Reading is one life’s most essential activities. Especially nowadays, when we regularly process a mind-boggling amount of information, whether it’s for work, study, or simply pleasure.
The Kindle app for Android (pictured) iOS, Windows and Mac OS allows you to create Collections on your other devices just as you would on the Kindle. Now go back to the Show drop-down menu. Subscribe Now:More:Kindle books on a Mac will let. First, download the kindle books to macOS 10.14 by opening the Kindle for Mac app and then bringing up your ebook library, and then right-clicking the chosen book to reveal the 'Download' option for the book, and then clicking on the 'Download' button to download the file to local storage. The easiest way to now get the.azw files is to download the Kindle for PC app, then proceed to download your books to your hard drive. They will be saved in My Documents (if using a PC) in a folder called My Kindle Content. Kindle Cloud Reader lets you read ebooks instantly in your web browser - no Kindle device required.
With all the technological progress the way we read is changing too. You hardly see anyone today with hardcovers or printed newspapers, which have been mostly written off as expensive and inefficient. Instead, most of what we read is either hosted online or downloaded directly to our devices.
While it’s possible to read on our phones — Kindle e-readers, first introduced by Amazon in 2007, are a much better option, featuring a comfortable 6-inch glare-free ink display and an unbeatable 30-day battery life. In addition, close to 10 million books are already available on Kindle through Amazon — a few lifetimes worth. But is there a way to read them without getting a Kindle device?
What Is A Kindle Reader For Mac?
Good news is you can read Kindle books on Mac, using the Kindle Mac app. What you need to do here is download Kindle for Mac and all your previous electronic Amazon book purchases will become instantly available on your desktop or laptop.
To download Kindle app on Mac for free:
Open App Store from the Applications folder
Search for Kindle
Click Get
Launch Kindle on Mac
When you launch the app for the first time, you’ll be prompted to enter your Amazon Kindle login, which should be the same as your regular Amazon password. This Kindle sign in will happen only once to connect your device to your cloud Kindle library. In a second you should see all your Kindle books downloaded to your Mac.
How to use a Kindle reader for Mac
Amazon made sure to keep the Kindle App Store process as seamless as possible to entice the largest amount of people to sign up for Kindle on Mac. And once you see all your books on your Kindle for Mac, using the app is very easy.
If you’re wondering where are Kindle books stored on Mac, they are by default located in the cloud Kindle reader, unless you specifically download them to your machine. But let’s break this all down step by step.
What do you do in case you don’t have any books on your new Kindle app for Mac? Just buy some on Amazon:
Go to amazon.com and search for an interesting title
Make sure to choose the Kindle Edition
Check out with your purchase and the book will be added to your Kindle reader for Mac automatically
Once you have some books in your Kindle Mac app, you can download them to be read offline:
Right-click on any book
Select Download
Double-click the book to start reading
Right-click again and select Remove from Device when done
With time, you’ll likely accumulate a large Kindle book library and, to make it more manageable, your Kindle on Mac lets you organize everything into collections:
Click on the plus (+) icon next to Collections
Select New Collection
Write down the collection’s title
Drag and drop the books into the newly create collection
You can create collections for the books already read, or the ones you’re still planning to read. Get creative!
It’s worth mentioning that avid readers might notice a sharp increase in their book spending once they get used to their Kindle for Mac. A great way to save here (and read even more) is to try Kindle Unlimited, which offers all-you-can-read books for Kindle for about $10 a month.
There are a few negative sides to the Kindle app for Mac too, however. For example, you can’t really export any books out of the app to read with other apps, since most of them are DRM-protected. Likewise, you can’t import your books into the Kindle reader for Mac. Well, at least the app is free! And if you don’t want to use the Kindle Mac app at all, you can still access your books using the cloud Kindle reader.
How to use the cloud Kindle reader
For those who only need to read on Mac occasionally, the cloud Kindle reader is the perfect solution:
Go to read.amazon.com
Use your regular Kindle sign in
Double-click any book in your library to read it
The cloud Kindle reader generally mirrors all the features of the Kindle for Mac, with a notable exception of collections. So if you haven’t been previously using collections that often, reading in the cloud might be no different.
How to focus while reading on Mac
One indisputable bonus of having an actual Kindle device is not being distracted by all the notifications and other non-stop processes that are continuously happening on your Mac. But all you need to counter this is get an app that will eliminate all distractions.
HazeOver is the most perfect distraction dimmer for your screen. At the click of a button, it focuses all your attention on the currently active app window and sends everything else far into the background (saving you some battery life in the process). You can also precisely control the difference between your active window and background. Perfect!
How to take notes on Mac like a pro
Not all of us read for pleasure all of the time. Quite often we need to read something and take extensive notes: doing research, working, or studying for an exam. This is where some specialized annotation software with features like mind-mapping and flashcards can really help.
MarginNote is by far the best research companion out there. This powerful app lets you organize book notes from across your library in a single mind map, turn notes into flashcards for quick study sessions, export and import multiple note formats, and look up information with a built-in research browser. Finally you can collect all your notes from all the sources in a single intuitive app.
How to read the news all in one place
One area in which the Kindle Mac app lacks significantly is news-reading. Of course, today you can just visit most news sources online, but has that ever happened to you that you went down the rabbit hole of mostly irrelevant subjects for hours?
NewsReader is everything you like about the news without any fluff. Simply connect any websites, blogs, and publications to this news reader and it will automatically source all the updates via a timely RSS system. Plus, you can easily create custom collections and tailor the reading experience to exactly how you want it to be.
To create a new feed in NewsReader:
Click the plus (+) icon in the bottom-left of the app
Choose either to “Add new Feed” if you have a direct URL or “Search new Feeds” if you want to look for one
Paste the address or type in the name of the source you’re looking for
Click Add Feed
To sum up, if you want to read Kindle books on Mac, you just need to download Kindle for Mac app and enjoy the experience, or read online just as easily. But don’t forget to enter full concentration mode with HazeOver, write down interesting ideas with MarginNote, and maybe even get your daily news fix with NewsReader.
Best of all, HazeOver, MarginNote, and NewsReader are available to you absolutely free via Setapp, a platform for more than 170 essential Mac apps for solving every kind of problem out there, be it GIF creation (Gifox) or music-making (n-Track Studio). Try Setapp today at no cost and see for yourself.
Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
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When talking about Calibre DRM Removal 2020, we will know that we should add DeDRM tools to Calibre because they are must-have if we want to remove DRM from eBooks with Calibre.
In this post, I’ll focus on DeDRM with Calibre for Kindle/Kobo/ACSM eBooks part by part — and 10+ exclusive and effective solutions if you meet errors.
Disclaimer:
1. DeDRM from eBooks is acceptable only when you want to backup or share your own files. DON’T resell those drm free eBooks and respect every author please.
2. This post introduces exactly how to dedrm eBooks from Kindle, Kobo and Adobe Digital Editions (such as Google Play books) files. Apple books and Nook ePubs are not supported now.
3. DeDRM tools only work on our own purchased eBooks, eTextbooks and rented eBooks are not supported.
4. Here what I introduced are all tested on my personal Windows laptop and Mac computer. Calibre supports Linux, if you meet any problems when running calibre drm plugins on Linux, please contact Alf team to ask for help as I didn’t test Calibre DRM Removal for eBooks on Linux.
Part 1. Preparing (What You Need)
- Calibre 5 and DeDRM plugin v7.1.0 (Or dedrm v6.8.1 for calibre 4)
- Kindle/Kobo/Adobe eBooks downloaded via official desktop app.
- Import eBooks to Calibre to DeDRM.
Note:
1. Simply download the new Calibre and DeDRM tools v7.1.0 please. If you are using the older calibre 4.x you should be using the older DRM i.e. 6.8.1.
2. The DeDRM_tools (calibre drm removal plugins 2021) contains two plugins: DeDRM and Obok. The DeDRM plugin handles books that are downloaded from Kindle, Adobe Digital Editions, and some historical formats. The Obok plugin handles books that are downloaded from Kobo desktop app.
Part 2. How to Add DeDRM tools to Calibre?
This is how you add a plugin to the Calibre program.
(Add: You can also download the latest dedrm tools and calibre 5.)
Step1. Download Calibre version 4.x or earlier.
Step2. Download DeDRM_tools_6.8.1.zip and unzip it.
Step3. Add downloaded plugin zip file to Calibre.
Run calibre, select “Preferences” > “Plugin” > “Load plugin from file”, then choose the “DeDRM_plugin.zip” or “Obok_plugin.zip” from the unzipped DeDRM_tools_6.8.1 archive, click on the “Open” button. Ignore the “Are you sure?” warning dialog(Yes”), then A “Success” dialog will appear, saying that the plug-in has been installed. Click on “OK” and then “Apply”.
Step4. Restart Cablire.
Part 3. DRM removal plugin failed to install Issues
Have followed the above steps but the calibre dedrm plugin is not working?
SyntaxeError: invalid syntax
Kindle Cloud Reader
As of calibre 5, calibre has moved from Python 2 to Python 3, because Python 2 has been end-of-lifed.
To resolve this bug, you just need to update your Calibre to the latest version, and then add the DeDRM plugin v7.1.0 to calibre. If you’ve added the older version of drm plugins, delete it from calibre first and then re-import.
Unhandled exception: does not contain a top-level init.py file
You see this error may be because you added the whole archive file into calibre. Unzip the DeDRM_tools_6.8.1 archive, and look in the DeDRM_tools_6.8.1 folder for the zip file(named DeDRM_Plugin.zip and Obok_plugin.zip) to load into calibre.
Another reason is the downloaded drm plugin file is not the latest version. If so, you should remove the older version plugin first, and then download the latest one and import them again to calibre.
Part 4. How to unlock DRM from Kindle KFX eBooks with Calibre plugin?
Since Amazon started using new KFX format to Kindle eBooks, calibre plugin no longer works for unlocking DRM from KFX format. The DeDRM plugin here works with non-KFX Amazon books only, and the solutions introduced here are walkaround solutions, not the direct (quick) one.
Note:
1. The plugin doesn’t work on books downloaded from Kindle Fire(HD) tablets, Kindle for Android/IOS applications.
2. The tools do not work with the Windows 8 AppStore Kindle app.
3. To convert KFX to ePub/PDF with Calibre, the KFX Input Plugin (version 1.36.0 at the time of writing) must be installed too.
4. If you have a Kindle e-ink device, don’t directly download and import books to calibre as it doesn’t work on these files. But you can download and transfer via USB to your device, then the downloaded file will be .azw3 format. Import azw3 to Calibre and configure the DeDRM plugin by inputting KSN, then you can also remove drm.
Walkaround 1. (For Windows) Install an outdated Kindle (such as version 1.24)
If you have downloaded the latest Kindle for PC, deregister the Kindle PC app first, and then uninstall it from your windows computer.
Install, launch, and register this Kindle installation with your own amazon account.
Don’t forget to uncheck the auto-update from Kindle’s settings. Otherwise, when you launch it next time, it will update to the latest version automatically, which does not work with DeDRM.
If asked if you want to update to the newest version, always select “Skip this version” please.
Now you can select books from your Kindle library and download them to your local Windows.
Important:
You can find(and even change) the kindle for pc books location by clicking on “Tools” > “Options” > “Content” > “Change Folder”.Import Kindle books to Calibre library, and the DRM will be removed.
As the above image shows, the drm removed KFX books will be turned to KFX(non-DRM). After you installed the kfx input plugin to calibre, you can continue to convert kfx eBooks to other formats.
Walkaround 2. (For Mac) Avoid KFX downloads by renaming renderer-test on Kindle for Mac
Kindle Reader For Mac
Important:
For mac computer users, we can also use an older version kindle for mac(such as v1.23) to get around the new kfx format. But in fact, considering that the older version kindle app can’t run on catalina and big sur, while more users have updated (or will update soon) their mac system to the newest one, so here I write down this solution in detail for Mac users, save your time to understand and test.The key to avoiding KFX downloading from K4Mac 1.25+ is to block KFX with chmod -x, then download books using right-click on mouse and selecting “Download”.
Install the latest version of Kindle for Mac or update to the latest one, v1.30.
If there are kindle books already in the “Downloaded” tab, remove them first(Remove from device).
Then, run Terminal app, copy and paste following command in terminal, if needed input password to execute command.
If you don’t have a password, then run this command.
After patching the Kindle app, run the Kindle app and select one book, right-click and “Download”.
The downloaded books are saved under “My Kindle Content” folder. By clicking Kindle > Preferences > Content > Change Folder, you can find and modify the location.
Now you can import the downloaded kindle books from “My Kindle Content” folder to Calibre, then as what you see, the drm is removed automatically and calibre turns these books to AZW3 format.
Note:
Right-click to download is key important. If you double click to download the book, you will get the new kfx or kcr format.After the downloading is completed, DON’T double click to open it, otherwise it will cause the Kindle app crashes unexpectedly. The downloaded old format is incompatible with the newest kindle app. After all, amazon prefers us to download and use the new KFX format.
Kindle KFX DeDRM Failed and Solutions
01. The Kindle DRM has been removed, but all the pictures are gone
Most likely, this is an AZW6 format book that the tools don’t support. But as the azw6 is only downloaded directly via Kindle e-Ink device, so the solution is downloading your book by “Download & Transfer via USB”.
02. The Kindle book (AZW4) conversions takes a long time
The AZW4 is a Print Replica Kindle ebook. This is a PDF in a Kindle wrapper. After you adding it to Calibre, the azw4 DRM will be removed successfully. Now all you should do is using the KindleUnpack plugin.
03. AZW/KCR/KFX-ZIP in Calibre
In fact, if Calibre shows the book in “AZW”, “KCR”, “KFX-ZIP” format after you add one book to the calibre library, it’s likely that Calibre failed to remove its DRM.
See, after I click on “Convert books” and select “epub” to convert, calibre shows the above error message.
To avoid this, I would say please follow all the details step by step as what I write at the above.
You can also click on the “Jobs: 0” label in the lower right corner of the calibre window to activate the Jobs dialog.
Select the failed conversion job from the list (the most recent will be first) and click the “Show job details” button. Copy the log to the clipboard and then paste it to Github or Mobileread for help.
DRM plugin driving me mad? If you think Calibre and the plugin are complex, here you can choose a good alternative, iSummersoft Kindle Converter.
When started, it will detect your computer system and show you the official guide on how to download your kindle books in the correct way. And then, after you downloaded books well, it will auto-detect your books and show them at the left side. All you need to do is just to add them from the left to the right area, choose output format (from ePub, pdf, mobi, azw3, txt, docx options) and convert.
Part 5. How to disable DRM from Adobe Digital Editions (ACSM)?
The installed DeDRM plugin also works on Adobe ACSM files, such as the downloaded books from Google Play.
You will find that the downloaded file is in acsm format. ACSM is associated with Adobe Digital Editions. It means we must use the ADE to open this type of files.
The first time running ADE, you should authorize an Adobe ID, and then open your acsm with it. When the acsm is opened via ADE, the acsm is turned to ePub or PDF (depends on ebooks vendors), but with DRM. And they are stored under “My Digital Editions” folder.
Now you can import them from the digital editions folder to Calibre. Then, the Adobe DRM is removed by the dedrm plugin in Calibre.
Note:
Not all the acsm files that you downloaded from an online eBook store will be supported by the dedrm plugin, though you can open them via ADE.You may meet problems when authorizing an Adobe ID or opening acsm file via ADE.
Please ensure that you are using the same email address as your ebookstore account’s, this is important. Another reason is you used an incorrect Adobe ID, if so you should switch your adobe account to login.
What is an ACSM file? Why should we use ADE to open this type of file? Is it possible to convert and print adobe to normal PDF?
Part 6. How to Use Calibre kepub plugin?
The Obok_plugin.zip you added to Calibre is used for removing DRM from Kobobooks. By default, Calibre will show this plugin at the top menu bar.
Firstly, you should use Kobo for PC/Mac to help download your books.
Where to find them? Books downloaded via Kobo PC are saved here:
And Kobo for Mac books are saved in this location:
Launch Calibre and click on the “Obok” plugin. If you don’t see it, click on the three dots icon at the top menu bar.
Then from the popup window you will find that it automatically detects all of your downloaded Kobo EPUB books.
The red lock icon means that book is drm protected, and the green lock icon means that book is drm free. To crack those drm protected books, you can click “All with DRM” and then touch “OK”. Wait for the job to complete.
Now the drm limitation is removed from your Kobo books, and they are in EPUB format (the original is kepub, with drm). If you want to transfer Kobo books to Kindle, you can continue to convert them to Mobi format in Calibre.
Tips that work:
1. If you already downloaded Kobo books on Kobo eReader, you can also connect it to the computer and then import that book to calibre so that you can remove DRM directly from them.
2. If you use the Kobo desktop app to help download files, download and install the app from Kobo official site please. DON’T install the app from any app stores. Otherwise, you may fail to remove DRM from kepub.
3. Couldn’t find the kepub folder on Mac? Use Terminal and running following command: write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles yes
then Enter.
Final Words, with Some Useful Tricks
This is all I could share with you on Calibre DeDRM 101. If you follow this guide step by step, I think you will succeed in unlocking your purchased eBook files.
- Check you are using the correct version of Calibre.
- Check you are using the latest version of Plugins.
- Downloading eBooks via desktop app makes the DeDRM more easier to function.
- Re-import eBooks to Calibre again.
- The drm is removed after importing the book, not converting it.
- Don’t forget to submit your error log to Mobileread, github, reddit to get help.
- Or use the best alternatives from iSummersoft, these products deserve your trial and are much easy to use.