They have a lot of DRM-free options and let you download a clean epub, but like with other stores, it’s up to the publishers whether (and/or when) they can sell them without DRM BS.
I like being able to download the epubs directly so I can put them on my Calibre-web instance and pull them to my Kobo or my phone or whatever I want to read on.
I appreciate the heck out of the Gutenberg project but holy crap they need to invest some resources into putting 1/5 of the amount of effort Standard Ebooks puts into making every single one of their releases look and function so well in the real ebook reading scenarios of actual people
Honestly if the Gutenberg project had such a program for improving the formatting of their collection I would actually strongly consider volunteering some time towards it. Just like how I would not mind reading for Librivox
Project Gutenberg has around 50 times more than Standard Ebooks (~75 000 vs. ~1 400) and in a lot of different languages, Standard Ebooks only cares about English. Putting only 1/5 of the amount of work into it would be a drop in the bucket.
Edit: In general I agree, it’s hard to figure out how to contribute to Project Gutenberg.
My boyfriend has a Kobo, and he has an integration with his library that allows him to borrow ebooks.
I’d have to ask him how it works exactly, but it sounds pretty convenient.
It’s through Overdrive, a service that lends books to library patrons. Overdrive’s current interface for mobile devices and browsers is known as Libby. At one point in time, both Kobo and Overdrive was owned by the same company.
Note, libraries only offer a small selection - the selection mine offers is a lot different from the library up the street from me. It’s all curated from organization to organization.
Edit: Overdrive also operates Kanopy, a library video streaming app; as well as Sora, an K-12 reading app.
Worth noting that if you’re in the US, your state likely has a statewide library as well. For instance, in Texas, the Houston Public Library gets a special grant to offer ebooks to the entire state. So anyone with a Texas address can sign up for free. Most states have similar programs.
My epub offering is through the NE Library Commission. OPL doesn’t offer reciprocity because it takes up most of one county and spills over into another. As such, the smaller communities in the Omaha area has to have their own Libraries without reciprocity and everything is through the state Library Commission.
Where do people who use kobo readers buy their ebooks? Is there a reliable non Amazon e-reader shop that sells from free books? (Besides humble store)
Kobo has it’s own ebook store, plus it connects with Overdrive (outdated version of Libby) to handle library checkouts.
Kobo is also really easy to sideload books on to, so you can, you know, just get them from wherever…
As others have said, it integrates with your local library. It works pretty flawlessly
I just load PDFs and what not directly onto mine. Project Gutenberg has tons of free ebooks.
Overdrive is cool too.
https://ebooks.com/
They have a lot of DRM-free options and let you download a clean epub, but like with other stores, it’s up to the publishers whether (and/or when) they can sell them without DRM BS.
I like being able to download the epubs directly so I can put them on my Calibre-web instance and pull them to my Kobo or my phone or whatever I want to read on.
Assuming you meant drm free books
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/p/drm-free
Not every book on kobo is drm free from what I remember so keep an eye on that
standardebooks.org is a great place for classics
I appreciate the heck out of the Gutenberg project but holy crap they need to invest some resources into putting 1/5 of the amount of effort Standard Ebooks puts into making every single one of their releases look and function so well in the real ebook reading scenarios of actual people
Honestly if the Gutenberg project had such a program for improving the formatting of their collection I would actually strongly consider volunteering some time towards it. Just like how I would not mind reading for Librivox
Project Gutenberg has around 50 times more than Standard Ebooks (~75 000 vs. ~1 400) and in a lot of different languages, Standard Ebooks only cares about English. Putting only 1/5 of the amount of work into it would be a drop in the bucket.
Edit: In general I agree, it’s hard to figure out how to contribute to Project Gutenberg.
My boyfriend has a Kobo, and he has an integration with his library that allows him to borrow ebooks.
I’d have to ask him how it works exactly, but it sounds pretty convenient.
It’s through Overdrive, a service that lends books to library patrons. Overdrive’s current interface for mobile devices and browsers is known as Libby. At one point in time, both Kobo and Overdrive was owned by the same company.
Note, libraries only offer a small selection - the selection mine offers is a lot different from the library up the street from me. It’s all curated from organization to organization.
Edit: Overdrive also operates Kanopy, a library video streaming app; as well as Sora, an K-12 reading app.
Worth noting that if you’re in the US, your state likely has a statewide library as well. For instance, in Texas, the Houston Public Library gets a special grant to offer ebooks to the entire state. So anyone with a Texas address can sign up for free. Most states have similar programs.
My epub offering is through the NE Library Commission. OPL doesn’t offer reciprocity because it takes up most of one county and spills over into another. As such, the smaller communities in the Omaha area has to have their own Libraries without reciprocity and everything is through the state Library Commission.