top | item 32442549

Ask HN: Where do you buy your eBooks or have eBook subscriptions?

17 points| giancarlostoro | 3 years ago | reply

I want to see what other options HN readers use, especially any DRM free formats for eBooks, or slightly more affordable eBook formats.

21 comments

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[+] themodelplumber|3 years ago|reply
DrivethruRPG, DTComics, Wargamevault, etc. Always check out the deal of the day. Support indie creators and their passionate need to provide you with amazing memories...

Humble Bundle

Bundle of Holding

Google Play Books is IMO the most consumer-friendly standard ebook service overall right now, but I admit I don't really give as much attention to DRM factors in this area. Reviews from customers are not super helpful there so check elsewhere if you are a review-optimizer. But the deals are honestly really amazing; search for "the" or some favorite topic, enable price drops, set max price to .99 and ask yourself how much you care about DRM in these cases :D (I do care myself but it's a nuanced sort of caring). Their comics bubble navigation (swipe up) is great too. They don't take the price-obscuring approach Amazon does to upsell Kindle Unlimited or promote authors who pay more, or however Kindle's obscurantist search/browse is supposed to "work".

A weird issue with Google Play Books seems to be caching-related though...I often have to force quit and reload the app so I can view the items I just added to my wishlist xD

Project Gutenberg always...I have a daily excerpts page which draws from almost 500 of my favorites there (profile)

Oh and various other publishers like Evil Hat, Green Ronin, Steve Jackson Games, Troll Lord, Goodman Games, etc. Some of them host mind-blowing deals on their sites occasionally. IMO if you are a publisher you should always do this, it's one of the best ways to leverage being a small publisher in a big world.

Speaking of which, get on email newsletters for ebook publishers, they'll often include links to every service they sell on. If you like Star Trek books then get on Simon & Schuster's email list, this is like the best time in history to be a fan of Star Trek books... it's like a constant fire sale. Great strategy IMO.

[+] margoguryan|3 years ago|reply
Google Play Books is a behemoth of rare, obscure, archaic and poorly formatted free stuff. I have a massive collection of books on New France, Canadian history, very old folklore and poems, screenplays, pretty much every classic in the public domain.

Gutenberg is wonderful, especially for history. I've been using them a ton to stock up on non DRM stuff.

Do you use an eReader? I just got one of the newest Kindle models and I'm having a really hard time getting things to convert or whatever - even stuff that is, like, already formatted for eReader purposes gets mangled. Should I have not bought the Kindle in the first place? Haha

Thank you for all this, that newsletter tip is great.

[+] politelemon|3 years ago|reply
By DRM do you mean Adobe Digital Editions or something else? Does Google Play Books allow downloading the books for that matter?
[+] dorait|3 years ago|reply
Technical books using https://learning.oreilly.com/home/. I have been a subscriber for more than 10 years, dicontinued for a few years and resumed about a year ago.

Also use Amazon Kindle, Google Play books if I can't find the book on Safari.

[+] vincent-manis|3 years ago|reply
Mostly Kobo for fiction, sometimes Amazon; publisher sites for academic/technical books. I use Epubor for removing DRM. I don't buy ebooks that are only available in proprietary formats that require using a special app to read (some academic textbook publishers do this).
[+] margoguryan|3 years ago|reply
What kind of DRM? What if I could, say, provide the actual credentials for the content and then strip it? Like an AZW3 file, whatever Amazon uses
[+] josefresco|3 years ago|reply
I use Libby on iOS to loan books from my local library and then I send them to my Kindle.