200 audiobooks in a DRM-free format after this post reminded me it was on my to-do list. Libation is pretty damn good.
this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2024
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Also to add that amazon has been caught encouraging users to "refund" e-books and purchase a different one, without telling users that these refunds are clawed back from the Authors.
Then to double fuck the Authors they didnt give authors detailed statements - only payments of the monthly total, so any "refunds" were deducted from the total sales from that month and author paid the difference. This was only noticed when an author with an accounting/finance background noticed a negative payment statement one month and looked into this and found amazon routinely charging back authors, sometimes for multiple copies of 'refunds' that didnt actually get refunded, straight up stealing from the Authors.
Jokes on you I pirates mine!
"I'm aware, Amazon just hosts things I got from libgen and the #bookz undernet irc channel."
I haven't used Kindles personally ever, but I helped my neighbor export their kindle collection a few years ago.
It dumped it into mobi files to use with calibre. Then from there, you can convert them into epubs.
I recall it being straightforward. Probably something a kindle owner should do periodically to back up their collection.
Another problem with DRM'd platforms is that you don't really know how long this will be easy or even viable. I recall these tools breaking in the past as Amazon changed their encryption, and it took time for them to be updated.
For anyone with a large library on Kindle, Audible, or any other DRM-infested platform, I recommend stripping that DRM sooner rather than later. You might think "I can always do it later" but there's no guarantee that will be true.
Also, shoutout to ebooks.com for having a dedicated DRM-free section and a simple checkbox to filter search results to only show DRM-free items. Not sure where to go for DRM-free audiobooks though. Anyone got suggestions? Personally I will simply not buy books with DRM, regardless of how easy it might be to crack it. If I'm going to have to break the law anyway (thanks, DMCA!), I might as well pirate it and find some other way to toss the author a few bucks.
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You don't own your Kindle books because you bought them from Amazon
I don't own mine because I pirated them
We are not the same
edit: I actually try to circle back around and buy physical copies of any book I really enjoy. But I'm much better about paying for video games, tabletop games, and even journalism than I am fiction... I think my bezos resentment gets in the way a bit there.
Better to give to their patreon if possible. Awesome authors like Shirlatoon have them. Because, quite frankly, fuck the publishers too.
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I use Calibre to remove the DRM from all ebooks I buy. Not that I buy a lot of them, but hell if I’ll let Amazon be the keeper of the keys.
Yup, making a DRM-free backup somewhere is the only way to protect the content you paid for from the whims of the overlords.
Duh. Same goes for Steam games and most of digital content.
If you want to keep it, there's usually always an option to sail the high seas.
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Kobo and epub only. Anything else, you don't own and you shouldn't pay for it.
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Yaar, matey.
I hate that pirating is the ONLY way to even semi own what you buy. Bought an album off Bandcamp (DRM free music) and when one of the songs on that album got in a pointless argument about copyright and got taken down from my Spotify playlists.
Songs being taken off of Spotify is really common if you're into older stuff as the rights get passed on when the artist dies. Though in this case it was a year old album.
I was glad I bought it DRM free as I thought they could only unlist it from the store, not from libraries... until I saw it was gone there too.
I payed MONEY for them to take it out of my library on a DRM free site. That's like them taking my music CD and scratching it with sandpaper.
Pirating literally gives me the same experience as buying it for literally no issue. (except the lossless files but who cares)
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🏴☠️
As someone who publishes on Amazon if you buy my book and Amazon takes it from you PM I will send said customer a epub version for free.
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There are also Kindle books sold without DRM at the request of the author.
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I looked in to the whole DRM removal thing. From what I could tell, everything was majorly out of date, required a really old version of Calibre, and didn't work with newer books.
Edit: So, this is out of date info. There's a fork and it works with a fairly recent version of the PC app. Basically no fuss.
The DeDrm plugin and the most recent Calibre worked for me just yesterday on a brand new book. Something that's easy to miss is that you need to put in the serial number of your kindle device and make sure you download the e-book for that same device. Otherwise the plugin won't be able to decrypt it.
Yep, looked it up again today and some proper information has been posted publicly in the interim since I last tried. I was able to strip the drm from a handful of my books today using it and an older version of the Kindle PC app.
Glad you sorted it!
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yo ho yo ho...a pirate's life for me...
Sorry, what are we talking about?
Any Kindle owner should go find out how easy it is to get library books on their Kindle. It’s totally the way to go. You don’t have to buy their shit and deal with their rules.
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I'll just keep using my local public library.
Most of them lend eBooks these days so I know I won't get to keep them regardless, but I also don't have to pay for them.
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I am now of the opinion that you should just download books off indexing sites/IRC/ Usenet/torrents and if you like the book and want to support the author, buy a physical copy, or buy 2 and put one in a neighborhood free library. That maximizes the good you are doing and helps your community instead of just generating Bezos bux.
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I can't wait until a Senator or comparable "it's not a problem until it happens to me" lawmaker loses access to their digital library and goes on the warpath. That's the only way out of this "you will own nothing" hellhole we're in and moving deeper into.
Probably won't happen until Millennials and younger are in meaningful numbers in Congress or Parliament or whatever. A few Gen X politicians might be affected, but the rest probably don't have gigantic digital libraries of things they've "bought."
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Jokes on Amazon I can almost always find a copy of what ever book on libgen that I end up owning crazy how that works
Amazon is on my shit list and will not buy any products from them ever again. They are one of the worst monopolist mega corporations. They treat their employees like slaves, are anti-repair, anti-consumer.
I gifted an older Kindle to my sister, and the screen broke (out of warranty). I contacted Amazon about it, and they basically said they don't make replacement parts and don't service the kindles, they can only give me a small discount for buying a new one.
I looked up a guide on doing it myself, and even if I find a replacement screen, it's really difficult. The screen is glued with a strong adhesive. The entire device looks very cheaply built and deliberately made really difficult to repair.
I mean to be fair they are very cheap to purchase all things considered. That said I’ve still got my Kindle 3 I bought used on eBay and it’s still going strong after like 10 years I’ve owned it.
You are right I get my books for my kindle from torrents. I do not own them. I also don't pay for them.
(Also library has epubs, librarys are great)
Throw the Kindle to the ground and get a Kobo, they let you pirate books a million times easier
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That's why you shouldn't buy books from Amazon or other online ebook stores instead just download the ePubs elsewhere.
I'd also highly recommend KOreader if you have a Kindle or Ereader which supports it, as it supports many more formats and has a nice interface.
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