Now that Amazon has eliminated the choice to obtain bought Kindle ebooks outdoors of Kindle ereaders and Kindle apps, some individuals are threatening to cease shopping for ebooks from Amazon completely, whereas others are prepared to purchase unique titles when different choices don’t exist.
At both charge, individuals are in search of alternate options to the Kindle retailer now, so I assumed I’d put collectively an inventory of book shops that also provide downloadable information.
Most book shops add DRM to their ebooks so that they aren’t suitable with Kindles by default, however these restrictions are simply circumvented (see DRM part beneath), and a few locations provide DRM-free ebooks which are suitable with Kindles.
There’s additionally this separate listing of free book web sites with public area titles and such, however these gained’t be included right here.
Listing of Various eBook Shops
Kobo – Most likely one of the best different to Amazon for ebooks and ereaders is Kobo. They’ve been round for a very long time, and their ebooks can be found to obtain in Adobe EPUB format for backup. Plus Kobo has a Value Match Assure the place you will get an additional 10% again should you discover a lower cost at Amazon or elsewhere.
Google – Most individuals appear to overlook that Google sells ebooks too. They don’t put a lot effort into it, and their retailer doesn’t have the best choice, however Google’s ebooks are downloadable in Adobe EPUB format. And in contrast to Kobo, Google helps importing ebooks and paperwork obtained elsewhere to your library, just like Amazon.
eBooks.com – One other book retailer that’s been round for a very long time that doesn’t get a lot hype. Purchases are downloadable in Adobe EPUB format, they usually even have an app for cellular gadgets.
Smashwords – An indie writer with practically 1 million ebooks obtainable. All ebooks offered by Smashwords are DRM-free.
Bean Books – A small writer that makes a speciality of science fiction and fantasy. All their ebooks are DRM-free.
Different Choices to Take into account
Libby – You possibly can borrow ebooks from native public libraries totally free by Libby/OverDrive. This selection is simply obtainable within the US on Kindles.
StoryBundle – You possibly can selected to pay what you need for a number of indie books which are obtainable as a bundle for a set variety of days. Books are all the time DRM-free.
Humble Bundle – Generally you will get ebooks by Humble Bundle. The ebooks typically have DRM, however they’re often tied to Kobo for downloads.
Purchase eBooks Instantly from Publishers and Authors
Some authors and publishers promote ebooks immediately from their web sites, in order that’s one thing value wanting into as properly. However watch out as a result of some publishers promote ebooks which are solely accessible by their app, so that you’ll wish to test first to keep away from these (Simon & Schuster, for instance).
Shops to Keep away from
Amazon isn’t the one firm attempting to lock prospects into their very own platform. Apple has been doing that since they first began promoting ebooks. B&N doesn’t provide any solution to obtain their ebooks outdoors of apps/Nooks both, so these are two book shops to keep away from if you would like the liberty to backup your purchases.
What About DRM?
A lot of the book shops listed above use Adobe DRM, and people ebooks are downloadable utilizing Adobe Digital Editions. These gained’t work on Kindles by default until you take away the DRM first. Then you may convert them to a Kindle format or use Ship to Kindle to transform from EPUB to Kindle robotically. There’s additionally this useful DeACSM plugin for Calibre now so that you don’t have to make use of ADE anymore.
In some instances ebooks are DRM-free by default (ebooks revealed by Tor, for instance), and you’ll ship these information on to your Kindle with none additional problem.
