6 ms·

My favorite fantasy author, Brandon Sanderson, has long been against DRM and has written a few times about the topic. (https://www.brandonsanderson.com/some-faq

My favorite fantasy author, Brandon Sanderson, has long been against DRM and has written a few times about the topic. (https://www.brandonsanderson.com/some-faqs-you-might-enjoy/ https://www.brandonsanderson.com/some-faqs-you-might-enjoy/ for one instance.) Whenever I buy his books from anywhere (usually via Amazon, (or direct in the case of his Kickstarter books!) but I should start going direct through Tor for his other ones…) I get them DRM-free. I hope more authors and publishers start releasing their stuff DRM-free too. As it stands, I have a jailbroken Kindle that I run KOReader on; I use a Calibre plugin to bust the DRM off of any book I buy for my Kindle, then port the ebook over to my device. Of course, I wouldn't have to do any of that if publishers would just sell the darn things without DRM.

Yujf 3y ago
Calibre DRM busting is great. It is also what I do when adding any ebook to my library.
- james-bcn 3y ago
  How do you get it to work? If I try it with a Kindle book it just comes up with a message saying it is protected by DRM.
  - hanche 3y ago
    Calibre won’t do it out of the box, but you can install third party software to do the de-DRMing, and Calibre will use it if present. At least that is how it worked years ago. I think the Calibre web site (if not the app itself) had pointers. Sorry I can’t be more specific – I don’t have access to my laptop at the moment.
  - fractallyte 3y ago
    https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/releases https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/releases Import the plugin into Calibre, provide your Kindle serial number, and then DRM removal is transparent. I have over 2000 books in my library, all DRM-free, thanks to these excellent tools.
    - hanche 3y ago
      That one has not been maintained for a couple years. Apparently, this is the current version, approved by the original maintainer: https://github.com/nodrm/DeDRM_tools https://github.com/nodrm/DeDRM_tools
  - vincent-manis 3y ago
    I found Calibre clumsy to use. I ended up with a program called Epubor, which so far has worked flawlessly. I'm a strong supporter of software freedom, and think it's ironic that one of the few non-free programs I have actually enhances my freedom to read.
ilvez 3y ago
How do you know something is DRM free if you buy from Amazon? I'm avid reader and have not bothered to care, but it's still at the back of my mind since library is growing. Don't want to lose it on a whim.
- daveoc64 3y ago
  Under the book details, it should say "Simultaneous device usage: Unlimited" if the publisher has chosen to omit DRM.
  - Georgelemental 3y ago
    My understanding is, no eBook purchased from Amazon is fully DRM-free, whether or not the number of devices is limited.
KennyBlanken 3y ago
[flagged]
- gmerc 3y ago
  He’s republican?
  - condwanaland 3y ago
    No, he's been upfront that he supports Democrat candidates
- ozyschmozy 3y ago
  I know nothing about the guy, do you have any sources for any of this?
  - Moru 3y ago
    I don't know anything about the guy but the church has been on the news a few times. Just looked up the wikipedia page [1] that has some info on the older stuff. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints#Criticism_and_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_...
    - 8draco8 3y ago
      Funny thing about religious people is that very often they do not agree with 100% of what that church is saying and doing.
- ashton314 3y ago
  It’s fine if you don’t like the Church if Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—but a smear on this level is another thing. Such an amalgam of falsehoods, misrepresentations, and bad whole-to-part fallacies. Brandon Sanderson is a kind, altruistic man. For instance, he teaches a creative writing class at BYU and all the money he would earn from that he donates to scholarships. (If I’m not mistaken.) I happen to enjoy his writing too! You’re clearly upset about some things he’s associated with: that’s OK, but you’ve really crossed over into unreasonable, fallacious territory. It’s not fair to smear and misrepresent so much. He’s a good man trying his best, and his work has brought me much enjoyment.
Gazoche 3y ago
Sadly, the DRM-free versions of his books seem to only be available on US stores. I tried to buy The Stormlight Archive from Australia but could only find DRM'ed copies, probably because of international publishing deals. Still, I wish more authors would follow. DRM is a plague.
- SenAnder 3y ago
  > seem to only be available on US stores Surely the many "free trade" agreements Australia has entered mean you can use US stores as much as you please? ;)
  - pasc1878 3y ago
    Not in publishing publishers have different contracts in North America and the Commonwealth and won't seel under one contract in the other region. Publishers have forced Amazon et al to enforce this.
  - Gazoche 3y ago
    I actually tried, but it didn't work. Barnes&Noble just wouldn't let me place an order (but still let me create an account on the US store, weirdly).
- stilley2 3y ago
  For what it's worth Canadian Amazon also has them DRM free
- pasc1878 3y ago
  It is not the author who decised on DRM or not - it is the publisher. E<G all TOR or Baen books are DRM free. Unfortunnately in the paper world there are separate North American and CommonWealth contracts. Many publishers do only one thus many books have different publishers in the two regions. These two contracts could have one with DRM and one without.
glimshe 3y ago
Can you still jailbreak the latest and greatest kindles? "Apparently", it was possible to break the DRM using the PC Kindle reader but that stopped working some time ago.
- mariusor 3y ago
  I think the safe option would be to not buy Kindles. Go with Kobo, or another company that's more open.
  - criddell 3y ago
    Is the Kobo DRM scheme fully cracked without any caveats? Could I buy books from the Kobo store, strip the DRM, and load them onto my Kindle?
    - glimshe 3y ago
      A friend told me that you can easily crack Kobo DRM when you download the book through the Adobe reader software. Likewise with Internet Archive downloaded books. Unfortunately, many books aren't available on Kobo.
    - jimmydoe 3y ago
      Yes, standard epub drm. And it's good to have competition, that's why I buy most ebooks on kobo.
    - AdmiralAsshat 3y ago
      > Is the Kobo DRM scheme fully cracked without any caveats? So far, yes. Kobo hasn't updated their encryption in many years, and it's easily broken by DeDRM. > Could I buy books from the Kobo store, strip the DRM, and load them onto my Kindle? Certainly, you could. It might even encourage you to switch devices down the line. :)
    - NoGravitas 3y ago
      Kobo uses Adobe Digital Editions DRM, which has been broken for years, but is still the industry standard used by everyone except Amazon.
barrysteve 3y ago
Why should a publisher abandon DRM because some middleware ebook app doesn't like it? The publisher wouldn't have to do anything if the tech was built to protect works by default. Youtube protects big hollywood with copyright strikes, but apparenty books are beneath protection. It's your tech industry, stop blaming the publishers.
- mariusor 3y ago
  Of-course, it's the tech industry that forces publishers to set absurd prices for electronic copies of books which in turn leads readers to try "alternative" methods of book acquisition. And it's not the "tech industry" in the first place, it's fucking Adobe.
  - pasc1878 3y ago
    I find this and odd comment. How is it an absurd price for electronic copies as they are less than the paper version. I have bought hundreds of ebooks and all were cheaper than the mass market paperback.
- WolfeReader 3y ago
  DRM is a bad idea with worse implementations. It's presented as a way to enable legitimate customers to enjoy works while preventing pirates from getting them, right? In practice, the opposite is true - rule-following buyers have restricted access to the things they buy, and rule-breakers still get to do what they want. The silly thing about DRM for media is that, fundamentally, anyone can break it with manual effort, just by transcribing the words, or recording the video/music. Besides, anyone who doesn't break DRM runs the risk that the vendor will take away access to the books they already paid for. It's happened before.
  - barrysteve 3y ago
    I know, I've particpated on both sides. I can download from youtube right now with youtube-dl or jdownloader. But anything I upload to youtube, will (potentially) be copyright struck into deletion. Who cares what people record for personal use. Copyright strike any books uploaded to windows machines from usb sticks and ethernet cables, with the same copyright strike system. Then nobody will care when you time-shift or format-shift media you already 'own'. There is a clear bias in protecting cloud software/some games and hollywood products. That bias has always protected the 'economic interests' and left the average joe flat on his bum. If we live in a world where private conversations cannot exist, thanks to global survelliance, then your windows PC and copies of media, are subject to the same (bs) overseers. I didn't ask for this massive overwatch system, but now it's here....
kondro 3y ago
It's also pretty easy to insist on your publisher being DRM-free when you can presell 4 books for $41 million[1]. [1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonsteel/surprise-four-secret-novels-by-brandon-sanderson https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonsteel/surprise-fo...
- w0m 3y ago
  TBF, he explicitly acknowledged the privileged position he has due to his popularity.
  - ashton314 3y ago
    Indeed. I believe he went on to use some of the excess funds raised in the kickstarter to help fund other new authors' projects.
ta_vf7xjd34cc 3y ago
> Amazon Has rankings, plus a reasonably good discovery engine. More sales on the platform will influence the former and could influence the latter, leading to even more sales. Buying direct puts more money into the author's pocket per sale but has zero ability to influence other sales. There is no easy answer.
kirso 3y ago
This is off-topic but I long wanted to read his books, where should I start?
- minifyre 3y ago
  As far as his epic fantasy stuff goes, I started with Mistborn (starts slow, but finishing the 1st trilogy is mind-blowing) & my friend began with Elantris (release order, in my opinion, his writing gets better every book--there are now 50 & I've read/loved nearly all of them). Alternatively, Way of Kings could be a good starting point as well (my personal favorite). And of course there's a ton of non epic fantasy (Skyward & Steelheart skew younger). See also: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/where-do-i-start/ https://www.brandonsanderson.com/where-do-i-start/
jcul 3y ago
KOReader is one of my favourite pieces of software, makes the ereader experience so good. Especially for pdfs where you can swap to landscape, reduce margins etc. Has a cool feature to highlight and create a QR code you can scan if you want to share snippets. Used it on my old kindle and currently on my kobo ereader.

Yujf 3y ago

Calibre DRM busting is great. It is also what I do when adding any ebook to my library.

james-bcn 3y ago
How do you get it to work? If I try it with a Kindle book it just comes up with a message saying it is protected by DRM.
- hanche 3y ago
  Calibre won’t do it out of the box, but you can install third party software to do the de-DRMing, and Calibre will use it if present. At least that is how it worked years ago. I think the Calibre web site (if not the app itself) had pointers. Sorry I can’t be more specific – I don’t have access to my laptop at the moment.
- fractallyte 3y ago
  https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/releases https://github.com/apprenticeharper/DeDRM_tools/releases Import the plugin into Calibre, provide your Kindle serial number, and then DRM removal is transparent. I have over 2000 books in my library, all DRM-free, thanks to these excellent tools.
  - hanche 3y ago
    That one has not been maintained for a couple years. Apparently, this is the current version, approved by the original maintainer: https://github.com/nodrm/DeDRM_tools https://github.com/nodrm/DeDRM_tools
- vincent-manis 3y ago
  I found Calibre clumsy to use. I ended up with a program called Epubor, which so far has worked flawlessly. I'm a strong supporter of software freedom, and think it's ironic that one of the few non-free programs I have actually enhances my freedom to read.

ilvez 3y ago

How do you know something is DRM free if you buy from Amazon? I'm avid reader and have not bothered to care, but it's still at the back of my mind since library is growing. Don't want to lose it on a whim.

daveoc64 3y ago
Under the book details, it should say "Simultaneous device usage: Unlimited" if the publisher has chosen to omit DRM.
- Georgelemental 3y ago
  My understanding is, no eBook purchased from Amazon is fully DRM-free, whether or not the number of devices is limited.

KennyBlanken 3y ago

[flagged]

gmerc 3y ago
He’s republican?
- condwanaland 3y ago
  No, he's been upfront that he supports Democrat candidates
ozyschmozy 3y ago
I know nothing about the guy, do you have any sources for any of this?
- Moru 3y ago
  I don't know anything about the guy but the church has been on the news a few times. Just looked up the wikipedia page [1] that has some info on the older stuff. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints#Criticism_and_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_...
  - 8draco8 3y ago
    Funny thing about religious people is that very often they do not agree with 100% of what that church is saying and doing.
ashton314 3y ago
It’s fine if you don’t like the Church if Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—but a smear on this level is another thing. Such an amalgam of falsehoods, misrepresentations, and bad whole-to-part fallacies. Brandon Sanderson is a kind, altruistic man. For instance, he teaches a creative writing class at BYU and all the money he would earn from that he donates to scholarships. (If I’m not mistaken.) I happen to enjoy his writing too! You’re clearly upset about some things he’s associated with: that’s OK, but you’ve really crossed over into unreasonable, fallacious territory. It’s not fair to smear and misrepresent so much. He’s a good man trying his best, and his work has brought me much enjoyment.

Gazoche 3y ago

Sadly, the DRM-free versions of his books seem to only be available on US stores. I tried to buy The Stormlight Archive from Australia but could only find DRM'ed copies, probably because of international publishing deals. Still, I wish more authors would follow. DRM is a plague.

SenAnder 3y ago
> seem to only be available on US stores Surely the many "free trade" agreements Australia has entered mean you can use US stores as much as you please? ;)
- pasc1878 3y ago
  Not in publishing publishers have different contracts in North America and the Commonwealth and won't seel under one contract in the other region. Publishers have forced Amazon et al to enforce this.
- Gazoche 3y ago
  I actually tried, but it didn't work. Barnes&Noble just wouldn't let me place an order (but still let me create an account on the US store, weirdly).
stilley2 3y ago
For what it's worth Canadian Amazon also has them DRM free
pasc1878 3y ago
It is not the author who decised on DRM or not - it is the publisher. E<G all TOR or Baen books are DRM free. Unfortunnately in the paper world there are separate North American and CommonWealth contracts. Many publishers do only one thus many books have different publishers in the two regions. These two contracts could have one with DRM and one without.

glimshe 3y ago

Can you still jailbreak the latest and greatest kindles? "Apparently", it was possible to break the DRM using the PC Kindle reader but that stopped working some time ago.

mariusor 3y ago
I think the safe option would be to not buy Kindles. Go with Kobo, or another company that's more open.
- criddell 3y ago
  Is the Kobo DRM scheme fully cracked without any caveats? Could I buy books from the Kobo store, strip the DRM, and load them onto my Kindle?
  - glimshe 3y ago
    A friend told me that you can easily crack Kobo DRM when you download the book through the Adobe reader software. Likewise with Internet Archive downloaded books. Unfortunately, many books aren't available on Kobo.
  - jimmydoe 3y ago
    Yes, standard epub drm. And it's good to have competition, that's why I buy most ebooks on kobo.
  - AdmiralAsshat 3y ago
    > Is the Kobo DRM scheme fully cracked without any caveats? So far, yes. Kobo hasn't updated their encryption in many years, and it's easily broken by DeDRM. > Could I buy books from the Kobo store, strip the DRM, and load them onto my Kindle? Certainly, you could. It might even encourage you to switch devices down the line. :)
  - NoGravitas 3y ago
    Kobo uses Adobe Digital Editions DRM, which has been broken for years, but is still the industry standard used by everyone except Amazon.

barrysteve 3y ago

Why should a publisher abandon DRM because some middleware ebook app doesn't like it? The publisher wouldn't have to do anything if the tech was built to protect works by default. Youtube protects big hollywood with copyright strikes, but apparenty books are beneath protection. It's your tech industry, stop blaming the publishers.

mariusor 3y ago
Of-course, it's the tech industry that forces publishers to set absurd prices for electronic copies of books which in turn leads readers to try "alternative" methods of book acquisition. And it's not the "tech industry" in the first place, it's fucking Adobe.
- pasc1878 3y ago
  I find this and odd comment. How is it an absurd price for electronic copies as they are less than the paper version. I have bought hundreds of ebooks and all were cheaper than the mass market paperback.
WolfeReader 3y ago
DRM is a bad idea with worse implementations. It's presented as a way to enable legitimate customers to enjoy works while preventing pirates from getting them, right? In practice, the opposite is true - rule-following buyers have restricted access to the things they buy, and rule-breakers still get to do what they want. The silly thing about DRM for media is that, fundamentally, anyone can break it with manual effort, just by transcribing the words, or recording the video/music. Besides, anyone who doesn't break DRM runs the risk that the vendor will take away access to the books they already paid for. It's happened before.
- barrysteve 3y ago
  I know, I've particpated on both sides. I can download from youtube right now with youtube-dl or jdownloader. But anything I upload to youtube, will (potentially) be copyright struck into deletion. Who cares what people record for personal use. Copyright strike any books uploaded to windows machines from usb sticks and ethernet cables, with the same copyright strike system. Then nobody will care when you time-shift or format-shift media you already 'own'. There is a clear bias in protecting cloud software/some games and hollywood products. That bias has always protected the 'economic interests' and left the average joe flat on his bum. If we live in a world where private conversations cannot exist, thanks to global survelliance, then your windows PC and copies of media, are subject to the same (bs) overseers. I didn't ask for this massive overwatch system, but now it's here....

kondro 3y ago

It's also pretty easy to insist on your publisher being DRM-free when you can presell 4 books for $41 million[1]. [1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonsteel/surprise-four-secret-novels-by-brandon-sanderson https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonsteel/surprise-fo...

w0m 3y ago
TBF, he explicitly acknowledged the privileged position he has due to his popularity.
- ashton314 3y ago
  Indeed. I believe he went on to use some of the excess funds raised in the kickstarter to help fund other new authors' projects.

ta_vf7xjd34cc 3y ago

> Amazon Has rankings, plus a reasonably good discovery engine. More sales on the platform will influence the former and could influence the latter, leading to even more sales. Buying direct puts more money into the author's pocket per sale but has zero ability to influence other sales. There is no easy answer.

kirso 3y ago

This is off-topic but I long wanted to read his books, where should I start?

minifyre 3y ago
As far as his epic fantasy stuff goes, I started with Mistborn (starts slow, but finishing the 1st trilogy is mind-blowing) & my friend began with Elantris (release order, in my opinion, his writing gets better every book--there are now 50 & I've read/loved nearly all of them). Alternatively, Way of Kings could be a good starting point as well (my personal favorite). And of course there's a ton of non epic fantasy (Skyward & Steelheart skew younger). See also: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/where-do-i-start/ https://www.brandonsanderson.com/where-do-i-start/

jcul 3y ago

KOReader is one of my favourite pieces of software, makes the ereader experience so good. Especially for pdfs where you can swap to landscape, reduce margins etc. Has a cool feature to highlight and create a QR code you can scan if you want to share snippets. Used it on my old kindle and currently on my kobo ereader.