Hi sailors,
I’m trying to get into the habit of reading but books are often expensive and cumbersome. However I don’t particularly like reading on my phone screen since I’ll get distracted eventually.
So, e-readers seems to me a perfect fit. It’s tech enough that I find it interesting. Not too expensive. Gorgeous paper white display.
So, essentially what I want to know is, which kindle (or other device) is best for cracking/exploiting/moding, and overall just your opinion on it.
Edit3: I’ve decided I’ll buy a paperwhite kindle (2020 version). I found a 2nd hand one, like new, for 80€ with a screen protector + magnetic cover. This way I’m still not supporting amazon :)
Edit 2: I’m from the EU 🇪🇺 so, if you have EU specific tips it’d be great. Also my country doesn’t really care about piracy so I’m not really worried about VPNs
Edit: I didn’t expect so many people to reply! Thanks everyone!
Also I don’t remember writing half of the things on this post? Might just install a monoxide detector… If some admin edited it, thanks. It’s a lot clearer now, probably why it got so much traction.
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You don’t need to crack anything, pirate your ebooks (I’ve recently had good results from annas-archive.org for fiction books) and send them to kindle as personal documents.
Buy any kindle you prefer. Install calibre. Connect USB cable between kindle and computer.
Done.
Now download ebooks from anywhere, import into calibre and sync to your Kindle.
I have the paper white touch screen one.
When you buy a Kindle you get an email address for it (find it in your Amazon account in the device information section). You can add that email address to Calibre and just email the pirated books to it. It will auto-convert to the appropriate format (though they keep on sending me an email saying this is going away) and keep it in your Amazon cloud library. That way the books don’t have to stay on the device and you can download them to any Kindle you own in the future or anywhere you have the Kindle app installed.
Whoa, I never thought about combining Calibre with the email functionality. Didn’t even know that was possible. Now if only Calibre had a mobile version I wouldn’t even need to open the laptop.
It used to be that kindle supported mobi not epub, now they are transitioning to support epub not mobi. This makes it even easier since most ebooks are epub, so now there’s no need to convert in Calibre.
Do you know if there’s a way to auto mail them as soon as they’re added to calibre? Does it work with kobo?
There’s a checkmark option next to your email account to auto-send when a book is added. As for Kobo, I don’t have any experience with those devices.
Ok, that’s fantastic, can finally automate adding books to my parents ebook! Cheers
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Honestly I don’t even bother with the cracks and whatnot. I have a burner Amazon that could get nuked and I wouldn’t be sad and I use the send to kindle email to send epub files to that account using kavita and OpenBooks docker containers.
You can sideload on to any kindle.
Paperwhite (non-SE) is the version to go for. They go on sale every month or two, check camelcamelcamel.
https://singlelogin.re/
https://calibre-ebook.com/Have fun.
Also, buy the ad-supported version from a place other than Amazon, and tell Amazon you got it as a gift and would like to remove the ads.
There’s a non-zero chance the customer service will remove it free of charge because I don’t think it’s possible for someone to pay to remove the ads if it wasn’t purchased from Amazon directly.
This is a great tip. I bought a used Voyage a couple years back and it wasn’t even listed as ads-free. I had just planned on leaving it in airplane mode like my previous kindle, but was pleasantly surprised.
Akshully, get the Paperwhite Kids. Like $10 more than the ad supported version, no ads, free cover/case, 2 year accidental protection warranty instead of just one year manufacturer warranty. Just be sure to cancel the free trial of the kids service.
Took me far too long to realize that there is a kids version of the kindle that you were talking about, and that you weren’t just referring to other users as kids.
The kids version reactivates ada of your not in child mode, just fyi. Came up during the recent sales and Prime Day.
Ah, didn’t realize this. I never connected mine to WiFi.
They just fixed this. They raised the price of the kids version, ads turn back on if you turn kids mode off.
I just called Amazon and complained about the ads, they turned them off. I am Amazon prime though
Ah, didn’t realize this. I never connected mine to WiFi
I got an Oasis for not a lot from Woot.
They should all be the same, right?
And besides, there isn’t much you can do with jailbreaking. Kindles already support sideloading books, fonts and dictionaries, and the two links the other guy posted are all you really need to start pirating ebooks. The devices themselves are so weak that you really can’t do anything other than read books on them. Kindles nowadays also support book cover screensavers, which was a big reason to jailbreak in the past (apparently). That should tell you about the kind of functionality jailbreaking gives you.
I will say that if you end up buying a Kindle, you should install the KFX plugins for Calibre, they’re the proprietary format that Kindle store-bought ebooks come in. The Kobo equivalent is Kepub.
I have a Kindle paperwhite without ads, worth paying extra imo. I use Calibre to convert any books I “find” to mobis and send via email through Calibre. I’ve also done this with manga and it’s been working well. Loves me my paperwhite.
Hot tip for anyone looking to save a little money and have an ad free experience on Kindle.
I bought the Kindle with ads, saved like, $30 I think? Anyway, if you buy a Kindle with ads, set it all up and use it for a bit, contact Amazon support and say how you didn’t realize that it came with ads and that the ads are very intrusive or some other BS like that. They’ll tell you that you can pay a one time fee (once again, I think it was $30) to remove them. Just say something about how that’s awfully expensive , and keep saying how much you really love the device, but you think you’re going to return it because of the ads. The second you say you’d like to start the return process, they’ll panic and just say that, “good news, we’ve decided to remove the ads for you for free”.
Obviously being nice and not an asshole is the way to go. Actually just don’t be an asshole to any support person. They don’t get paid enough to get treated like shit.
Disclaimer: this was like 5 years ago.
This sounds like a great tip but considering that was 5 years ago and that I’m EU I think I’ll just pay the extra 30€ or so. I actually have some random 19€ credit on amazon so it’s not that big of a deal.
Hotter tip Say you bought it for your child and are afraid of what he might see. Instant solve
I have a Kindle paperwhite without ads, worth paying extra imo.
Pro tip: if you leave off wifi for long enough, the ads seem to expire and they’re permanently replaced by some generic pencils image or something. And, since having wifi on can cause the kindle to overwrite your cover images, I sync with calibre over USB anyway. I have the ad-supported Kindle 4 from 2011 and haven’t had ads on it since 2012.
If you have the magnetic cover though, you’ll still need to press the button to unlock it.
I don’t follow. When you say magnetic cover, do you mean some of the newer models? Also, what does pressing the button to unlock it do? Does that turn on wifi or something? I have to press a button to turn my Kindle 4 “on” (aka remove the screensaver and show my book) but that doesn’t cause an issue.
With my ad-free paper white, there’s a magnet in the case that lines up with a sensor in the kindle.
You open the cover, and it’s right where you left off.
With the ad supported version, you’d open the cover, and have to push the button to dismiss the ad.
IIRC, that behavior still persists even if the ads expire.
Huh. Yeah that must be a thing with newer models. Mine doesn’t have any magnets, and its not in a shape a case would even make sense. I do press a button to dismiss the “screensaver” (the thing that keeps you from accidentaly turning pages with side buttons when not in use), but I don’t see an ad on that screensaver. It’s pencils laying on a book, and has been for about a decade now.
With the ad supported kindle, there would be another screen showing the ad before you could use it.
Not a huge deal, but it does get a little annoying
It basically prevents you from being able to use the feature of the case
The ads were a lot less noticeable on the older kindles with the keyboard
Oh that’s interesting. That makes sense. Like I said I’m using the Kindle 4 from 2011 and it has a slightly different form factor and no way to use a magnetic case.
I know this is the wrong /c/ for this, but… your local library probably has tons of content you can check out on your Kindle for free.
Seems like a good tip, but I’m from the EU so other than physical books and outdated PC’s with dialup (okay, dialup might be going too far haha) I don’t think there’s anything else at the library here.
I don’t know where you’re from, but I’m from the Netherlands. With a library subscription you can basically download any book (in Dutch or English) and keep them forever
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Even german libraries have ebook lending. You should probably take another look at your local option
Well Germany is pretty much one of the best examples on EU. If you said something like even Bulgaria has them I’d be surprised…
I’m from Portugal so I doubt we have those on the libraries. But, I’ll have a look, I have a library 5mins away on foot.
You’d be surprised how ass backwards Germany is with elevtronic stuff…
Regarding e-lending: Surely depends on the local offers around you. Totally (sadly).
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Oh well. Back to piracy am i right?
Every single Kindle supports sideloading books via USB, or even, you can send non-legally obtained books OTA via the Amazon email on your kindle (yes, if you have a Amazon account you can have your device Linked to an @kindle.com mail address).
But, be worry about some issues. Be sideloading or emailing, Kindle devices natively don’t support ePub books. So, if you sideload via USB you WILL need to convert the books to some format like .mobi or .azw3 to be able to read it on the Kindle.
On the other side, if you email the files, Amazon servers do the converting for you, so you can easily send epub files and the Kindle servers adjust the ebook, you just need to have your Kindle connected to WiFi.
The only issue with emailing the files is you can’t use custom covers with them. If that’s not a concern, it’s definitely the easier route.
Does Overdrive work on a Kindle? (I use it on my phone.)
I haven’t used it in a long time, but Overdrive has info here.
Thanks for the Overdrive link.
I’ve read that amazon is going to stop support mobi and just convert to epub. So eventually epub would be natively supported I guess?
Calibre can convert to *.kfx native Kindle format
That’s great news. Seems like I’ll go the calibre route.
If using Calibre, I suggest convert your books into Kindle-native *KFX format. Also, filling out some metadata in Calibre even enables sync with Good Reads for sideloaded books
I know this isn’t what you’re asking for but the kobo H2O is what I use and it’s fantastic. It’s not sucked into Amazon’s shitty ecosystem and right out of the box it works for loading pirated content. I get all my books from the zlibrary onion site and you literally drag and drop files into the file folder. It’s e-ink so the battery lasts forever, it gets super bright for outside reading, and it’s waterproof. I can’t speak to modding but I haven’t bought a book since 2020 because of it and I honestly prefer it to most physical books at this point
Didn’t know about Kobo but apparently that model seems to be out of stock in the EU. Also the devices seem a bit more expensive than amazon’s. Not sure if this is just amazon selling at a loss or that the quality or something might be better on the Kobo.
I’ll have a look on the local 2nd hand market, maybe I’ll have some luck.
From what I can tell the H20 is an older product that’s been mostly replaced by the Libra 2. I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon sold at a loss, breaking a kindle out of the Amazon ecosystem is more work than most people will do, so they end up being audible subscribers and buying books from Amazon. Personally I think they’re worth the slightly higher price tag to avoid the headache but ultimately it’s your money
Completely agree. Kobo is way better. No ads and no need to root just to unlock things. Pair it up with Calibre or Calibre Web to sync books wirelessly.
I have a kobo for years and never managed to sync it wirelessly, is there a way to make automatic syncs as soon as I add a book?
I self host a Calibre-Web server that my Kobo syncs to. I had to edit a setting in my Kobo to point to it. In Calibre-web I have a kobo ‘shelf’ that you add books to and whenever I press sync on the Kobo it syncs to that shelf.
This is exactly what I’m looking at. This + notifiarr +readarr sounds like I can finally have my family getting ebooks without my help 😀
Second this! Also a fantastic resource is https://standardebooks.org/ They take public domain books and reformat them for ereading for free! You can download them in kobo specific formatting and it looks so good! Edit: auto correct and more details
You only need calibre and it handles everything for you.
An issue you may run into is light gray font, which is easily solved
Vpn, Calibre, and myanonymouse are all you need.
Maybe an oxford comma. Maybe not, it’s your choice.
Wouldn’t recommend a VPN for MyAnonamouse unless they give you a static IP. You’ll find it hard to maintain the leech time they require. A seedbox would work better.
I use airvpn and always use the same server. Never had a problem
You’ll also run into problems if you have the same IP as another MyAnonamouse use. Not that hard to fix when it happens, but I’m just pointing out these are all issues that a seedbox sidesteps.
Just tell them you’re using a VPN and what IP address you’re using, and it won’t matter.
No, they’ll tell you that you need a unique IP. It’s a rule.
1.2 Duplicating IP Addresses 2022-06-23
- Do not create more than one account per person or per IP address. Members who share the same IP address, must share the same account.
- If we see 2 or more accounts on 1 IP address, all accounts on that IP address will be disabled.
- If we notice more than one account for any one member, that member’s account will be disabled and may receive a permanent ban.
- VPN’s, Proxies, and Seedboxes: If you use/share a seedbox (or start to do so), or utilize a VPN/Proxy facility, the above IP rule may cause you problems. You will need to inform us of the IP address and provider of your seedbox, or provider of VPN/Proxy, so we can note your account. Please let us know if the seedbox ip is new, replacing an existing seedbox or is an additional seedbox you would like to have added. You can contact staff through the Staff Contact System.
You can use a kindle with non-drm ebooks without any major work, jailbreak and root not required, just drop them into the right folder on the device via USB, if they aren’t supported then Calibre can convert them.
OR look at any of the dozens of non-kindle e-readers out there that are more open, Personally I have an Onyx Boox Note3, it’s a bit older now but works beautifully for all formats of text, comics, manga, and as a general android tablet.
Calibre with the DeDRM plug-in, then “borrow” books from Overdrive.
Calibre can also convert other formats into the format used by Kindle.
Owner of a paper white. I usually read manga so it’s kinda cumbersome to export the pages from Tachiyomi and convert it into an ebook format.
To download ebooks I usually visit z-library or something similar. If it’s not there: Time for research into the depths of the internet!
