# Where to get Kindle books... besides Amazon



## Xandralia (Apr 27, 2010)

I am new to the Kindle as well as this board. I have had my Kindle for about 2 weeks now and am already in love. I have a custom skin and a nice case and I have already hacked it a little for some custom screensavers  

Here's my question. The next book in a series that I am reading comes out next week. When I ordered my Kindle I checked on the book and it was there, I added it to my wish list. Now I discover it's been removed, the "kindle edition" is no longer an option. After some research I found that Amazon and the publisher (Penguin?) are bickering over price so their new books have been removed until it's settled. 

So here's my question. If I buy the book from B&N, will Calibre be able to convert it to the kindle format? 

Also, are there any other good sites that you can point me to for .mobi books for sale in case I come across something else Amazon doesn't have? I am pretty good at finding the free ones but was looking for any other online store's for digital formats.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I've never tried it personally, but I've been told that calibre will not convert books with DRM into a different format .... 

Regarding other sites, there is a great list in the Book Corner under Book Lovers Links in the pinned thread section up top ... you'll find just about every kind of book site.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Geoffrey is correct:  B&N and Sony use a DRM system that is different from Amazon's so books purchased in those stores won't be readable on Kindle.  And they can't legitimately be converted.

Smashwords offers many indie author titles, most without DRM.

manybooks.net and feedbooks.com are two sites that have lots of public domain titles.

That's just a taste. . .as Geoffrey suggested, check out Book Lovers Links in the Book Corner. . . . .


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

It will most likely be impossible to find a brand new book by a popular author without DRM, so in those cases, you will probably have to either wait for it to come to the Kindle store or buy from somewhere else and read on your computer.


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

marianner said:


> It will most likely be impossible to find a brand new book by a popular author without DRM, so in those cases, you will probably have to either wait for it to come to the Kindle store or buy from somewhere else and read on your computer.


This depends on the publisher. Baen, for example has most of their eBooks as non-DRM through www.baen.com if you like Sci-Fi.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

marianner said:


> It will most likely be impossible to find a brand new book by a popular author without DRM, so in those cases, you will probably have to either wait for it to come to the Kindle store or buy from somewhere else and read on your computer.


Yes, if it is on Nook *B&N* you can download B&N free computer app and read on your computer. I *think* kobobooks.com also has a reader for PC--I know they sell a reader. Their books usually have good discounts (at least until their contracts with the publishers run out!) so you might peruse that site and see if they have a reader for the PC. The use ePub formatting, but as someone said, the DRM will stop you from converting any big publisher titles!

Good luck and welcome to Kindle world!!!

Maria


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## Xandralia (Apr 27, 2010)

Well this is very disappointing. I felt like I did very good research on the Kindle and Nook before making my choice and now I am wondering if I made the wrong one. 

I am not here to bash the Kindle at all and I am very excited to own it. But if this continue's to be a problem with books that I want to read then I may have to EBay my Kindle and go with a different reader. Which is sad because I really do think that the Kindle is the superior EReader.


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

From my experience you will find you have similar problems with most readers. Most books are DRMed due to protecting the content. That will be the same on almost any device. What you have to decide is which device's bookstore will provide you the most content. For many of us Amazon does a great job of that but for others they go other routes.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Xandralia said:


> Well this is very disappointing. I felt like I did very good research on the Kindle and Nook before making my choice and now I am wondering if I made the wrong one.
> 
> I am not here to bash the Kindle at all and I am very excited to own it. But if this continue's to be a problem with books that I want to read then I may have to EBay my Kindle and go with a different reader. Which is sad because I really do think that the Kindle is the superior EReader.


If the book you're waiting for is out by Penguin, the problem is that Penguin hasn't finalized a contract with Amazon--meaning that once they do, it will become available. That would be the only reason other places have an ebook and Amazon doesn't. So you can either buy DTR (Dead Tree book) for now, or download the Nook version for you PC or wait...lots of people are annoyed with Peguin/amazon over the standoff. No one knows when the contract will be worked out. Penguin is going to have to rework its contracts with other sellers eventually so some of this will be better down the road.

Maria


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

B&N's contemporary ebook selection is far smaller than Amazon's. You find a lot more complaints on the nook side that Amazon has books that B&N does not, instead of the other way around. However, it is nice to have the option to buy from both, which is why I have a Kindle and a nook.

If backlighting doesn't bother you, you might want to consider an iPad. Then you can read books from any source.


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## JeanJerez (Apr 26, 2010)

If you like Christian fiction romance and Christian Gothic romance - www.whiterosepublishing.com  I think I did the linkie thing right.


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## Xandralia (Apr 27, 2010)

MariaESchneider said:


> If the book you're waiting for is out by Penguin, the problem is that Penguin hasn't finalized a contract with Amazon--meaning that once they do, it will become available. That would be the only reason other places have an ebook and Amazon doesn't. So you can either buy DTR (Dead Tree book) for now, or download the Nook version for you PC or wait...lots of people are annoyed with Peguin/amazon over the standoff. No one knows when the contract will be worked out. Penguin is going to have to rework its contracts with other sellers eventually so some of this will be better down the road.
> 
> Maria


Yes, the book is out by Penguin. And after some research I did discover that they are the "real" problem here, not amazon. However, I am not sure really since neither side is talking. On the one hand, Penguin was able to get everyone else on board, including B&N. But on the other hand, amazon has clearly agreed to the agency pricing with other publishers and are now selling their books for $12.99 to $14.99. So I am not sure what all the bickering is about.

I just don't want to wait to read the book, I have been looking forward to it for quite some time. If I am unable to buy a digital copy within a week or so of the release I will break down and buy the actual book. It just sucks that I have to do that.


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## Xandralia (Apr 27, 2010)

pidgeon92 said:


> If backlighting doesn't bother you, you might want to consider an iPad. Then you can read books from any source.


I will not ever buy an Apple product, it just won't happen. There are not enough words in the english language to express my hatred of Apple.

If someone gave me an iPad I would sell it without even opening the package.


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## 5711 (Sep 18, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Smashwords offers many indie author titles, most without DRM.


Ditto that. Smashwords offers Kindle format. Most titles are from small or indie author publishers, but that can be a really great thing if you're game ; )

Steve


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

You might also check penguin's site for the book you want--some of the publishers sell PDF files--and the Kindle can take PDF.  I know I bought some ebooks direct from Mundania Press in PDF format.


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## jonconnington (Mar 20, 2010)

Try Smashwords...they offer downloads of ebooks in nearly every format imaginable, including .mobi, which is the format used by the Kindle.


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