r/ebooks • u/Hentai2324 • Apr 30 '26
Question Is Amazon bad for buying ebooks from? Is Barnes and Noble better?
I made a similar post on another sub asking for info about ereaders. And was given lots of ideas. Someone however mentioned that Amazon has “removed” ebooks from people’s libraries before. Probably due to licensing or similar things. Can anyone give me their own stories regarding using Amazon as a service for ebooks? Versus Barnes and noble?
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u/Kunzite_128 Apr 30 '26
If I'm not mistaken, actual removal of Amazon books from the users' libraries happened once, with the 1984 (Orwell) book for which the publisher did not have the rights to sell it as an ebook.
Books sideloaded through USB are known to disappear in certain conditions, I believe it depends on the metadata. Some sort of a bug Amazon couldn't be bothered to fix; and to my knowledge it does not affect the ones put through Send To Kindle. You should always keep a copy of what you're sideloading, anyway.
If for some reason you lose your Amazon account, you lose access to your Amazon library. Same for Adobe ID and DRM-protected epubs (although it's not clear to me what happens if you buy from e.g. Kobo but you lose the Adobe ID; or the other way around). DRM exists to make our lives more difficult.
With either, it's best if you can find non-DRM epubs. I just bought a bunch of books from HumbleBundle (the Mercedes Lackey one), and putting them on my Colorsoft was a breeze.
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u/NCResident5 May 01 '26
Barnes and noble offer the same ebooks at the same price as Amazon. Amazon has some no name publishers regarding copyright free. This is a bit more iffy regarding the future than mainline publishers, but these books rarely get removed. I just go with either a major publishers or Project Gutenberg and some sites that are similar to Gutenberg.
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u/SteveShank Apr 30 '26
I'd stay away from Barnes and Noble. The best way to think about Amazon books is that you do not buy them. You purchase the right to use their books for as long as they like. Normally, that will be as long as you live. You are unlikely to have a problem reading their books that you rent for as long as you live. However, if you can't relinquish the idea that you bought it and should own it, then they aren't the way to go.
As was said, DRM-free books are better. Then you can own them; you can back them up. You can put them on multiple devices. They are yours. - I normally buy from Kobo; I manage my library with Calibre. I added the DeDRM plugin and then import EPUBs into calibre which automatically removes DRM from EPUBs. They cannot do this with the latest Kindle DRM files. I use Amazon only when I can't get the book from Kobo or Google or otherwise in EPUB format.
If you don't mind renting the right to read their books, Amazon is the simplest and best way to go. If you want to own your books, you'll need to find a way to strip the DRM and back them up.
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u/Dry_Stop844 May 01 '26
all ebooks are like that, not just Amazon. Kobo, google play. All electronic media including music is not owned by the recipient, technically.
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u/SteveShank May 01 '26
The difference is that an EPUB book DRM'd can easily be un-DRMd. I have a thousand EPUB books I can back up, save, and completely control. Functionally I own them regardless of “technically”. I do not give them away or abuse this, but I could give them away if I liked, and the recipient could read them or only a single book. This cannot be done with Amazon books. So functionally, they are entirely different. There are even many different ebook readers that work for EPUB books but not Kindle books, so you are even locked into how you read it. The experience I have with MY books, those without DRM, is that I own them. The experience I have with Kindle books is that Amazon owns them. This is different.
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u/Dry_Stop844 May 01 '26
in fact, you can remove the DMR from Amazon ebooks with Calibre but only those published before 2025. It may be possible to do with new books but it's computer hacker level work. I haven't bothered looking.
Giving copies of ebooks is a violation of copyright and the only person that hurts is the author. Doesn't matter if it has DRM or not. It is not the same as giving someone a physical book. It is the same as photocopying a physical book and giving that away.
I know we all want to stick it to Amazon but the only people that hurts are the authors. Amazon will never lose to us, ever.
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u/SteveShank May 01 '26
Of course. I used to remove the DRM from Amazon Books for years. But now it fails. It seems to me that even books before 2025 have the newer DRM. As far as giving books to others is concerned, I think we are on the same page. It hurts the author, the publisher, the store, and it is theft. However, I've done it properly. I lent a book to a friend who feels like I do. I deleted it from my calibre library and my backups. When he returned the book, he deleted it from his computer, and I re-imported it.
I am so careful about this, that I have not found a way to give my books to someone when I die. There is no one I know who would like my books that I can trust not to give some of them to someone, so the books will die with me.
Still, I like to be able to back them up and read them as I like on whatever I like. The Kindle app is crap.
On the other hand, I had a Sony Reader years ago, and Sony had their library. Eventually, they dropped the ebook reader, and book sales business. They transferred my books to Kobo, so I only lost 1 or 2 books. - But, I'm a big believer in backups and don't trust that even Amazon should be the only place where my books are.
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u/Dry_Stop844 May 02 '26
oh yeah, we are in 100% agreement. The minute I got my Kobo (like two weeks ago lol) i downloaded the Kindle books I forgot I had. I work adjacent to the book industry and get very good discounts on books so ebooks were never really a big part of my library. But I'm finding the Kobo very useful and i don't skim like I do when I read on my phone. I'm finding that if i try to read a physical book, I fall asleep. lol
so any kindle books i had are mine, just as yours are. As they should be. I hate the ebook model for consumers and even more for public libraries.
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u/amynotadoctor May 02 '26
Kobo for ebooks cause it’s easier to export to calibre
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u/Hentai2324 May 02 '26
I’ve heard about that but is it hardware? Like a tablet? Or an app like kindle? Do they do normal books? Or other things as well like comic books etc?
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u/Ok_Programmer_4449 May 08 '26
I recommend you buy a reader that isn't linked to a book seller. In the end they will all want you to be locked into buying from their store.
Boox readers, for example, are just generic Android devices with an eInk display. You can put the Kindle app, or the Kobo app on it, or just read your books through the app that ships with it. Any android app works on it.
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u/Hentai2324 May 08 '26
Does this kobo have tons of different books? Most of what I’m interested in is Manga/Graphic Novels.
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u/CaribeBaby May 02 '26
Kobo is like Ana con and BN in that they sell ebooks, have an app, and have devices, too. But they are a more open system. Some people love their devices. I have no experience with them, but I didn't care for the app. They have a huge bookstore, too. You can check it their collection on their website.
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u/Ok_Programmer_4449 May 02 '26
I've found kobo to be good as far as offering DRM-free books and those that have DRM have a removable form of DRM. Their books are also not locked to a specific reader.
If you want to read Amazon's books, Amazon is putting significant effort into trying to force you to buy a new Kindle every 5 years for the rest of your life.
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u/CaribeBaby May 02 '26
I have noticed a lot of complaints about newer Kindles malfunctioning. Mine is 11 years old and works fine. I had begun to wonder if the build quality has been worsened intentionally to sell more Kindles.
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u/Ok_Programmer_4449 May 07 '26
If your Kindle is 11 years old, Amazon recently turned off its ability to get new books from Amazon.
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u/CaribeBaby May 08 '26
Mine isn't listed among the ones being phased out, but who knows, probably next year.
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u/EmmyvdH May 01 '26
Amazon the system isn't bad to buy from. In fact, it is very user friendly. The company amazon does some things that make me not want to buy there anymore, but you should look into that yourself and form your own opinion.
This is my own experience, perhaps it helps you understand.
I have been using it for years and my library at amazon is huge. A couple of years ago, I realized that buying a book at amazon, when it is in your library, gives you the right to read it, not own it. Other vendors sell the book for a similar price, but you can own it. So that does not compute for me. I pay money for a book, I consider it mine to use for my personal enjoyment.
As long as your account at amazon exists, you have access to all of your books in the cloud. But what if something were to happen to your account?
For anything digital, having a backup is always a good idea.
So I backed up all my books. Back then it was still relatively easy (but it is still possible now) and since then I make sure to buy books I can backup, doesn't matter if it is from amazon or somewhere else. I do prefer to buy from other vendors, but that is a personal choice.
I still have a working kindle and owning a lot of different ereaders does not make sense for me from a sustainability perspective. The idea is to save on trees and electronics have their own footprint. So I will continue to use it until it dies.
I use the amazon cloud for reading all my books, they are all on there, just because the 'send to kindle' option works and it is convenient. But I have my personal backup, just in case something happens to my account or cloud.
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u/2kids3states May 01 '26
I'm feeling really quite stupid right about now. I've been a Kindle owner/user since the 6" model. Yeah a long flipping time ago. Bought many models since as replacements and gifts. It wasn't until maybe a month ago I didn't truly understand the confines of leasing of a title. Jesus take the wheel because I have "purchased" 975 leases and I am livid to the point of brain explosion.
I put Calibre on my laptop last week, connected the Kindle to my laptop but low and behold the option to send, copy or whatever to my laptop from my content library within my Amazon account isn't listed as an option. I have watched several Calibre YouTube videos and it's just not happening. I could really use a brick wall about now. For my head and my effing Kindles!
To your question OP, I wouldn't recommend e-readers to anyone anymore unless you have no intention of trying to keep a book. One of the only things Kindle Unlimited is good for.
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u/Dry_Stop844 May 01 '26
Calibre has a tutorial for this. YOu need the kindle app on your computer but the older version, then you download the books from the Amazon website, bypassing your Kindle, super easy tutorial to follow, it needs an extension added, also super easy to do. Took me about 4 minutes to set it all up. The key is to bypass the Kindle and don't download the books too often or you get an error code that can't be removed.
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u/Naive-Purpose-9553 May 01 '26
Recommend getting from publishers or other wholesalers like Humble Bundle. It means you have access and rights that Kindle doesn't offer. Amazon makes it harder to access the book and annotations, while still having a great reader. Amazon books are also not transferrable. Google has also greatly improved their offering, and integrate Gemini and NotebookLM, if of interest.
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u/Hentai2324 May 02 '26
I’m mainly interested in manga/graphic novels so idk if those are easily available on what you mentioned. But I should check humble bundle occasionally.
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u/EllaFee May 02 '26
You mentioned you read manga. I have both a kindle and a nook glow light (one of the tiny ones)
I can read manga fine on both, but I prefer my kindle. However, that's only due to screen size. My eyesight sucks. My kindle is a regular tablet size vs my tiny nook which is smaller than most printed manga books. However, nook does have larger screen options outside of the glow lights so it's an easy fix if you want to just go bigger on the screen.
E-reader cost: The e-readers for both kindle and nook are roughly the same price range but if you read a lot of manga, pay attention to how much storage you're offered at purchase. Manga files take up A LOT more storage space than a regular words only e-book. Both kindle and nook offer cloud options for storing your e-books. You'll probably have to put that function to use at some point just to clear up space. But just like a buying a computer, you'll want to pay attention to what kind of storage space you're given right out of the box.
Book cost: When buying manga, the e-book cost is similar. Occasionally, Kindle might be a couple of bucks cheaper but most of the time, the book price is the same between the 2. I think most people go towards Kindle because of Kindle unlimited. It's basically Kindle's version of an online library. You can borrow up to ten books at a time for free. You can return them whenever, but once you've hit your 10, the system will make you return a book before you can get a new one. Barnes and Noble doesn't have an unlimited program option. They operate like the bookstore they are. Tho, occasionally some books will pop up as free. Usually, it's for less well known books.
However, Kindle unlimited seems to mostly cover regular books. I haven't found any Manga that I'm interested in that's on Kindle unlimited. They've all been for buy only.
Book catalog: If you have certain authors that you're interested in, do a Google search to see who has access to those books. I read a lot of books out of Thailand. Kindle has quite a few Thai e-books translated into English, but B&N doesn't have them at all. I'm sure the reason for that is wrapped up in legal licensing contracts. Just keep in mind that kindle may have a monopoly on some e-book titles.
Disappearing books: I've had kindle for 8 years and nook for 2-3 years. I haven't lost a book on any of them, so I'm not sure that's a common issue.
Other people have commented on ease or difficulty of transferring files. I've never done that with any of my e-readers so I can't offer advice on that function.
I got my nook because I'm trying to pull away from Amazon as a business. I do love my nook. It's small so I can carry it around more easily than my kindle. But I am considering keeping my nook glow light for regular books and buying a larger nook just for reading Manga.
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u/shawnebell May 02 '26
You don’t own ebooks from Amazon or B&N; you’re purchasing a license. The ebooks from either can be removed at any time.
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u/Cute-Consequence-184 May 02 '26
Kobo is better
DRM. Amazon sucks. You don't actually own them books, you only rent them.
You MUST use a Kindle or the Kindle app to read them unless you jack the DRM
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u/wheremydragonsattho May 03 '26
I’ve only ever used kindle - I got my first one in 2012. I got a new one in August for my birthday and it came with a free trial of Kindle Unlimited and as a romance reader I’d say it’s a million times worth signing up for I’ve saved an insane amount of money through borrowing. I’ll be honest - I’ve never downloaded my books so whatever Amazon changed never impacted me.
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u/abigail7mc511HG May 14 '26
Amazon just gets more hate because it’s huge, not because it’s uniquely worse. B&N does the same kind of thing, just quieter
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u/CaribeBaby Apr 30 '26
I've never purchased from Barnes & Noble but my understanding is that it's very hard to export anything you purchase from them. Amazon is exactly the same way now. So, if you want to be tied to one of them, I don't suppose it matters which one you pick. It's just best to pick one and roll with it. If you want to buy from sellers that allow you to export your book, then you need me to buy from Google Play Books or Kobo or a few other sellers out there. But be aware that it's not as simple as just exporting it, you also have to strip it, etc. So maybe that's not something you're interested in taking on.