play nice, Kindle App

So, I’ve been wanting a way to put my downloaded ebooks in the Kindle App. Yes, that’s right not a Kindle device (as I do not have one), but the Kindle App on my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. Sure I could put downloaded PDF format books into iBooks, but then I’m kinda limited to only reading on my iPad because it’s got the screen real estate to read a PDF (just) or I’m reading on my MacBook in Preview and bookmarking, and no love on my iPhone because it’s just too small.

I want a real ebook that I can alter the text size, like a normal purchased Amazon ebook (azw) or Apple ebook (epub). And I want the text to flow, not be a static PDF page.

How To

Get your downloaded book into a .mobi or .azw format. This is the nightmare task. I won’t go into this much except to say I had best luck with Stanza Desktop or Calibre for format converting.  Calibre will convert any format to any format, let you fix up the title and author metadata and download/add book cover art.  New cover art only gets included in the book when you convert, so convert .mobi to .mobi if you need to.  Stanza is great for reading a PDF and exporting it to .azw.  It was able to handle and reflow a multi-column (2 pages on 1) book for me. Adobe Pro wouldn’t even do that for me.

Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac

1. Take your .mobi or .azw file and drop a copy into your “My Kindle Content” folder
   • On a Mac /Users/username/Documents/My Kindle Content
   • On a PC C:\Users\username\Documents\My Kindle Content or C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Kindle Content
2. Launch Kindle for PC or Kindle for Mac and it will be in your Home screen. Simple.

Kindle App (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch)

1. Well, Amazon’s recent update for their Kindle App makes it easy. “Open supported files from Safari and Mail or use File Sharing in iTunes to transfer files to your Kindle app.” With the updated Kindle app, either email your books to yourself or use File Sharing in iTunes.  Note, sometimes you need to restart the Kindle App for it to update the library.

So simple. Thanks Amazon!!!

Geek Tweak

Whispersync is that handy feature that let’s you read the same book on more than one device by syncing the “furthest read location” for you.  The latest update to the Kindle App killed the whispersync feature for books loaded through iTunes or as email attachments.  There is a way to retain that Whispersync functionality.  The trick is not to use iTunes to copy your books, but rather a different tool.  And NO jailbreaking is required.

1. Download iPhone Explorer (works well on OS X) or any other application (DiskAid, PhoneView, TouchCopy or iPhoneDisk) that let’s you access the files and folders of your iDevice.
2. Using the tool of your choice, drop a copy of your .mobi or .azw file into the “eBooks” folder
   • Using iPhone Explorer:  Apps -> Kindle -> Library -> eBooks
   • Other tools look for:  /var/mobile/Applications/Kindle/Library/eBooks OR /var/mobile/Applications/EC0CB312-385A-4B00-ADFA-F0FE0B9D6BE6/Library/eBooks
3. Quit iPhone Explorer and launch the Kindle app (* if it’s already running in the multitask bar, you’ll need to kill it and relaunch).

Enjoy!!!

GeekTweet gone.  The Kindle App has completely abolished support of WhisperSync unless you are buying your books through the Amazon store.  I’m bummed too.

 

WAIT, not so fast.

If you liked this article, you are going to LOVE my new ebook…

GMAIL UNLOCKED: A Guide to Email Management for the Tech Savvy and the Rest of Us

50+ pages of settings and tips to automate, streamline and declutter your inbox, unlocking the true awesome power of Gmail!!  Get it now!!