I do, I get them directly from IRC

I came to the same realization about my audiobooks through audible, so I've archived my audible account and now they can't take my books :D

same goes for steam, epic launcher, etc. with the exception of gog (though generally if steam removes a game, they at least let you keep your copy if you already own it)

YSK, finding and installing mobi files are easy. Also, keeping your Kindle in airplane mode prevents ads. Fuck Amazon. Calibre is a great open source piece of software.

My Kindle never saw any WiFi connected to it. Everything goes through Calibre. I only read dead authors, so I don't feel bad about pirating my books.
Sometimes I go buy used books at my local bookshops just because you should support your local bookshop.

Damn right I don't.

Yarrrrrrr

Unless you download the pdf/epub off a very legal website. And only buy the books of small authors you want to support.

There have also been cases where a customer violated Amazon's terms of service and lost access to all of their Kindle e-books

Imagine where corpo can take your property because you did something they did not like....

Now open your eyes, peasants.

This is why I only read books from the library

Is there a FOSS OS for Kindles?

If someone want an alternative there is ebooks.com. The two titles I got from there were way cheeper than on the store linked to my device. No nonsense app or anything, just download the file from the store and do what you want with it.

Everyone should generally assume that unless you have something tangibly in your hand, you either do not own it or you may very easily and/or suddenly lose access to it. You could test this by trying to access the content without having to sign in to something.

All these streaming and subscription services should be considered ease of access conveniences. In other industries, you pay a premium for something to be prepared for you to consume. In the subscription industry, you're paying less because you're not paying for the content but for a license to temporarily consume the content (and probably because your info is being sold to advertisers).

Fun Fact: If you were to rip a Bluray to your computer, you're legally not permitted to watch that movie if you're no longer in possession of the disc. This is because you're not purchasing the content of the disc but the license to view the content. Decrypting DRM is illegal not based on whether you own the content but because the DRM encryption itself is separately copyright protected.

I looked in to the whole DRM removal thing. From what I could tell, everything was majorly out of date, required a really old version of Calibre, and didn't work with newer books.

Edit: So, this is out of date info. There's a fork and it works with a fairly recent version of the PC app. Basically no fuss.

I have a few kindles, have upgraded over the years and have been able to use them all in the same manner:

With a new device I connect it to the internet and update the firmware to the latest version (the factory installed version has had a lot of missing functionality in my experience). Then I block it from my network, delete the AP entry and put it permanently into airplane mode.

When purchasing an ebook from Amazon you can download it for usb transfer and I organize it on my laptop with Calibre.

Calibre can also strip drm, but if you’re transferring it to the device you downloaded it for it isn’t necessary.

Amazon may at some point in the future change all of this, but the content I have already downloaded can not be revoked and is usable outside the Amazon ecosystem if the drm is removed.

Finally got around to backing up my over 200 audiobooks in a DRM-free format after this post reminded me it was on my to-do list. Libation is pretty damn good.

Can't delete a title since I don't have it ever connected to internet.

Not an American, but I did buy digital books on Amazon and Kindle.

Have you seen the new ruling about games from California? Doest that apply to ebooks (since its digital goods?) Or not?

I do.

So Kobo is the way to go then?

I'm really asking, my daughter is becoming a big book worm and we have missed out on some great sales because she only reads physical books ATM. I want her to give it a try with an e-ready and did not like Amazon for it.