# I have a stupid question about e-books **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2014, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313 "2014-06-08T04:51:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/21 "2014-06-08T18:13:43Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > If you need any help figuring out how to put any ebooks on your Nook, just let me know and I’ll be happy to help. I have a ton of ebooks I can even send you if you want. Me too. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/22 "2014-06-08T20:49:46Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > If you need any help figuring out how to put any ebooks on your Nook, just let me know and I’ll be happy to help. I have a ton of ebooks I can even send you if you want. That’s so nice! I’m pretty sure I can work it out with the local library. If I can’t, I’ll PM you. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/23 "2014-06-08T21:45:03Z")
I would suggest trying out Calibre anyhow. I have Kobo Glo, and I find it a lot easier to keep my e-books organized on the e-reader by organizing them in Calibre first. For me at least, the setup necessary was worth being able to tag books and put them in collections which would show up on the e-reader. I only use the Kobo software for updating the e-reader firmware, and use Calibre exclusively when it comes to managing my library and loading or unloading books from the e-reader. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/24 "2014-06-09T02:31:47Z")
Our library has more books in epub format than in mobi - a bit frustrating for me, with my Kindle, but good for someone with any other e-reader! I’ve used the Calibre program to convert books from epub to mobi, and it works most of the time (some of the library books will not convert). ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/25 "2014-06-09T05:01:33Z")
I use Calibre to convert my HTML files into ebooks. Very easy. I highly recommend it. And a freebie. ---
**Author:** ![danhanegan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb9ed0/32.png) [@danhanegan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danhanegan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/26 "2014-06-09T09:21:05Z")
I have a kindle and I love it. A feature I did not anticipate using is that I can adjust the print size. My eyesight is failing with age, and the more I use the kindle the harder I find it to go back to paper media with smaller print. I’ve owned the thing about a year, in that time I have bought exactly two books from the kindle store, the rest are about half public domain downloads from Project Gutenberg and half Baen e-books I got free on CDs with Baen hardcovers. The first time I downloaded files through my desktop was a bit challenging. After a couple of hours fiddling and googling questions I figured it out, after that first time its pretty painless. I have taken a cursory glance at my public library’s e-book listings and so far have failed to find anything that interests me. Perhaps that will change if I look harder, I think they have around 5,000 titles available. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/27 "2014-06-09T13:30:09Z")
I don’t think that you will be able to buy books from Amazon for it. The ones that you purchase for the kindle as .azw files. Those are basically copy protected .mobi files. It may be better to get a cheap kindle for those books if you plan on buying e-books from Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/28 "2014-06-09T13:42:31Z")
> [@Caffeine.addict](#): > > I don’t think that you will be able to buy books from Amazon for it. The ones that you purchase for the kindle as .azw files. Those are basically copy protected .mobi files. It may be better to get a cheap kindle for those books if you plan on buying e-books from Amazon. If it comes to that, I’ve got a Kindle you can have \*\* picunurse \*\*. I’ve upgraded and have an old one sitting in a drawer doing nothing. I’ll even pay the postage. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/29 "2014-06-09T14:33:36Z")
> [@Caffeine.addict](#): > > I don’t think that you will be able to buy books from Amazon for it. The ones that you purchase for the kindle as .azw files. Those are basically copy protected .mobi files. THey can be converted, though the formatting isn’t always pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/30 "2014-06-10T20:20:23Z")
1. The B&N employee lied. OK technically you can’t easily get Amazon books onto the Nook, but there are ways. Google it, it involves an add-on to Calibre. Whether this is legal is a gray area as far as I can tell, you have to remove the DRM which they certainly don’t want you to do, but I have no moral qualms about it as I’m not doing so for the purpose of sharing. When my Nook was stolen, I was glad of it as it meant I could read 'em on my new Kindle. 2. There are stands which let you prop it up on the table or whatever which might help the hand fatigue. Also is it a Nook tablet or the e-ink version (MUCH lighter). 3. You can get DRM-free books from a lot of places. Not the most popular ones, though a few publishers (e.g. Baen and Tor) sell books through B&N and Amazon without DRM. Project Gutenberg and other sites have some freebies as well. 4. Calibre is a GREAT tool (and it’s shareware, and I sent the developer money). Converts among different formats, is a great library manager, a LOT more straightforward with side-loading books (i.e. from computer versus buying from the device’s browser) than just copying via WIndows. Aha - on rereading, you do have the e-ink version. Look into one of the stands that props it up (if you’re sitting at a table) or get a lap pillow of some sort and set it on that. Oooh - and look at Oberon Design if you’d like a REALLY nice case. I had one for my Nook Color, which was stolen last summer (bastards got a worthless outdated reader and my beautiful case). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/31 "2014-06-10T20:28:02Z")
My state e-library has books available in e-pub format – but not all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/32 "2014-06-11T21:11:49Z")
I have a Nook for which I only get books via side-loading with the USB cable. I was never interested in the wi-fi capabilities; I like to read in bed instead of on the computer and it works great for that, and for getting library books without going to the library. Here’s a couple of other things I don’t think I saw mentioned yet. I don’t know how easy getting random website articles is if you’re using wifi, but otherwise using the bookmarklet from [readability.com](https://readability.com/addons) gives you a console that will convert most things to ePUBs or pdfs for easy downloading. Nice for really long articles. [Readability.com](http://Readability.com) is also just nice for taking everything but the text off a page. And if fanfiction of any stripe is an interest, the website Archive of Our Own Works makes it extremely easy to download [everything they have there](http://archiveofourown.org/media) in ePUB and other formats. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2014, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313/33 "2014-06-13T09:45:07Z")
> [@Parenchyma](#): > > And if fanfiction of any stripe is an interest, the website Archive of Our Own Works makes it extremely easy to download [everything they have there](http://archiveofourown.org/media) in ePUB and other formats. There’s also a program that will download and convert from multiple fanfic sites called, appropriately enough, [FanFictionDownloader](http://fanfictiondownloader.net/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-a-stupid-question-about-e-books/690313.md?page=1)