#how to make PDF to audiobook

[archive-z]

curating reading lists (without social media)

a guide to finding stuff to read, for @divorceblogger. this is a guide specifically for avoiding things like goodreads/storygraph etc which aggregate books that are popular without being all that helpful for finding things on niche/specialist topics.

a bit of housekeeping before getting to the actual list-making tips:

i mostly read nonfiction targeted at both academic and popular audiences. i also read a mixture of classic lit, genre fiction, zines & conceptual/artists’ books, and playtexts & poetry. i read traditional print books, non-traditional print publications, PDF and ePub ebooks on an iPad/iPhone, and listen to audiobooks and audio dramas.

i have a infinite number of books i want to read. the discovery process of new & interesting outstrips my capacity to read them all, so i have to be extremely selective. this also means i never tolerate a book i’m not enjoying. it can have weak points, but i have to be getting something out of the experience, or else i am wasting my one wild n precious life, ya feel?

my goal is to read for quality, not for quantity. i tend to dislike a lot of online reading communities for their focus on metrics (number of books, page count, word count, etc). i bristle at tools that try to push my reading into this direction. i have a reading practice, in the same sense that one would have an artistic practice. thinking of my reading as a practice — rather than a project, a thing to be completed and checked off the checklist — helps orient me towards patterns of thinking that serve me better

i work in the arts industry, so fiction and non-fiction books are reference tools. when I finish reading a book, I put it back on the shelf, like returning a tool to the toolbox until it is time to use it again. i live in a bachelor flat, so obvs i have to resist the incessant pressures of consumerism, but it doesn’t bother me that i have not read every book that i own. they are there for when i get to them. similarly, i would not be bothered by owning a kitchen fire extinguisher that i have not used.

where do I keep my reading lists?

Obsidian: for organising to-read lists on specific topics, genres, eras, locations, etc. i repeat books across multiple lists where appropriate. i don’t keep a single master list of everything I want to read because it would simply be too unwieldy to manage. Small focused lists of no more than ~25 books on the topic are best, imo.

TinyCat: for cataloguing physical books that i own. i have a shortcut to the website on my phone so i can easily pull it up if i can’t remember what books in a series i already have. i can tag anything unread with my “antilibrary” tag. for my own amusement, i also insert library pockets and circulation cards into my books and stamp them with the date completed (using my beloved rotary date stamp). i can also stamp the date a friend who borrowed the book completed it. i like seeing the signatures add up over time.

Zotero: for academic bibliographic citations. useful habit to get into if you transcribe lots of quotes from yr readings into yr notes.

how do i develop my reading lists?

i usually develop my reading lists through a combination of concerted effort to research a topic & ambient browsing. this isn’t Abt How to rigorously conduct research though so im gonna focus more on ~letting books organically find me~

when i have a book that i enjoy, i see if the author has written any more books on topics that interest me. incredibly basic 101 advice but somehow people still miss this one.

check the bibliographies & acknowledgements. if something comes up in bibliography after bibliography, its usually a good sign its worth checking out. also, authors usually thank other authors in their acknowledgements, its a great way to start building an idea

i love when artists talk abt their influences in interviews, like this interview abt what influences and easter eggs there are in disco elysium (i screamed at the Einstürzende Neubauten reveal!!!). i love when fans come up with their own reading lists for media, like my list speculating what daniel molloy would have read and watched in 1973.

when i am travelling somewhere i try to read something related to the to place I am going. Wikipedia is a first easy point of reference to find out if yr destination is famous for being the birthplace of X poet or Y film is set there.

tertiary sources. secondary sources are about a primary source, whereas tertiary sources aim to provide an overview of the major debates in those secondary sources on a specific topic rather than to generate their own new ideas/arguments. the oxford university press “a very short introduction” series varies in quality but its often a very useful starting point.

recs from friends/gifts. my loved ones know i like books, and books are usually a cheap & easy gift for holidays & special occasions. i gift books that i want to read myself, so we can talk abt the book together.

what physical locations do I browse?

Local library, university library. You might be even be able to get a specialist library card to an archive or museum reading room. Some public libraries also have special collections like the Seattle Zine Library.

For-sale section in the local library. proceeds usually go to supporting the library

local secondhand bookshop. there are several in walking distance, i usually hit them up quarterly, especially as i gift a lot of secondhand books

local independent bookshops. several local independent bookstores host an annual bookstore crawl where if you get a stamp from all of them in one weekend u enter a draw to win $1000 gift card :)

thrift store/charity shop/antique markets. there is usually a section with books even if the main focus is clothes/furniture

book events. author talks, staged readings of new plays, poetry readings, book/lit mag launch parties, Writers Festivals, small/independent press fair, rare book fair, zine fests, international library day, conferences

bookshelves at house parties. im 100% the person checking out yr bookshelf at a house party. great place to get yr flirt on.

travel. basically any new place im going, i look-up in advance the local library, second hand bookstores, charity shops, antiques stores etc. and save them in my maps on my phone. if i can conveniently pop into one while im there, neat! i particularly like municipal libraries bc the big ones are usually architecturally interesting (like the Vancouver Public Library) and the small ones are usually really charming and full of specific local history, leaflets to interesting local stuff, etc.

what online locations do I browse?

navigating the online catalogue to yr local & academic libraries is a whole skill unto itself. i was very fortunate be born in the late 90s and to have a specific local librarian teach me boolean operators before i could tie my shoelaces, ride a bike, or, frankly, do most human being things (shoutout to Miss T yr a real one). your library very likely has something like a workshop or at the very least a help desk that can help u with this if needed.

mailing lists of small/independent presses.

publishers websites (academic and general audience).

wikipedia. u can look at the footnotes section on wikipedia. its free. its legal.

looking up university syllabi. some are on profs’ websites, some are available through the university library. there is also the Open Syllabus website which aggregates the most often mentioned books in submitted syllabi, organised by discipline or through a visual map.

what’s available on libby/borrowbox.

Archive dot org and google books/google scholar to read the previews and judge if the book is worth following up on.

i didn’t actually include any selections of my personal reading lists, but if you would like to know more you can always shoot me an ask with a specific topic in mind.

[princeloww]

broadchurch consumption guide

for when you desperately need to consume broadchurch content; a menu of all the things you can eat and in which (recommended) order

1. THE SHOW

this is obviously where you've gotta start. all three seasons are on amazon prime, as well as ITVX - if you can't get those, it's also on a bunch of pirating websites. there are three seasons, and DVDs are available of all. season one is probably objectively the best, while the rest wander a bit, but they're all really good.

2. DELETED SCENES

there are LOADS of deleted scenes from each season. it's kinda surprising that some of them were cut cos they contain such useful and interesting info. you get to see more of alec, more of tess, loads more of becca/paul. these are available on youtube in several different compilations

3. THE NOVELISATION

OK, now you've watched the show. need more? erin kelly's novelisation is available in several different languages (most notably english, german and french) and in both physical and PDF form. I haven't got the PDF but i assume it exists. you can get either a hardcover or a paperback, although the hardcover looks a lot nicer. the book covers all of season 1 with a few small changes. some small things are added, as well as character thoughts, while some are removed - such as alec's awkward encounter with becca in the hotel.

***there is also an audiobook of this, read by carolyn pickles (who plays maggie)***

4. THE SHORT STORIES

don't worry!! season 2 has got some written content as well. the short stories are available as both individual books and a full collection on the amazon kindle store. they are only available as ebooks, although PDFs also exist somewhere. there are 8 stories, all linked with an episode of s2. they focus on specific characters, starting with ellie and ending with alec.

5. ADAPTATIONS

alright now we are getting desperate. there are a few adaptations of broadchurch (I believe a french one??) but the most notable one is most definitely gracepoint. it sucks ass but sometimes the desperation hits. it follows the same plot but with worse acting (even from DT, who is now american) and small, strange variations. they do some stuff interestingly tho, like having (daisy) discover (alec's) illness and also his surgery making a lot more sense. gracepoint is also on amazon prime and stars skylar white from breaking bad as a poorly cast ellie

6. BTS & EXTRAS

OK this probably should have gone with the deleted scenes, my order is falling apart, but there is also behind the scenes footage and lots of DVD extras. there's also the graham norton broadchurch skit, the chilli jam roulette, behind the scenes photos, etc etc. lots of fun stories to hear and read.

7. SOUNDTRACK

there are also CD and vinyl versions of the soundtracks available. i got my broadchurch OST CD off worldofbooks. good stuff

8. ANYTHING YOU CAN FIND

this sections includes: old articles, chat forums, instagram posts from the actors (example: charlotte beaumonts cast photos + broadchurch t-shirts), websites selling original props, broadchurch-based photography of west bay, the broadchurch tourist trail, 80 dozen articles proclaiming the 'next broadchurch', etc. this also includes reviews of the show and that weird piss-take episode guide

9. THE FAN STUFF

OK, now you've really run out of content. but do not fear. this section includes: fanart, fanfiction (there's loads if you ship alec and ellie), fan merchandise, gimmick blogs, meta analysis, memes, edits, amvs, normal mvs, anything your heart desires

And that is how you consume broadchurch. reblog if i missed any steps of consumption. im in so deep that writing this is entertainment

[loverofstufflof]

Ways to consume Journey to the West (without needling to buy and read a full translation)!

I’ve noticed that a lot of people can’t read the book for a lot of different reasons, so I’ve compiled a couple of my favourite ways of consume the story while bypassing these problems, categorized by the various issues I’ve come across.

Note that this is mainly for English speakers, as that’s the language I default to for translations.

The book is too inaccessible/expensive for me to obtain physically

Journey to the West Research has an entire blog post dedicated to compiling free PDF versions of the book. This includes many languages, not just English.

I struggle with reading text in that quantity

There are abridged versions of the story, my personal favourite is the one by Julie Lovell—it’s approximately a quarter of the original story’s length, and mainly focuses on the most iconic chapters. These versions are also typically more easily found in local bookstores.

I struggle with reading novels in general

The story has been converted into audio form! Here are the ones off the top of my head, each listed with their own pros and cons:

Journey to the West: An Audio Drama Series is an original translation told in a read-aloud format, in which the host, Lin, acts as a kindly librarian reading to a group of awaiting 1st graders. She gives every character a distinct voice and personality, and she’s obviously delighted to be able to share her culture with the listeners. The show used to have free translation notes, where Lin gets to act as a disgruntled translator going on about the intricacies of the Chinese language and historical/mythological contexts, but these now require a subscription to access. This show is the reason why I know how to pronounce these characters’ names.

Legends Summarized: The Journey to the West by Overly Sarcastic Productions is one that I’m sure I don’t need to include (because of how widespread it is) but feel I should because someone is gonna mention is anyways. It’s a very summarized, very sarcastic retelling of Red’s favourite chapters in the book, accompanied by fun visuals and the excitement of someone who clearly knows and loves what they’re talking about. As Red has said herself, this series should not be your only source of JTTW knowledge, as she simplifies it a ton to make it more digestible. Great for people who are just getting into the story and want a general overview, not great for people who want a more in-depth understanding of the themes and other complexities.

Journey of the Monkey King is a podcast akin to a longform, more in depth version of the OSP series. It consists of two Irish comedians discussing one chapter per episode; one of them (Caoimhe) has read the book, the other (MJ) hasn’t. The format is mainly Caoimhe giving a comedic abridged version of the chapter while MJ gawks in horror at whatever absurdity the Monster-of-the-Week presents. Because it’s hosted by Irish people, there isn’t much cultural context given, and some names are butchered, however I do find this one a lot easier to follow in comparison to the Audio Drama Series, and it’s far more detailed than Legends Summarized.

Journey to the West English Amateur Audiobook is one that is on my radar but have not started. To my current knowledge, it is an audiobook version of the WJF Jenner translation, which is notable to me because most of these types of podcasts are derived from the Anthony C Yu translation, so this one would be a nice listen to compare how the two went about handling the text.

Please know that this post isn’t intended to shame anyone into consuming the story; it’s not for everyone! But I’ve come across my fair share of aspiring fans who couldn’t access the book in a way that suited them (including myself) so I wanted to make this knowledge more generally know for anyone else who might need it :]

[ascendancyzine]

Finding Home: A Chiss Ascendancy Zine Price Announcement

With preorders opening on MONDAY, MARCH 17th, we are proud to announce our bundle prices!

All purchases of a physical zine will also come with a PDF download of the digital zine. For a preview of the zine, click here!

Digital Merch includes: - Computer Desktop Background - Phone Wallpaper - Discord Emojis - (stretch goal: Digital sketch artbook "making of" for much of the art of the zine) - (stretch goal: audiobook recordings of some of the stories from the zine)

Physical Merch includes: - 4x6 prints of various art from the zine - stickers of Captains and their first officers - bookmarks based on the Ascendancy book covers - "Visit Csilla" postcard - (stretch goal: Keychains) - (stretch goal: "Visit Csilla" as a poster) Add-on: Supporter Tier - For an extra $30, your name will be added into the zine as a "Supporter"! Thank you for helping make this project happen! - Supporter Tier will only be available through Monday, April 14th. Then the zine will be finalized and sent to be printed.

Stretch goals will be determined as being affordable or not based on how well our sales do at Indiana ComicCon and the first week of preorders.

[alonelystargazer]

so if any of y'all have ever purchased e-books from Amazon, then you should log in to your Amazon account, and under your Content Library, download all your e-books to your computer and transfer them to your kindle reader via USB, or send them directly to your preferred device (if you have more than one connected to your Amazon account) via wifi by clicking "Deliver or Remove from this device" and switching the device you want to send it to

Once you've downloaded all your purchased e-books, not ones that are borrowed from Kindle Unlimited or Prime Reading, download the free Calibre e-book management software and this DRM removal plugin to remove the DRM (digital rights management) from your e-books, which converts your kindle e-books into the universal e-book format EPUB or whatever other ebook format you'd like, bc the Kindle ebook format AZW and AZW3, can only be used on Kindle readers, but by removing the DRM, they can then be used on any device that reads the EPUB format

BUT why should you do all this? bc on Feb. 26, 2025 (one week from now as of the time I posted this) Amazon will no longer provide this download option bc they're aware that people have been downloading their e-books from their kindle libraries and using software like Calibre to convert those e-books into EPUBs and not have to be tied down to Amazon's ecosystem, which makes them lose money (boohoo), and also the switch towards cloud-based storage

Basically, any e-books you have purchased from Amazon are not yours to own, you're essentially being licensed the e-book, so they can use this loophole to alter or completely remove those e-books from the website at their whim, and you would no longer have access to those e-books, even though you legally purchased them, which is wild bc we should be able to legally own, forever, any digital media we buy and do what we want with it, and this is something that has been happening with other forms of digital media like movies and video games, where you "buy" a digital copy but you don't actually own it

You should also stop buying e-books from amazon from now on since you don't even own them, and cancel your Kindle Unlimited subscription if you have one, and you might as well download any audiobooks you've purchased on Audible (which is also owned by Amazon)

[watch this video and this video for more thorough explanations about this issue and this video for a tutorial on how to use Calibre and the DRM ]

Alternatives to kindle readers include: Kobo (has integration with Libby) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble), or sell or donate the one you have if you don't want to use it anymore

Alternatives to amazon e-books: Libby (free app that links to your local library if you have an active library card where you can borrow ebooks and other digital media), Internet Archive, Project Gutenburg, 🏴‍☠️ ebooks and PDFs, and research whether your favorite author has books available to purchase directly on their website

....and you can always purchase or borrow physical books and other media as well! support your local libraries and indie bookstores!

TL,DR: this is a matter of media ownership, censorship, and archiving, so download your Amazon e-books NOW before Amazon takes away your ability to access the items that you legally purchased and locks you down to using their devices and ecosystem

FEBRUARY 26 IS THE LAST DAY TO DOWNLOAD YOUR AMAZON EBOOKS

[audifyz1]

Discover the Power of Audiobook Creation Online with AUDiFYZ

In today’s fast-paced world, people are constantly lookout for convenient and efficient ways to consume content. Audiobooks have emerged as a popular choice, allowing individuals to enjoy their favorite books while on the go. With the advent of technology, creating audiobooks has become more accessible than ever before. In this blog, we will delve into the power of audiobook creation online with AUDiFYZ, an innovative platform that serves as an audiobook maker and creator. Read on to explore the seamless process of converting ebooks into audiobooks and discover the benefits of using AUDiFYZ to create audiobooks for free.

Audiobook Maker Online

AUDiFYZ is defined as an exceptional audiobook maker online, providing users with a user-friendly platform to transform written content into captivating audio experiences. Whether you are an author, a blogger, or a content creator, AUDiFYZ offers an efficient solution to narrate your works and reach a broader audience. With just a few clicks, your ebook can be converted into a professionally narrated audiobook, saving you time and effort. Read more...

[rjalker]

Update May 5 2025: I'm now offering to make them if you reblog a mutual aid post too!

Okay. how about for every $1 you donate to a Palestinian relief fund or any other mutual aid fund, including literally handing a homeless person cash, I will make a public domain character with design of your choice?

if you already donated $10, that means you get to retroactively request 9 more characters.

For at least $10 you can pick a public domain story for me to make an audiobook for, or draw characters from, or transcribe if it only exists as a crappy PDF. Or you can pick a public domain movie / animation and I'll novelize it.

if someone can find me a program that will split videos into thier componant frames, I'll even try colorizing an old mickey mouse cartoon or something!

[mayas-reviews]

Amazon is removing our right to download Kindle books onto our computers on Feb 26.

What does this mean? It means, if you buy an ebook from Amazon and you want to use a different ereader, you will not be able to download the file onto your computer, remove its DRM using Calibre, and transfer the book to any device of your choice. After February 26, you’ll be locked to Amazon’s ecosystem indefinitely. Books will only be transferable between Amazon devices and apps. You do not own the ebooks you buy. Amazon can (and has) remove ebooks from your library.

Download them now and use the Calibre to remove the DRM. I highly suggest buying ebooks from other places from now on. Links to resources below.

Video about Amazon removing downloads

Article explaining how to download Calibre and remove DRM

Alternative Ebook/Physical Book Stores

Bookshop.org

ebooks.com

Barnes and Noble

Halfpricebooks.com

Pango

Thrift Books

Betterworldbooks.com

Free Ebooks

Project Gutenberg

Libby/Overdrive (libraries)

The Internet Archive

Alternative Audiobook Apps

Audiobooks.com

Libby/Overdrive

Chirp

Libro.fm

Using a Kindle without Using Amazon

If you’re like me, you have a kindle and you’re not financially in the position to buy a new $130 ereader from a different brand. So what are you to do? The best thing you can do is use Libby/Overdrive. It’s very simple. The Libby app has an option to link your Amazon account to the app and so when you borrow a book from your library, it’ll automatically go to your kindle.

You can also sideload books onto your kindle if the file is compatible and DRM free. Here’s an article listing DRM free book sources.

Edit: or you know… you can just jailbreak it 😏

Supporting Indie Authors

Now this is where things get tricky. Most indie authors make the bulk of their sales on Amazon. It’s awful, but that’s the nature of the beast. Use your own discretion when buying indie books from Amazon. Check and see if that author sells their books on other platforms or buy their book physically (if the option is available) so that you actually own the book you buy.

Edit: To my indie authors out there, I recommend selling a PDF or EPUB version of your book on a website or on Ko-Fi or somewhere similar. That way folk like me who refuse to buy from Amazon and know how to sideload books onto their ereader can buy your book and directly support you :D

[isnt-it-pretty]

I've been reflecting a lot recently on my reaction to the news stories I often see about the dangers of technology and social media, laws banning of cell phones during school hours, school divisions banning technology, the rise of teenage depression as a result of social media, etc. I've always felt defensive over technology when I see these stories, and I think I've realized why.

As a disabled person, my relationship with technology is different than a lot of people's. I use an ereader, for example, because I have low vision and find the font in physical books too small to read. I use the notes app on my phone instead of hand writing things because it's easier on my joints. I keep my cross stitch patterns as PDFs because I can zoom in to see the stitches I need, which I can't do when it's printed out. Even in high school I brought my personal laptop to type out essays because there was a 20% grade difference in essays I typed vs wrote by hand, and whenever I see classrooms banning all technology, I think about that. I write thousands of words for creative writing on my phone because I'm too fatigued to get out of bed. I learned to read because of audiobooks taken out as CDs from the library, something I now have access to in an app. As somebody who is housebound, my entire social life is on my phone. It's how survive, how I create.

If you were to take technology from me, I would be bereft, and not because of an addiction. Technology is simply something I use to navigate the world. Disabled people just like me have lived and loved and created (and still do!) without it, but that doesn't change that I rely on technology to do things I couldn't otherwise do. I never would have learned to read beyond maybe a middle school level without audiobooks. I never would have learned to write without word processors, both of which are a major part of my identity.

Technology, to me, is accessibility, and sometimes that feels forgotten in the sweeping condemnation of it. My defensiveness can sometimes make me overlook the real issues it causes for others, just like for others the problems it causes can make them overlook how necessary it is for some of us. I can't help but think about all I gain from it and where I would be now if I hadn't had access to what I did as a child. I see the harm technology can cause children and even still I wonder, as we condemn parents for ipads and schools for over relying on computers, how many others there are like me who don't even know what they need to ask for.

It's a complicated topic, and like most complicated topics, it gets broken dowm into bite sized pieces. The nuance gets lost.

[thelattechronicles]

Going from Kindle to Kobo: My Thoughts and how I settled on the Clara BW

I've had my one and only e-reader: the 4th generation Kindle since 2011. That's quite literally over a decade old- 13 years, to be exact.

It's been deemed old enough to justify an upgrade. Not that I had even been needing one, or considering getting a new one; rather, the Kindle had just started glitching on me and freezing this past September. After 13 years, I'd say it's an accomplishment that it took this long for the tech to finally start breaking down on me. Believe me when I say that this Kindle had not been babied by any means whatsoever.

Now, it's been exactly 30 days since I've gone from my Kindle 4th gen 2011 model (thanks Mom and Dad) to the new Kobo Clara BETWEEN. Read on to see what my thoughts are on this upgrade!

I don't think I can go back to the Kindle UX and world, and I truly do see what people are saying about Kobo just being overall better.

For starters, here are the specs between both as a comparison:

(Side note: the 4th gen Kindle is SO old that I had to dig around for a review of it, and found one on The Ebook Reader dot com)

As you can tell from the glaring number of red X circles, the basic Kindle 4th gen does not have as much much going for it compared to my new Kobo Clara BW. But that's okay! Here are some things I LIKED about the Kindle:

The e-ink screen

The physical page turning buttons on the side - I still love the page turners and how I just need to press down on the side. The buttons are very streamlined and a part of the side plastic framing.

The wallpapers when the device is turned off

The battery life (once upon a time, one charge could last me a good 4 months I stg)

The size of the screen (was not willing to go smaller, but was open to go bigger)

Straightforward system and user interface (turn on, find book, read.)

Being able to email epubs and PDFs to the Kindle directly via the Whispernet

Here are some things I DISLIKE about my Kindle today:

Its current extremely short battery life (I don't think a charge can last me two weeks now)

Being locked into the Kindle Amazon storefront and ecosystem - yes, I purchased each and every book on Amazon that I have on my Kindle...

Not being able to make Libby work on the Kindle (as a Canadian reader)

Lack of backlighting options

Anything to do with any sort of typing (I had to physically press the arrow buttons and wait until it landed on the right letter to press enter, then move on to the next letter, rinse repeat. Needless to say, it gets exhausting real quick trying to type out a short word, let alone a title of a book you're trying to find in your Kindle library storage.)

Lack of ad-free options with today's Kindle models (I got lucky with my Kindle 4th gen, where the home screen goes directly to my storage, listing all the books and collection folders I created. I hear this is no longer a thing, and the home page is the Amazon Kindle storefront. Ew.)

So, the Kobo Clara BW does a lot of what I liked about my Kindle - and more! It has quite a lot going for it: a long battery life, multiple backlighting options (reg vs warm lighting), bluetooth (if I wanted to do audiobooks, but I do that on my phone anyway so it's just a bonus for me). The Kobo Clara BW has crisp displays (I've read some manga and comics on it), and the zooming in and text font/size adjustments are super easy to navigate.

I know, I know. No physical page-turning buttons. I still lament the loss of my buttons. I know there are some Kobo models such as the Libra that have the buttons, but I strongly believe that the Kindle 4th gen buttons are superior. I liked that they were a part of the side, rather than a blocky-looking extension, like the buttons on the Libra are. The touch screen was a bit of an interesting thing to navigate in the beginning, but as we use touch-screen phones, it was very easy and quick to get used to it.

Why not the colour option?

Granted, the Kobo Clara colour as well as some other colour alternatives did come out. Why did I not choose the colour option? Yes, colour e-ink and e-readers are pretty to look at, but for someone who uses e-readers purely to read novels and text-heavy documents, it seemed unnecessary for my purposes. In store, I did a side-by-side comparison of the Clara Colour and BW and actually found the lighting to be drastically different at max brightness and warmth. Here's a picture I found online that gives you an idea of what I mean:

As you can see, the Clara BW version (right) has a crisper and whiter background, and the Clara Colour (left) looked a bit orange-red-toned overall.

ABOVE ALL: the Kobo ecosystem has been fantastic for me.

As someone who has been pitifully buying every single e-book on Amazon thus far or loading janky PDFs with too-small-text, the Kobo Clara BW is a breath of fresh air. It was very easy to connect my Libby account in the Settings. I now have an automatic delivery of all my ebook loans to my Kobo (!!!!) (A dream come true for Canadian e-readers!). I also have Calibre downloaded on my laptop and with it, can customize my Kobo to no end. You can see that I've gone ahead and gave my Kobo some wallpapers, which include my favourite The New Yorker covers. I'm happy with how much I can do with my Kobo. The Pocket app feature also came as a pleasant surprise! It's nice being able to read articles during work lunches and save any interesting articles on my computer, and those articles get automatically downloaded to my Kobo.

In true The Latte Chronicles fashion, if I were to give my Kobo Clara BW a rating:

★★★★★

If you're like me as a reader and your needs are similar to mine (and maybe your old Kindle is dying on you) I encourage you to make the jump to Kobo! I haven't regretted my Kobo Clara BW purchase at all. In fact, I've already finished 13 books since I booted up my Clara.

J

[perpetualnovelboyfriend]

reposting from r/romancebooks

Alt Text: r/Kindle post that states: FYI Amazon is removing Download and Transfer option on February 26. I went to download a book this morning and saw the following warning: Starting February 26, 2025, the "Download & Transfer via USB" option will no longer be available. You can still send Kindle books to your Wi-Fi enabled devices by selecting the "Deliver or Remove from Device" option. This post contains a screenshot of the warning.

u/Magnafeana's attached FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is “Download & Transfer via USB”? This is a website option to permit users to download their Amazon content library purchases directly to their PCs. This is a way to keep versions of your purchases in your own storage. This does not mean that the file is deDRM. The file remains AZW3 DRM locked.

Does this affect all kindles? This pertains to the website itself.

Will this affect other methods of Send to Kindle? No. You can still use other methods to send documents, PDFs, and EPUBs to your Kindle device either manually or via Calibre.

Why don’t I see this yet when I try this option? It seems there’s a mixed bag of people who get this message and don’t. I personally don’t. But I have verified with representatives and their team leads twice that this change will happen universally on February 26.

How can I back up my books? r/Calibre is a great resource itself that walks you through how to back up your books and read them elsewhere.

This makes me concerned about purchasing from Amazon. Are there any other options? Many

u/Magnafeana's resource list under the cut

I shared my resources here and here, but here’s a list: I always advocate for DRM-free media. I shared here some non-Amazon options (Abe Books is owned by Amazon BTW): Apple Books Rakuten Kobo (Kobo lets you use Adobe Digital Edition DRMs, which come as epubs) SmashWords itch.io Humble Bumble Eden Books Libby Barnes & Noble Nook (though I believe this contain DRM as well and, similar to this, you can no longer download Nook ebooks to your PC directly) BookFunnel Author directly (sometimes, you can purchase DRM-free ebooks from them or they gift it to you) Project Gutenberg (public domain) Internet Archive RoyalRoad (webnovels) Tapas (webnovels) Google Play Books ebooks.com Bookshops.com (however, there’s some controversy that, while this’ll partner with Kobo eventually, DRM Ebooks from Bookshop.org must be read on either their Apple or Android app, and this is in the US currently, but this thread on r/books talks about it more) Harlequin DL Site (Japanese media) J-Novel Club (Japanese) BOOK⭐️WALKER (Japanese) BookLive (Japanese) Honto (Japanese) I’m missing out on multiple retailers for Asian content, but so many of them are largely physical books rather than ebooks 😭 r/FreeRomanceBooks is also a great place to check out free books that may be available on non-Amazon platforms r/MM_RomanceBooks has daily release posts that include Sales & Deals that may be from non-Amazon websites as well as dedicated posts for sales & deals and stuff your ereader days that can have books beyond the Amazon ecosystem r/Fantasy is great at calling out humble bumble deals for fantasy books, where they are all ePUBS r/audiobooks has a great resources for options Some of my sources do encompass audiobooks, but there’s also: Hoopla GraphicAudio Kobo Audiobooks Libro.fm (DRM-free, IIRC) Google Play Audiobooks Humble Bumble Internet Archive Blogs (some audiodramas/audiobooks are hosted on the actual webnovel page) Teen Book Cloud Librovox (public domain) Just an FYI ☺️ But I will echo what I say in my other comments: KU is still a great subscription and Amazon does provide a lot of books. Amazon puts exclusivity for some authors as well, so remaining with Amazon isn’t a bad thing. If you can afford to shop elsewhere for ebooks or your library hosts the books you like, go for it! I certainly get things from Libby and other sites, but there’s a lot of books solely available through Amazon and that’ll be the only way to support the author. Do what’s affordable and accessible to you.

[flowers-of-io]

It's crazy how people take reading for granted. And I don't even mean the generational divide of people who grew up with vs. without smartphones/social media/all the new tech that eats at our attention span. I see this in my peer group at university, among writers, among my friends, just in general. I failed my first year of uni because I couldn't get through even 10% of the reading material required for the final exam (over 2k pages + maps). On my current major we get several pages of texts to read for every class. And nobody thinks about accessibility issues like sending us that stuff as raw text so I could listen to it instead, it's just taken for granted that a ten-page research paper takes you up to an hour to read and annotate, of course everyone can consume it with their eyes in no time and with little effort. On average, I need a week to a month to get through an audiobook. Reading the same book in text takes me over a year.

I wonder how much it is me realising I might actually have a disability, or is it my personal failure, or is the world just cruel, or... I don't know. It's a shameful thing to admit to, especially as a writer, that reading is hard to you. It's such a basic skill you're taught. But then again, ADHD is a disorder that makes basic things hard. But how do I explain to fellow writers that sometimes I write faster than I read? How do I explain to professors that it makes a huge difference to me whether I get a plain-text pdf or a scanned book page? I just wish it wasn't so obvious, so taken for granted. Running a marathon isn't. Cooking a four-course meal every day isn't. Why do I feel shame admitting that reading a book with my eyes takes me similar effort?

[flicklikesstuff]

Flicker! Hiiiii

Want to give some rambles about Epithet Erased or any of your other fandoms (summary, top ten great things, etc.) for some totally other people (not me ofc) who want to get into the fandoms their friends love?

OMFGJKSKSKKSKSKS SRSLY??

Other people (who are totally not you) want to get to know my current fandom????!! 💖

Personally, I think it’s more fun if you dive into the episodes blind but I can give you a quick run through of what to expect for Epithet Erased.

Quick Summary:

In this world, 1 in 5 people are born with rare powers called “Epithets.” A word inscribed into their soul that allows them to use magic they associate with that word. The only limit here is your creativity.

The main character, Molly Blyndeff, is one of those gifted people. Unluckily, she accidentally finds herself in the middle of a scuffle for the “Arsene Amulet” that has the ability to steal anyone’s epithet. As multiple people race for the artefact, would Molly escape? Or would she get her epithet…erased?

*ahem* may have gotten dramatic there-

Now my thoughts:

First off, the artstyle and character design is SOO pretty and just overall SOO fun to draw! I love how much you can so much as glance at a character and have some idea of who they are instantly.

The animation in here has a unique sort of tabletop style that I personally instantly found creative and charming. And GAWD, don’t even get me started on the legendary voice-acting. Along with the music, these all make up for the lack of smooth animation that you’d typically find in other indie shows. (Pls pls pls pls don’t immediately judge it for its animation style-)

But in certain special scenarios (fight scenes) where it DOES get animated, it’s just entertaining to watch again and again. Especially the Redwood Run Arc. My favourite :)) The special effects used are utilised heavily to make for just beautiful cinematography.

The story is mostly comedic but knows when to dial it down for wholesome and touching scenes. The characters all have strong distinct personalities (which I adore) that bounce off of others in many entertaining ways. It’s very likely to find multiple dynamics you grow to get fond of.

………

Though, this may just be me and my personal thoughts. You might have different taste but I do highly recommend checking it out! Currently, the animated series has a playlist here on YT and its sequel is a book that I think you can find on a pdf for free somewhere.

Though, if you really grew to love it, I suggest buying the sequel’s audiobook as well for an immersive experience (and to support future books incoming!).

Enjoy and let me know what you think Bo! <33

(Oh wait- Not Bo. Obviously)

[walks-the-ages]

Hey, EDAs fans! Remember that link that was going around a few years ago with some fan-made audiobooks of the EDAs?

[ID: a graphic of a muscular angel wielding a sword with their wings outstretched, gazing down into a fire below them, with the words "Heroic Efforts Fan Productions - Audios, Videos by R. A. Mitchell - Heaven is for the holy, hell is for heroes." End ID]

Remember how I had a project going, backing up all the links to the Wayback Machine ?

Well, I found out this year that the last of the EDA audiobook links have all died sometime last year after being on the website for ~13 years, so everything I had managed to save to my computer has now been uploaded to the Internet Archive!

this is why, when you find fandom gems like this, you need to start backing them up as soon as you find them!

Especially content that is older than a decade!

Webhosting does not last forever, especially if an account has been inactive for years, and we already know that Google and all its monopolies is changing their policies to start removing content that has been inactive for x amount of years....

If you see something, save something.

[ID: the cover of the Eighth Doctor Adventure novel 'Vampire Science', a mostly-red cover with the silhouette of a giant vampire bat swooping towards the official seal of the United States, a circle with an eagle in the center, now styled like an Audiobook cover, saying "Doctor Who - Vampire Science by Jonathan Blum & Kate Orman, Unabridged with Music and Sound Effects performed by R. A. Mitchell." End ID]

Get the Official Wayback Machine extension and set it to auto-archive all the pages you visit if they haven't been archived in the last 24 hours.

If you find fan-made audio dramas like this, right click on the play button and download them, and make folders with dates so you know what is from where and by whom, then keep hold of it somewhere safe.

If you find fan-made audios on Youtube, you can back the whole channel up to the wayback machine, and download the videos using a variety of websites and tools.

If you find old fan-made comics, you can usually save them as PDFs, or save individual panels in a folder, then create a PDF version from them.

Just like so many Classic Who episodes were lost to the BBC trashing reels because they didn't see their worth, so too does tons of fan-content vanish from the internet every year, either because the website finally broke or someone couldn't pay the hosting fee, or just someone vanishing one day and not being around to preserve their works!

Let's make this the official Doctor Who Fandom Motto please:

If you see something, save something.

[bomberqueen17]

sewing other things

OK so. I have talked about the Loftus Bralette so much on here that one could be forgiven for chuckling gently when i said I should sew other things. But I do actually have several other projects I've been wanting to work on. And i have actually cut some of them out.

Also when I was last at the farm my niece brought me some of her t-shirts and said "I really like this one can we cut it apart and re-sew it bigger so I can still wear it", and I remembered that her BFF's mom, who works at the farm twice a week doing the books and managing store inventory, owns a serger she didn't know how to thread, so I texted her to ask if I could borrow it and indeed she had accidentally unthreaded it and there was a stuck lever and needed me to fix it anyway, and maybe I mentioned that on here but I did actually make my niece a couple of tunics while I was last at the farm. Including hand-sewing a whole bunch of details on the last one while the family was driving on a road trip one weekend.

So I brought all that stuff home with me and was hoping to get to work on it this week. All I've sewn has been the bralettes but I still have today. We'll see what I can get done.

I measured Farmkid and she's ten years old so her shape isn't the same as that of an adult woman, but she's five feet two and like 130 lbs, and some of her measurements put her in a women's size 12. So. She expressed interest in a garment I wear frequently, a Studio Tunic from Sew Liberated. I printed off the pattern in a size 12 and have assembled it, but I'm stuck deciding what fabric to use for her. I should decide that today. She's ten, her favorite color is ostensibly yellow but she mostly wears pinks and purples, she's a grubby kid who wipes her hands on her shirt and always winds up with stains on the belly of her shirt still, and she wants this tunic I think largely so she can cram her tablet into the pocket and go climb trees while listening to audiobooks on speaker. So I want a bright color but not too pale, and I want a tough fabric but not unbreathable, and I'm just. Deciding, still.

Probably what I should do is use some undyed fabric I own, and then bring my supplies and let her tie-dye it. I have a couple other things I could tie-dye, or will by then. That would be a fun bonding activity. I don't know if I'll have time to do it this trip though. So maybe I'll postpone the project and ask her for help once she's on summer break. (Good luck catching her, kids these days have so many summer camps.) As a bonus I bet I could loop her BFF and BFF's Mom in on the tie-dyeing, they're both into that shit.

Hell we could do ice-dyeing, the farm has a 1000-lb ice machine that is very frequently turned on (weekly for the market, biweekly for chicken processing-- there could be ice available at pretty much any time lol).

So anyway. I know she wants me to make a tunic out of a trio of large-print cat shirts she's outgrown, and she wants to wear it for her 5th grade moving up day ceremony, and I looked at it while I was home but I haven't done it yet. I need to get my shit together.

What I might do is print off a size 12 version of the t-shirt pattern I own, it's just that it's designed for busty women because I'm a busty woman, and she's Not, yet (oh, she will be. soon. but not yet.) so I have to kind of. Well, I own a pattern for a swing tunic that's close to what she wants actually. Oh, I should just print that one off. (The joy of the Cashmerette Club subscription patterns is that you get all the sizes, 0-30, and I've now made a couple of them for smaller friends, because like. I mean I own the pattern! PDF patterns are so great because you can reprint them in the smaller size instead of trying to trace it off. I never ever got the hang of tissue paper patterns.)

Yeah here this one, the Wexford Top/Dress, would be easy enough to kind of carve out the bust curve a little and make it fit a kid, because it's not meant to be that fitted. I'll just sort of use that as a general guideline and then make the cut-out-and-patchworked t-shirts fit into that approximate silhouette. The way I made the other tunics for her, I just used a shirt whose neck and shoulders still mostly fit her. But these cat shirts she's thoroughly outgrown, so making a new neck/shoulder area would be best.

Orrrrrr.... I could use one of the zillion old t-shirts of mine that I've saved to cut up. The neck/shoulders of a fully adult-sized garment are no longer too big for her. That's easier.

I also have a bunch of garments I want to make for myself, as I don't seem to buy clothes much anymore (I can't bring myself to pay $40 for a dress off the clearance rack that won't fit me and will mostly be polyester and won't be that interesting and will pill the first time I wash it). The Club's latest pattern is a skort/shorts/skirt dealie, and I need more shorts all the time-- I've largely given up on underpants and just wear boxer-briefs or anti-chafe shorts and I just don't see the point now of wearing a pair of panties and then shorts over the top under my skirt. Like. Just wear the shorts! So being able to choose the materials and print and look of that would be pretty great. And the Cashmerette one is inseam-less, like my favorite anti-chafe shorts are.

So I have cut out a pair of just the shorts in a clearance cotton mesh from Dharmatrading, and I even have the correct elastic for the waistband, so that kind of rules. I will sew those up as soon as I get a chance. I would like to make several skorts as well, probably from synthetic ponte or something, but my ideal would be to get some decent merino/nylon jersey and do a few from that. You never see merino skorts but I would wear the shit out of those.

I also have a lovely underpants pattern from the Club from ages ago, and while I rarely wear underpants of that style anymore, I would like having some cute matchy ones to go with the bralettes. Also, I have a shitton of foldover elastic, and I suspect I could use foldover elastic in some of the bralettes I want to make, so I want to get proficient in its use, and there are directions for applying it in the underpants directions, and it seems like a good way to practice. So I cut a muslin of those from the same cotton mesh as the shorts, and just have to sew the pieces together.

I also want to make myself more pretty dresses, and I have parts of a new Studio Tunic for myself already cut out, but not the rest.

And I recently made myself the button-up shirt from the Club, I know I posted about it on here. And I wanted to immediately make myself several more, and I got out some fabric and prepared it and cut out one pattern piece and then ran out of time. So yesterday I finally cut out the rest of the shirt from this fabric, a print from Mood covered in tiny dinosaurs. So I have that all ready to go in a plastic baggie too, just waiting for me to have time to sit and sew it. (Once I do that, I would really like to make myself a dress version of it from the cool green not-quite-seersucker I got from that remnant bolt at Promenade Fabrics in New Orleans.)

AND. i also have resolved to make my BFF, the one in Rochester who I lived with for a bit in the pandemic, with the little kids-- MM-- I am going to make her a sloper, before I see her next weekend, or maybe while I see her next weekend if i don't get to it in time argh, and I am going to at least try that on her and figure out approximately what shape she is so that I can put together a master pattern for her to make herself dresses from. I took her measurements ages ago, and she's a 14CD bust, a 16 waist, and an 8 hip in Cashmerette's sizing, and so I think just making a sloper with those sizes all graded together will be a huge start. And then we can mildly tweak the fit for her frame, and-- the thing is, she's always buying custom dresses on Etsy because what she wants is very specific and not usually available in stores, and then the dresses come and don't fit her so she has to get them tailored, and then they were just made of cheap quilting cotton from Joann's so they wear out after she washes them a few times, and she's had to add on pockets anyway because they didn't have them.

So I just feel like if I could get her a paper master pattern that fit her... heck i could even just make her dresses if *I* had the pattern. It would be easier and more efficient. I could do the basic construction and then turn over the pockets and embellishments to her, which is what she does anyway. So that's my goal there, and we'll see if I can reach it.

Anyway. If only I didn't have to work at all and could just sew all the time. I am not the first person to say this, LOL.

I have a lot of irons in the fire but at the moment am trapped under a cat so those irons are not going anywhere.