Amazon’s Kindle doesn’t natively display files in the EPUB format, even though it’s one of the major ebook formats in use these days. Amazon says it can’t control EPUB’s evolution as a format so it doesn’t want to have to deal with it, and while that might make sense for the company, it doesn’t help you if you’ve got an .epub document you want to read.
You have at least three strategies, which I’ve listed below. The first will let you read an EPUB file via the web browser on your Kindle so long as you’ve got wireless access, which is a pretty neat trick. The other two options will produce a new version of the file that you can copy over to the Kindle. Note that in all three cases you’ll have to have a non-DRMed file.
OPTION 1:
Use Bookworm, the free online Epub reader from O’Reilly
Bookworm is a web-based service where you upload EPUB files to your free library, then access them through a browser. Amazingly, this actually works on the latest Kindle devices running the fancier WebKit browser, although it’s not designed for it. (I don’t have older Kindle models to test–if you do, please leave updates in the comments below.)
Bookworm points out that some EPUB files might not work because of errors made by the publisher when assembling the file, or because of bugs in the Bookworm code.
OPTION 2:
Use the free Calibre program on your PC
Calibre is still the most popular stand-alone ebook management program for all the major PC operating systems, and for good reason. It’s free, it lets you manage all of your (non-Amazon) ebook files, it can create automated news feeds to forward to your devices, and–most important for this topic–it handles all sorts of conversions, including to formats like .mobi.
OPTION 3:
Use a free online conversion website
There are several online services that offer to convert a media or text file from one format to another for free. I don’t vouch for any of the ones listed below, and I’m sure you can find several more with a Google or Bing search.
These web-based services are probably the fastest route to creating a Kindle-ready file, but you should keep in mind that there are still some drawbacks. The conversion might not work, or you might end up waiting for a converted file that never arrives. The website might also bombard you with ads, which may or may not come with their own privacy issues like tracking cookies, malware, or drive-by installations. And you’ll be making a copy of the file on a third-party website you don’t own.
In general, the format you’re probably aiming for is .azw, .mobi, or .prc. The .txt format will also work, but it will probably lack some of the original formatting of the ebook. You can also usually make do with an .html file, although Amazon doesn’t officially support this as an ebook format. Just copy the .html file to your Kindle’s book folder as you would any other ebook and test it out. Check out the Formatting section of this blog for more info.
Also, remember that no mainstream conversion service will strip the DRM from an EPUB file for you.
(Photo: mccun934)
By chris October 16, 2010 - 11:55 AM
This is a bit misleading as you have to have non DRM EPUB books, which most are DRM protected so these options are pretty much useless. Calibre is a great program that I use quite often but mostly to covert PDF’s and text documents to mobi format for easier reading.
Thanks for the info anyway for those who have EPUB books which are not DRM protected, but again I would love to know which stores provide these types of books for purchase.
By Chris Walters October 16, 2010 - 12:56 PM
@chris, I’ve added a note to the second paragraph that reminds users of this, so they don’t get their hopes up prematurely. (I mentioned it at the very end originally but I suspect a lot of readers will miss that.) Thanks.
By chris October 16, 2010 - 2:47 PM
@Chris Walters, I did miss that bit, I do apologise.
By clotilde October 16, 2010 - 2:10 PM
Thank you very much for sharing this, Chris, it is most helpful.
As a recent Kindle buyer, I was trying to figure out how to use it to read the wealth of public domain classics available for free out there (French classics especially, from ebooksgratuits.com if anyone’s interested).
Now I’ve successfully installed and used Calibre, and I’m a very happy girl!
By Chris Walters October 16, 2010 - 3:12 PM
@clotilde, I’ve added ebooksgratuits.com to the “Free Ebooks” page so other readers can discover it. Thanks for the info.
By encino 98 October 22, 2010 - 7:32 AM
How can you leave out Kindlegen for converting epub to Kindle?
In my opinion it runs rings around Calibre if all you need is to convert books.
By Chris Walters October 22, 2010 - 8:51 AM
@encino 98, I don’t really think of KindleGen as a consumer-facing solution, but yeah, if you know your way around a command line interface, then I agree it’s much faster than Calibre.
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