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Is there any way to get (legal) Kindle books into iBooks?

gwynne

gwynne

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 11, 2010
1,816
8
I'm not specifically asking about DRM removal, and I plan to purchase the books in question, so tsk-tsking will be ignored. :)

If you *only* have the Kindle app, and not an actual Kindle, is there any way whatsoever to get to the files of the books you have purchased? I want to legitimately purchase some ebooks from Amazon, but I don't like the Kindle app's inability to change the font style (and other stuff). Where are those files actually stored? After some reading it seems like if you have a physical Kindle you can download the files themselves from your Amazon account page directly to your computer, but I get the sense that's not true if you only have the app. And when I look at the free ebooks I've 'bought' from Amazon on my account page, the only option is to deliver them to the iPad.

Again, I am not asking about DRM removal, I am only asking if there is any way to get the actual file you have purchased from Amazon. I'm guessing it's all done completely 'behind the scenes' by design, but I thought I'd ask before I give up.
 
First step would be to use the Kindle app for Windows or Mac to download the books and get access to the files.

But you will have to strip the DRM to get them into iBooks after that.

You can't do it on the iPad itself.
 
iVoid said:
First step would be to use the Kindle app for Windows or Mac to download the books and get access to the files.

But you will have to strip the DRM to get them into iBooks after that.

You can do it on the iPad itself.
Click to expand...

You -can- do it on the ipad itself? How would you strip DRM from the iPad?
 
iVoid said:
First step would be to use the Kindle app for Windows or Mac to download the books and get access to the files.

But you will have to strip the DRM to get them into iBooks after that.

You can do it on the iPad itself.
Click to expand...

Thanks! This is the piece I either didn't know or forgot about (desktop apps). I think I can take it from here, although like another poster I am also curious about the last sentence above.
 
iVoid said:
Sorry. Meant CAN'T. I'll fix my typo.
Click to expand...

No worries. I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction in your first post--just successfully got my first Kindle book into iBooks. :)

No because Amazon Kindle format is .azw which is a basically a DRM-ed .mobi format. iBooks support .epub format.
Click to expand...

I know they're different formats, if you read my post I was just trying to find out how to get to the source files so I could do something about that. :)
 
you can. take kindle azw file, remove drm. use calibre to convert to epub. you're set. sort of. don't expect formatting to transfer well, but plain text is fine.
 
Yeah, the thing that was throwing me off was that I only had the ipad app so I couldn't figure out how to get the .azw files in the first place. Once you have one of thie desktop apps you can get to the files and do the rest. I ended up using the Windows app just because that was the first set of instructions I found.
 
gwynne said:
Yeah, the thing that was throwing me off was that I only had the ipad app so I couldn't figure out how to get the .azw files in the first place. Once you have one of thie desktop apps you can get to the files and do the rest. I ended up using the Windows app just because that was the first set of instructions I found.
Click to expand...

Watch out for the topaz books. They arent crackable at least not without alot of work.
 
vw195 said:
Watch out for the topaz books. They arent crackable at least not without alot of work.
Click to expand...

they are easily crackable, the problem is the topaz format is not standard and the conversion tools don't read it well. but you can easily share topaz files to be read on kindles and kindle software. pointless really...
 
melchior said:
they are easily crackable, the problem is the topaz format is not standard and the conversion tools don't read it well. but you can easily share topaz files to be read on kindles and kindle software. pointless really...
Click to expand...

Exactly, DRM is stripped rather easily, but its hard to get into a usable form, but you are much more correct than I was. Thanks.
 
melchior said:
they are easily crackable, the problem is the topaz format is not standard and the conversion tools don't read it well. but you can easily share topaz files to be read on kindles and kindle software. pointless really...
Click to expand...

Pointless unless you prefer the capabilities/display of a reader that isn't the Kindle/Kindle app.
 
Where are the source files?

I've downloaded the Kindle for Mac application but can't find the source files, could anyone tell me where they are located?
 
FWIW you might want to look at buying books from the Sony or B&N bookstores because they are already in ePub format. You can strip the DRM on your Mac via a python script revealed by a Google search and then drop right into iTunes.

The advantage is that you will not have any odd formatting headaches like pages with only two sentences or a sentence with too much spacing. Even if Sony or B&N are a couple bucks more it's worth it to have a correctly formatted book.

I like the B&N reader better than iBooks anyway b/c you can change the background color. Not a big fan of the whiter than white in iBooks.
 
Thanks for the heads-up. I am not wedded to any particular seller, although on a few occasions I've gone through Amazon due to availability or pricing. No formatting errors so far, but I know well enough that everything is still wildly inconsistent in this medium. :)
 
renae said:
I've downloaded the Kindle for Mac application but can't find the source files, could anyone tell me where they are located?
Click to expand...

I found it easier to pull the files out of my iPad backup using an app called JuicePhone.
 
Help! I don't understand!

iVoid said:
First step would be to use the Kindle app for Windows or Mac to download the books and get access to the files.

But you will have to strip the DRM to get them into iBooks after that.

You can't do it on the iPad itself.
Click to expand...

I'm not very tech savvy, so I have a few questions:

1. What is a DRM?
2. How do you strip the DRM?
3. How do you get the files off of the windows or mac app of kindle?
4. How do you put the files into iBooks?

I'm so sorry I really am confused. Step by step directions (Detailed, such as HOW do strip the DRM) would be greatly appreciated!
 
Snowfurnfy said:
I'm not very tech savvy, so I have a few questions:

1. What is a DRM?
2. How do you strip the DRM?
3. How do you get the files off of the windows or mac app of kindle?
4. How do you put the files into iBooks?

I'm so sorry I really am confused. Step by step directions (Detailed, such as HOW do strip the DRM) would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

Removing DRM is not promoted on the site. You're best bet would be to Google it or maybe PM a person who recommended it above.

Do not PM me because I have never, nor do I plan on doing it anytime soon. I have no issue managing three reader apps.
 
Need help with Calibre

Hello, I just joined so I can't PM yet. If anyone can direct me to a resource for the removal of DRM. I have Calibre set up and everything is working well but I want to be able to read the books I've paid for as I wish on the device I choose.

Thanks for any help!
 
sageaidan said:
Hello, I just joined so I can't PM yet. If anyone can direct me to a resource for the removal of DRM. I have Calibre set up and everything is working well but I want to be able to read the books I've paid for as I wish on the device I choose.

Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...

As the previous poster said, this site does not condone the removal of DRM as per the user agreement. If you want to know about such things, google them.
 
If you plan on purchasing the books in question, why not just purchase them on iBooks instead of going through all this hassle. Is it because the books in question are only available on amazon? If so, then is reading them through the Kindle app really all that much of an inconvenience.

My rule is this
If it's available on both Kindle and iBooks, buy it from iBooks
If it's only on Kindle buy it from Kindle
If it's only in iBooks buy it on iBooks.

I generally buy through Kindle only because I also have a Kindle Touch. If I didn't have the Kindle Touch I probably would have just stuck with iBooks. But having the ability to use the Kindle app on my iPad, iPhone and Mac have been great. I do wish Apple made a version of iBooks for the Mac as well.
 
I agree with Scott, buy it within the format you want to read it in and save yourself the hassle of trying to convert it.
 
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