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Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Ask the New Guy!
If you have a simple question, contact me at copil.yanez@gmail.com.
Today’s question is:
Q: I like to read on my Kindle. How easy is it to read my e-books on Ubuntu?
A: You’re hardcore, I like that. Not content to show up at your favorite coffee shop with a Kobo in your messenger bag, you come with a full tower PC, 32” monitor, mechanical keyboard (the kind that sounds like a Cold War teletype machine, circa October 1962), and one of those granny baskets to carry the 6 stacked car batteries it takes to run it all. I have to give you mad props, though. At least you don’t hog the outlet.
Okay, so maybe you’re not reading books on your desktop, maybe you’d like to use your laptop to catch up on a few pages of Game of Thrones while sitting on one. Hey, I’m not judging. And considering the Ubuntu Phone is right around the corner, maybe knowing how to get your e-books on Ubuntu isn’t such a bad idea.
Can it be done? Dunno. Are we done here?
Fine. Let me see what I can find out.
As with any exhaustive review like this (meaning, one where I hit the keys randomly until I come up with a solution), I begin in the Ubuntu Software Center. My razor-sharp intellect tells me I should start by typing the word “Kindle” into the search field. Yeah, I’m practically Einstein. When I do, I find something called Jutoh. The description seems to indicate it’s more for content creation than reading. But at $39.00, I didn’t bother to download it. This may be a perfectly reasonable price for the software, but I don’t have that kind of money lying around. If I did, I’d pay someone to code my new Date-a-Geek website, where you can select your age, sexual preference, and preferred operating system. I seriously advise you steer clear of anyone looking for Hurd enthusiasts, though. They plan a date, but never show up.
Anywho, it turns out Amazon doesn’t have a native Ubuntu client for Kindle Books. This seems a little odd until you realize there’s a dead simple solution called the Kindle Cloud Reader. You can access it by pointing any browser (I used Chrome) to: https://read.amazon.com. Use your Amazon login and, voila! Your Kindle library pops up.
This is a very slick and easy way to get your Kindle books on any device that has internet access. My guess is there will be a native app for the Ubuntu phones (purportedly coming in 2014). But if you don’t see it on Day 0, you can always access your Kindle titles this way.
Depending on your worldview (like, say, if you own an independent bookstore), you might not be a huge fan of Mr. Bezos and his juggernaut. If that’s the case, there are plenty of other ways to read your e-book titles, no matter where you purchased them.
Let’s start by looking at the major e-book readers and see how easy it is to get your favorite titles on your favorite OS.
The Nook is available from Barnes & Noble. It’s a snazzy device with more models than the Kindle and, at least in the US, you can bring your Nook to the in-store cafe, and “borrow” any of their available titles while you’re there. There’s a Nook app for most devices, including your internet-enabled freezer. But not Ubuntu.
Pfffft, whatevers.
Here’s the thing about Ubuntu. You remember that scene in Back to the Future, when Doc Brown shows up at the end of the movie in a modified DeLorean? He digs around in Marty’s trash and pulls out a banana peel and some backwashed soda, and pours it into the Mr. Fusion to get it running again.
Ubuntu is the Mr. Fusion of operating systems. Your favorite app isn’t available natively for Ubuntu? Who cares! We’ll take your app, slather it in our special sauce, and run it like we’re witch doctor’s raising the dead. Nothing can stop us! Muahahahahahahahahaha!!
All you need is a little wine. No, I’m not suggesting you get drunk, although that certainly can’t hurt. I’m referring to WINE (Wine is Not an Emulator), software that allows you to run Windows programs in Linux. I have no idea what’s under the hood, but The Force is strong with this one. Seriously, even if you don’t need to run e-book apps, just download WINE and thank me later. At some point in the future, you’ll download a .exe file, wondering how you’ll ever get it working, only to have WINE rise like some benevolent genie after you rubbed her lamp, and grant you the wish of software compatibility.
Seriously, sometimes WINE is indistinguishable from magic.
To get WINE, go into the Ubuntu Software Center, search for it, and select it for install.
Back to the Nook. No Ubuntu client? No problem. Simply download the Windows client and click on the .exe file. Now that you have WINE installed, there is nothing else to it. WINE won’t work with all software, of course, and even when it does, there’s a possibility it won’t work exactly the way you expect.
But where the Nook is concerned, it couldn’t have worked better. The install took about ten seconds.
Something else about the Nook that’s kinda fun, you can actually get Ubuntu loaded on it. Now, don’t come crying to me if you brick your e-reader or void your warranty. But how cool would it be to have Ubuntu running on the Nook (rather than the other way around)?
Another major e-reader is the Kobo. When I checked the Software Center, I found an app, downloaded it, and was well through level 20 on this cool little 2D side-scrolling shooter before I realized there’s a game called Kobo in the software center. In case you were wondering, no, you can’t read e-books on that.
Instead, download the Kobo app for Windows. When you click to install it, WINE will act like a wealthy magnate’s man-servant and take care of everything.
Kobo also seems to offer the best options for open e-book formats like EPUB.
If you don’t have a reader, or you simply want a good way of reading your various PDFs, .docs and open source ebook formats on Ubuntu, you can always download one of several e-reader apps from the Software Center. FBReader and Calibre are both available there, and both pop up on “best of” lists on a regular basis, so they’re worth giving a try.
No matter how you roll (discreet Ubuntu tablet or full-fledged power-mad PC user), you no longer have to wait until you get home to find out how Fifty Shades of Grey ends. (Spoiler Alert: probably in a damp bed strewn with enough sex toys to make Ke$ha blush). Just pick the app that works with your preferred library and get your kink on!
Good luck and happy Ubuntuing!