Can I read my Kindle books on Mint?

[NFA]

Foliate is a flatpak available in Mint and is the best I've found.

https://johnfactotum.github.io/foliate/

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Foliate is a flatpak available in Mint and is the best I've found.

https://johnfactotum.github.io/foliate/

Didn't work on Kindle books for me.

[AndyMH]

Kindle does/did run under wine. I run it under crossover (commercial version of wine). I have found it a bit buggy, but it's an old version I have installed, maybe better now. Rarely use it, vast majority of the time I use kindle on my tablet.

[bumpus]

Kindle does/did run under wine. I run it under crossover (commercial version of wine). I have found it a bit buggy, but it's an old version I have installed, maybe better now. Rarely use it, vast majority of the time I use kindle on my tablet.

Kindle4PC does still work in WINE, sort of, meaning v. 1.38/1.40. BUT writing on wall, I had couple books it wouldnt download, said I needed to upgrade to v. 2.3.x which currently DOES NOT work in WINE. The only option at the moment is to either install Waydroid (android translation interface much like WINE only for android) and the Kindle4Android apk or dual boot with PrimeOS 2.1.3 or BlissOS v14. Both these are Android 11 for x86 systems. You need at least Android 9 to run current Kindle4Android. Dont know how old of a Kindle4Android still works with latest DRM stuff. Anbox mentioned by some is DEAD for some time now and will NOT run latest Kindle4Android, Waydroid is a fork of Anbox and actively being developed. Its not the easiest thing to get working and does require your computer meet certain standards. But when you get it working, this is probably most pleasant way to do Kindle offline on linux computer.

But like my last post, you can go to that Kindle reader webpage with your browser. and capture image of each page via that AutoScreenshot (or something similar) which if you write small script, you can do auto page turn and let it do this photocopying automagically. Yes its clunky way doing it, but if you want to read kindle books offline with no WINE, Waydroid, or Kindle apps or devices, then its pretty much only way. There are some online still trying to cling to the last ApprenticeAlf stuff and trying to get older versions of kindle DRM books via an old device or something, versions the ApprentceAlf stuff still works on. But jeesh, by time you do all that, just use the AutoScreenshot and "photocopy" the dang book. Amazon can fragment and encrypt it until heck freezes over, but unless they make their books unreadable, they cant stop you "photocopying" them. Some article about some guy in UK that went so far as to take his Paperwhite gizmo to library and physically photocopying the screen page by page to get a hard copy of some book he really, really wanted a hard copy and print version out of print and rare. Screen shots are lot easier.... and no feeding quarters into a photocopy machine.

This crazy DRM stuff really doesnt stop "pirates" somewhere selling illegal copies though not sure where this mythical place is supposedly located, its mostly to stop customers from sharing Kindle books with friends and family. And honestly there are much better ereader apps than any version Kindle, but you cant use them cause of the DRM crap. And again unfortunately Amazon/Kindle are the 800 pound gorilla in the room. You end up having to deal with their nonsense.

Oh for whatever its worth, my favorite epub reader is actually an Android app called Librera. That is cool and open source. I even added it to Waydroid. And it will read epub books to me, yes in Waydroid though I had to add RHVoice to Waydroid since it has no Google apps including Google text to speech engine. No you cant read Kindle DRM books on it but there are actual epub books.

[AndyMH]

Checked, I've got kindle 1.19.2 running under wine/crossover. I said it was old.

[bumpus]

I have been looking as to what is absolute easiest way to get access to android on linux computer that will run latest Kindle4Android. Android x86 has a rpm installer for their version, but they only offer upto Android 9. It can install Android in a directory inside of linux and you reboot and there is a GRUB entry for Android. Theoretically this should run latest Kindle4Android. So the way they suggest for a Debian/Ubuntu based system is to install "alien" and use alien to install their rpm version. Well yes it works and its all automagical. Even automagically updates GRUB. Latest Kindle will install on Android 9, but its crashy as all get out. Nope.

Ok well got to looking for how to install PrimeOS 2.1.3 (Android 11) which i know works. Yes you can install it in folder inside linux too, but you have to do it manually. I followed instructions here: https://itsfoss.community/t/install-pri ... istro/7405 You can add entry to GRUB manually of course, but I tried that Grub Customizer app they used. Thats slick and makes life lot easier. Anyway yes their recipe works. I booted into PrimeOS (and honestly I find this way far easier than PrimeOS's native installer, that thing is kinda PITA whether it gets GRUB correct or even installs it at all.) And of course Kindle installs and is super stable and works well. Android 11 and current kindle work well together.

This method of installing it inside of linux like this not only saves messing with the native installer but also avoids creating a separate partition and formatting it, etc. You could most likely install BlissOS v14 (Android 11 also) the same way. But personally I like the PrimeOS desktop better.

Too bad Android 9 from Android x86 folk doesnt play well with the Kindle app cause they have both a 32bit and 64bit version and i suspect the 32bit version doesnt require that SSE4.2 processor support. But I dont know that, didnt try it.

I still say if you dont mind the extra effort that Waydroid is maybe more convenient once it is installed and working, but this is far simpler and you just reboot into PrimeOS to read Kindle books offline.

Oh each to their own, but for moving around files like this I find it worth installing Midnight Commander, two pane file manager. sudo mc and there you are, no back and forth to copy and paste. If you want it more slicked up and less DOS looking, try Sunflower file manager.

[AndyMH]

but I tried that Grub Customizer app they used. Thats slick and makes life lot easier.

Until you want to un-install it:
https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... s.html#ID7
something to be avoided.

[bumpus]

but I tried that Grub Customizer app they used. Thats slick and makes life lot easier.

Until you want to un-install it:
https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspot.c ... s.html#ID7
something to be avoided.

Thank you for pointing this out. And hope others read your warning. But if it causes problems, I can just nuke grub altogether and reinstall it from live version. Not my first rodeo with GRUB. But hey this Grub Customizer is pretty slick when its working, hope they continue to improve it, or gives somebody a clue to fork it to something little less devastating. Cause GRUB2 itself isnt what I would call user friendly.

[bumpus]

You know really I wouldnt care that much about DRM and whatnot as most fiction books, I am only going to read once, but Amazon has went to such lengths to make this a PITA especially for linux folk. And I have been trying to see if there is a third party way to do text to speech on Kindle books, only to find they locked that down, at least in the Android version. They really really want to sell their Audible versions and I guess using a text to voice app cuts into those profits.

So the only way to use a text to voice is to de-DRM the dang thing. So back to my workaround with using the auto screenshot. I used it on that Dicken's Christmas Carol, mostly so I can discuss this without violating any copyrights since its in public domain.

So I have a folder full of screenshot images of Christmas Carol. The whole bundle is a kinda unwieldy 65MB. So hmm, how about tesseract-ocr to convert back to text from the images. Tesseract is a CL app though apparently there are gui frontends for it, I just cant find them much discussed. But just as test, I installed tesseract and used it on couple of the individual page images. Didnt even define a dpi though tesseract guessed correctly.

Result was great, the only not so great was at top of page where it has title of book on each page in small font. That was garbled and it insists on including the page number at the bottom. The text of the story was clear and accurate and formatted. i havent used an OCR since I experimented with it back in win98 when I had this really cheap scanner that came with software including some OCR software. That was a VERY long time ago and dont remember being very impressed with it. That scanner only supported in win95 and win98, nothing before or after that. But to be fair it was amazingly cheap and I probably got it near free on closeout.

Thats as far as I went, sure there is way to make tesseract do a whole folder of image files in one go. I just thought maybe somebody reading this is more familiar with tesseract and could suggest a gui front end, see if that makes it any easier. Maybe a way to exclude smaller font stuff and page numbers. Though guess that can be done in an editor.

Oh and the folder of images is like 65MB... ouch. Not big deal if you just want to read a book now and again offline but not save it. However after tesseract extracted the text, the whole book be fraction of 1MB. Back to more of a normal epub version size, well an epub version without images/illustrations included. Plus the text then converted to an epub and no problem finding an epub to voice reader. That Librera in Android being great one, but think there is a CL one for linux though the developer died a few years ago. No idea why nobody ever made a gui front end for it. Gotta think, some of us ok with command line but majority are going to ignore commandline only software. So to make it somewhat appealing and more widely used, really need at least a minimal gui.

[bumpus]

I think one might at least on some books eliminate the garbled small font book title at top of page and page number at bottom by adjust area of the screenshot. Take lot work to really develop this and make it as automated as possible.

Need to experiment lot more with tesseract. Cause it really does nice job, but need it to do many screenshots in a folder and assemble them in order. Guessing maybe go for smaller font in displaying the book pages before doing screenshots. Mean fewer image files to deal with.

Still real shame all this is somehow necessary. My guess if they just sold books in epub format and went after any websites trying to sell or give away copies that they wouldnt lose much if anything. Customers be lot happier. Also doubt letting people use third party text to speech wouldnt cut into selling audio books. Many people happy to pay for books read by an actor rather than listen to robot monotone reading. But this walled garden ecosystem mentality seems rampant. Cant let one penny get away if one can theoretically stop it by building an ever higher wall.

[bumpus]

Hmm, too bad, there is a variation based on tesseract called Normcap. It can directly capture text from screen/image, including text of a kindle book either in Kindle app or on website. I tried it. However it is pretty alpha, meaning you click on it, it gives you a way to indicate area with mouse, then wait and it captures the text and puts it in your clip board, then quits. Far as I can tell no way to specify the coordinates nor to automate it and make one big text file other than clipboard. So slower than taking screenshots and then having tesseract act on a folder of them. If you could specify the coordinates it would be good way to do what I want it to do. Save some steps.

[bumpus]

Oh interesting, I needed WINE for something else so tried Random Person's script to install it (plus Kindle4PC) in MINT. Wow, that was slick, maybe the fastest, easiest install of WINE ever. Avoids lot hoop jumping now done for "security".

Slowly working on automating the screenshot thing. This time using small CL tools. Automatic Screenshot just not precise enough and its option to snap a shot when screen changes doesnt work. I tried Automatic Screenshotter, a free windows program, it worked perfect in WINE some years ago when I messed with it, but the new improved version doesnt. Too bad, its a nice program. Shame but new and improved for windows doesnt mean its improved for WINE. Author doesnt offer older versions.

I am not good enough scripter to get this perfect and made into some slick package, but at least maybe make it into a usable manual tool automating the annoying repetitive bits. Shouldnt be rocket science, and its clumsy trying to do it piecemeal. Does make me aware of bunch small CL tools I didnt know existed. Slop is pretty cool as an example. It lets you use mouse to define area of screen, then it gives you the coordinates of that area. This then lets you use those coordinates for a screen shot. Saves editing default screenshot.