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Starting Vol. 3 of 'In Search of Lost Time', The Guermantes Way. Pity I am back at work tomorrow...that tends to slow down my progress with #Proust ;) #reading pic.twitter.com/Lfwp…
Added Eric Karpeles, Paintings in Proust: A Visual Companion to ‘In Search of Lost Time’ to my #ParisCollection darcymoore.net/paris… pic.twitter.com/nQEl…
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“…had a long argument with Hurley who wants to be able to make ‘composite’ pictures for his exhibition” CEW Bean Wrote this post 10 years ago & remembered it now I know @Peter_Fitz's is writing about Hubert Wilkins, the other official WWI photographer. darcymoore.net/2011/…
academicmatters.ca/b… via @AcademicMatters “[Universities] are not commercial institutions, nor are they instruments of government. They are special communities dedicated to teaching and research.”
'...the medicalisation of "every day experiences that are part of the human condition"'. abc.net.au/news/2021…
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Darcy's bookshelf: currently-reading







Eggs & baskets, Kobo & Calibre
All that has changed (see Amazon Fails Social Reader) and I no longer wish to be restricted in this way. It is likely this will be my last post tagged ‘kindle’ (although maybe Amazon will make changes to their policies and customer service and I will renege on this). I do have a significant family investment in their hardware and ebooks and am really disappointed it has come to this – but suspect having more flexibility will ultimately prove a better, safer option than dealing with the whims of one company.
Researching the possible options for reading electronic books (and I still use the library, bookstores and booko.com.au weekly) made me realise just how quickly the e-reader market is losing diversity. It seems that Barnes and Noble are in serious trouble and their Nook e-reader probably has a limited lifespan. The Sony Reader have been defeated by Amazon and are transitioning their customers to Kobo.
All this has led me to purchase a Kobo Aura HD and start using Calibre to manage my ebook library. My new e-reader is elegant and the vast majority of reviews have rated it as the best currently available. I especially like the high screen resolution and the enormous capacity to store ebooks as the 4 GB of built-in memory can be expanded with up to a 32 GB Micro SD card. Kobo also has the option to download an app for my devices and social reading features from either the the e-reader or iPad app.
Calibre is open source and allows you to manage ebook collections as well as to create, edit, and read ebooks. I have under-utilised it for some years on a number of my computers. It supports an incredibly wide variety of formats and synchs with e-readers easily. This software has the ability to convert the many different e-book formats to the one you desire. It works well with my new Kobo Aura HD.
Anyone who is concerned that they will not be able to access their Amazon purchases via a new e-reader, like the Kobo, or that they could lose all their books, should read this. It is possible to remove the DRM from ebooks you have purchased very easily with a plugin for Calibre.
Conclusion
My move away from Amazon would not be happening if their customer service was more forthcoming and platitudes were backed with action, or least some explanation why they cannot assist. Kobo does not have the same excellent social reading features that Amazon once had (that no longer work) but the Aura HD provides a superb reading experience and in combination with Calibre, provides much needed flexibility for this reader into the future.
Featured image: creative commons licensed (BY-SA) flickr photo by John.M.Unsworth: http://flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/4129561621