# sharing a Calibre converted book with other Kindle users



## zeppo (Jan 13, 2011)

namely, I am interested in buying a Briggs translation of War and Peace at Kobobooks, since it is not sold at Amazon:

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/War-And-Peace/book-ckHT_if4rUOee98zf4jXHw/page1.html

If I buy this and convert it with Calibre, will I be able to lend this out to another Kindle user?

At this point, I haven't even bought a Kindle. But I know that as of last December you can now share Kindlebooks. And I also know that you can convert non-Kindle books with a program called Calibre. But that's about all I know at this point.


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## ff2 (Oct 20, 2010)

I would guess that you canNOT loan NON-amazon books that you load on your kindle to another kindle user.  At least, not within the normal limits of what is probably a drm-restricted book.  But to load the kobo book, you'd probaby be stripping drm or is it a freebie book?

In addition, I know that I would be taking a long time to read War and Peace and I believe the loan period is limited to two weeks.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

The product page says this book has Adobe DRM. You will not be able to convert it with Calibre; it cannot convert DRMd books.


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## zeppo (Jan 13, 2011)

Thanks, guys.  I'm still learning about DRM etc, but I thought I'd come across some posts elsewhere that mention programs that allow you to strip the DRM so that I can read it on a Kindle.  I'm not sure how this would affect my lending ability.  

As far as the two weeks goes, I'm told you can just keep re-lending it out for additional two week periods.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

zeppo said:


> Thanks, guys. I'm still learning about DRM etc, but I thought I'd come across some posts elsewhere that mention programs that allow you to strip the DRM so that I can read it on a Kindle. I'm not sure how this would affect my lending ability.


 Because stripping DRM is against Amazon's terms of service, KindleBoards doesn't allow discussion of how to, or links to places with information on how to strip DRM. As far as I know, it would also be against the terms of service for ebooks purchased for other readers as well.


> As far as the two weeks goes, I'm told you can just keep re-lending it out for additional two week periods.


That's bad information. For books purchased from Amazon, you may lend a book (if lending is enabled) once for one two week period. And that's it. You can't lend it again, and the borrower can not 'renew' the lending period.


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## SusanCassidy (Nov 9, 2008)

If you strip the DRM from a book, and convert it from ePub to Kindle format (which you would have to do, if it is from Kobo), it is not an Amazon book, and thus not lendable through their program.

It would be technically illegal, though, at least in the US.  

Personally, it's one thing if you strip DRM to back up a copy for your own future use, but quite another to strip DRM and give a copy to someone else.

With ebooks, it isn't like paper books, where there is only one copy, and it wears out.  With ebooks, you are creating another copy, and it never wears out.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

SusanCassidy said:


> It would be technically illegal, though, at least in the US.


Actually it is not illegal to strip DRM from an electronic file. It is however illegal to design and distribute software that does so. That is, you can use such software but you cannot create it.



> Personally, it's one thing if you strip DRM to back up a copy for your own future use, but quite another to strip DRM and give a copy to someone else.


Completely agree.


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## zeppo (Jan 13, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> KindleBoards doesn't allow discussion of how to, or links to places with information on how to strip DRM.
> ....
> For books purchased from Amazon, you may lend a book (if lending is enabled) once for one two week period. And that's it. You can't lend it again, and the borrower can not 'renew' the lending period.


No problem, I don't need a discussion of the how-to here. Thanks for the clarification on the two week lending! That's a big distinction. Two week lending not going to be particularly useful to me and certainly affects my decision as I try to decide on whether to buy a Kindle.


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## zeppo (Jan 13, 2011)

SusanCassidy said:


> Personally, it's one thing if you strip DRM to back up a copy for your own future use, but quite another to strip DRM and give a copy to someone else.
> 
> With ebooks, it isn't like paper books, where there is only one copy, and it wears out. With ebooks, you are creating another copy, and it never wears out.


Dang, that sucks about the lending. I don't care about *giving* away copies to everyone, but it would have been nice to have a lending policy that allowed one or two other people to borrow from you for however long it took for them to read it. Also sucks that I wouldn't be able to purchase and use that particular publisher/translator's edition to read on the Kindle. I'll have to start checking on all the books I'm interested in reading and see if a Kindle will be useful to me before I buy one.

I've read books off library shelves 30 and 40 years old quite often, particularly since I read mostly classics. So its good to know that Amazon will let me upgrade my electronic book for free to the new formats that will come out in the next 30 to 40 years. I don't expect my Kindle to last but a few years, but knowing that the ebook will never wear out and will still be useful to me without cost far into the future beyond what a physical book provides is good news. I wouldn't have expected it at all.


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## SusanCassidy (Nov 9, 2008)

zeppo said:


> So its good to know that Amazon will let me upgrade my electronic book for free to the new formats that will come out in the next 30 to 40 years.


Not sure how you got that, since Amazon never said any such thing. However, if you had a book without DRM, there are usually free software programs that will convert from one format to another. If that's what you mean.

It is likely that if Amazon were to change formats, that they would let you re-download in the new format, but there is no way to know for certain. Who knows what will happen 30 to 40 years from now?


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## zeppo (Jan 13, 2011)

SusanCassidy said:


> Not sure how you got that, since Amazon never said any such thing. However, if you had a book without DRM, there are usually free software programs that will convert from one format to another. If that's what you mean.
> 
> It is likely that if Amazon were to change formats, that they would let you re-download in the new format, but there is no way to know for certain. Who knows what will happen 30 to 40 years from now?


I got it from the above post that said e-books have the advantage over physical books in that they last forever. I guess if that is not the case, then the whole point of that argument as to why lending should be so restrictive is moot. I just wish the publisher would sell a Kindle version or that I could buy one that could be converted. I've got three huge 1000 plus page books I want to read, which is why I want an e-reader right now. Still trying to justify in my mind paying the price for one. I'm at 50/50 right now. I may put it off as long as I can and see if the price drops or if lending/conversion/purchasing options change. I've got the physical Count Of Monte Cristo from the library right now. So once I'm done with my current book, I'll give the physical book a shot and see how big a drag it is heaving it around, keeping the pages open as I kick back to read it, etc. I definitely see the advantages of the e-reader, but unfortunately for me, $140 still a stiff price. I wish I earned more.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

zeppo said:


> I got it from the above post that said e-books have the advantage over physical books in that they last forever. I guess if that is not the case, then the whole point of that argument as to why lending should be so restrictive is moot. I just wish the publisher would sell a Kindle version or that I could buy one that could be converted. I've got three huge 1000 plus page books I want to read, which is why I want an e-reader right now. Still trying to justify in my mind paying the price for one. I'm at 50/50 right now. I may put it off as long as I can and see if the price drops or if lending/conversion/purchasing options change. I've got the physical Count Of Monte Cristo from the library right now. So once I'm done with my current book, I'll give the physical book a shot and see how big a drag it is heaving it around, keeping the pages open as I kick back to read it, etc. I definitely see the advantages of the e-reader, but unfortunately for me, $140 still a stiff price. I wish I earned more.


Here's the thing: I think Amazon is going to be around for a long time. I don't think their format will change. . .or, as it does, it will be compatible with whatever device they're selling currently. . .and I'd guess that they'd allow conversion forward and backward -- maybe even offer a service to do that. I really don't worry about ever NOT being able to read my Kindle Books.

Now, what if Amazon goes belly up. Terms of Service say you can't strip DRM and convert to a different format, but if one party to the agreement no longer exists, I think it's arguable that the agreement is void. So the terms of service would no longer apply and if you needed to manipulate the file to keep it readable on whatever device is then available, that'd be o.k.

All that said. . .it doesn't sound like you really want one. . .or, at least, you don't seem to feel that the devices currently available would fill your need. So you should probably not spend the money.


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## zeppo (Jan 13, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> All that said. . .it doesn't sound like you really want one. . .


No, not the case. As i said, I'm 50/50. That means I haven't decided one way or the other. Guess I'll just have to keep weighing the pros and cons.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

zeppo said:


> I've read books off library shelves 30 and 40 years old quite often, particularly since I read mostly classics.


Are you aware that there are hundreds/thousands of free classic ebooks available?

If you read mostly classic literature a Kindle is your best option. These books are _free_.


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

War and Peace is available in the public domain, so you can get it without DRM and in the .mobi file format (Kindle's format). Check out availability at Gutenberg.com or Manybooks.net.


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## zeppo (Jan 13, 2011)

HappyGuy said:


> War and Peace is available in the public domain, so you can get it without DRM and in the .mobi file format (Kindle's format). Check out availability at Gutenberg.com or Manybooks.net.


To Happy Guy and Elk, yes I am aware of free public domain books and of the free War and Peace available. But the books I have set my sight on reading with my Kindle are foreign. So I seek English translations. One translation is not the same as another, and I am particular in seeking out the best. Most often, the most reputable translations are not public domain. I am happy to pay for the translation I want. Problem is, I am finding they are most often not available on the Kindle (such as the Briggs translation of War and Peace I mention in this thread.) So before I buy a Kindle, I'm investigating whether it will be an option for me to buy elsewhere a translation which Amazon doesn't provide and convert it to read on the Kindle. I really struck out in terms of what I was hoping to find on Amazon.

The one I would like to read next is the the Buss translation of The Count of Monte Cristo, which I could only find here at Kobo:

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Count-Of-Monte-Cristo/book-jVy5Mb14bEGoG_z5TsE-WQ/page1.html

It's also a very long book. I don't get a lot of reading time in each day. Usually just some pages in the morning before work. So maybe if I can read this, by the time I'm done the others I want to read will be available at Amazon and make things easier. Plus I may not want to dive into a really long book right after this one. But the others I am very interested in reading are War and Peace and Don Quixote, and I am really striking out on finding the translations I want.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

zeppo said:


> One translation is not the same as another, and I am particular in seeking out the best. Most often, the most reputable translations are not public domain.


I understand now. You make excellent sense and you are smart to be checking as carefully as you are.


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