Starting my move from the Amazon/Kindle world to Rakuten/Kobo.
@crossingthethreshold I made the switch to Kobo about 2019 mainly because I was too dependent on Amazon/Kindle. I have to say I've been fairly happy with Kobo and I like that the store is uncluttered. I hope you find the switch good as well.
@JohnPhilpin @crossingthethreshold @bradenslen I can’t stand Rakuten, should I have any concerns about them owning or collaborating with Kobo (whatever the extent of that partnership is)?
@bradenslen Only a few hours in, plus some research before making the purchase, and I like what I see so far.
@crossingthethreshold Unless they’ve branched out, they just strike me as a scammy e-commerce consumerism service. If I’m misunderstanding or that has changed since, I’m open to hearing differently.
@pimoore I don’t have enough information to comment one way or another on Rakuten. In moving to Kobo for my ebook service, I was mainly seeing how the book service and readers compared with Kindle, which I wanted to move away from if I could. My research on Rakuten was minimal at best.
@crossingthethreshold I don't like the Kobo hardware but it works great with Overdrive so the Kobo is my library book reader and i'm happy about that.
@crossingthethreshold I’ve done more research on Kobo than I have on the Rakuten partnership myself too. Not only was it not a thing when I last really looked into Kobo, I was more concerned at the time with how the hardware compared to Kindle (of which I read mixed reviews about both, honestly).
@jack Perhaps it’s just that I’m using Overdrive (or Libby) with my small local library, but I’ve never found a single book that hasn’t had at minimum a months long waiting list. Is there something I’m missing?
@pimoore Hmmm. Most of the books I've wanted have a waiting list but at my library Libby has an "Available Now" section with a decent selection. I've found that the waiting list has been shorter than their estimates (3-4 weeks in most cases). I put a bunch of books on hold and they've been trickling in.
@jack I always thought that was weird that everyone seemed to want the exact same books I was looking for, and that every one had a months long wait. Thanks for the info, I’ll see if the actual time ends up being shorter for me too.
@jack Yeah, I’m constantly managing my hold list at Overdrive/Libby. I am annoyed that the NH state library system seems to hate sci fi so I can never get Hugo award winners, but if I’m patient I get other books I want to read eventually.
@gr36 It took me a while to make the change. At this (early) stage I feel happy that I have done so.
@crossingthethreshold One thing I've noticed is that I just read with it. I don't spend a ton of time thinking about the device itself. I took that as a good sign.
@odd If you don’t mind sharing, why Apple Books for ebooks, if you’re interested in having a DRM-free library? (Perhaps you’re not, and just wanted an archive of your Kindle purchases!)
I’ve been using the same workflow via Calibre to create EPUB versions, but as far as I know you can only do this with Kindle/Kobo books, not Apple Books…
@crossingthethreshold will you be highlighting texts and exporting them? I tried switching to Kobo but gave up a year ago because I couldn’t find a convenient way to get at my highlights and notes. If you find something I would be interested to know.
@JohnPhilpin Kindle books are still on Amazon. There may be third party software (Calibre?) that would let me download to a computer and strip DRM and manage my ebook collections, but I very rarely read a fiction book twice so I don't bother.
I have ebooks on 4 services:
I started out with ebooks on Palm Pilot PDM buying ebooks on Fictionwise. (I loved Fictionwise.) Then Barnes & Noble bought Fictionwise but let me transfer my library from Fictionwise to Barnes & Noble. So I have lots of books there.
Amazon Kindle. Lots of books.
I'm sure I have a couple of books with Apple, because I tried them out.
Kobo.
@pimoore @JohnPhilpin @crossingthethreshold I know nothing about Rakuten but I think they own Kobo. Rakuten/Kobo has some sort of deal with Walmart in the US, and Walmart sells Kobo readers in their stores. At one time, Kobo was very popular in Canada and parts of the EU, but I don't know if that is still true. In the developed world I think Kobo is No. 2 ebook and device retailer to Amazon.
@crossingthethreshold The Kobo reader software isn't quite as polished as Kindle's but it works well and the hardware works great for me.
@toddgrotenhuis @jameslocombe @crossingthethreshold yeah, I switched several years ago and it remains my biggest frustration and not by a small amount either. Still worth it to be away from Amazon for me, and I just work around it but: ugh.
@odd Ahh... first, mea culpa—I didn't notice you were quoting @burk. Coincidentally, I read that leaving-Amazon post of his a few weeks ago!
I've been sticking un-DRMed copies of my purchased ebooks in Calibre, but still looking for a good cross-platform reading experience (especially when it comes to taking / syncing / using highlights and annotations). Calibre has a web-based reading app that's almost certainly clunkier than Kindle or Apple Books but I'm going to give it a try…
I've been moving to Kobo for ebook purchases where possible; Rakuten ownership aside, they're a Canadian company and seem dedicated to supporting indie authors, which matters to me. (The fact I can still un-DRM Kobo's books doesn't hurt, either!) 🙂️
@danj Haha, I see. Easy mistake. I’m still on Amazon, (books and audiobooks concerning), as it’s no fiddling, but I have concerns, and find @burk ’s reasoning and solutions compelling. We’ll see what and when I can do something about it. As for reading device, I think my phone, (that I always have close by), will be my choice in the long run. That requires a good reader for the books, so maybe mine will end up in Apple Books too.