Q: How Can I Read iBooks on my Laptop?

Tom Gewecke wrote:

 

Not exactly, since there is a lot of Apple hardware on which you cannot read any purchased ibooks (the topic of this thread)

True, which is even worse than the old iTunes DRM music days.  Not to mention just plain odd.

Tom Gewecke wrote:

 

The iBookstore is at a huge disadvantage compared to rivals as long as it does not.

Agreed. I'm just kicking myself for not looking into this shortcoming before buying a few books, especially since I was keenly aware of Apple's history of locking their DRM media into their hardware. Shame on me. At the same time I'm glad I only purchased 3 titles before discovering the issue. We'll all hope for the best in the long run.

I found this thread when searching for a way to read a book I purchased via iTunes on my laptop - which apparently is not possible. Reading this thread just sold me on a Kindle Fire.

vaporgirl wrote:

 

just sold me on a Kindle Fire.

Of course ebooks bought from Amazon can be read on an iPad/iPhone/iPod as well.

See Tom's post. This should sell you on Kindle e-books, but not necessarily a Fire. I still think a basic Kindle and iPad is a better combination, since the Fire has the same limitations as the iPad in terms of reading (it is heavier, has a backlit screen, etc.). The nice thing about Kindle books is that they can be read anywhere (Kindle, Mac, PC, iOS, Android) and they stay in sync. I'm a bit surprised Apple hasn't added an e-book reader to the Mac yet.

I was contemplating buying my "Steve Jobs" book under Itunes or Kobo they were the same price. Because Steve had died and I wanted to pay a small tribute to Apple. So I decided to buy it under Itunes but I think I will not buy anymore books until I am able to read it in Itunes. My next books will be from Amazon or Kobo.

Smartsphere

(I didn't feel so smart after I wasn't able to read my book on my workstation)

I have the same issue, i downloaded a few free books from ibook with no problem at all i can read them on my iphone but when i decided to treat myself and buy a real book it downloaded it in my itune and it does appear on my ibook shelf but it wont download it to my iphone as it sais it's protected.  I tried the adobe digital edition for my laptop and it does open it with BLANK pages!!!! so does this mean I lost 12$??? I would have apreciated a note before buying it that i wouldn't be able to read it as i wouldn't have downloaded it from the first place!!!! Help what can i do??

KitzyMelodie wrote:

 

I tried the adobe digital edition for my laptop and it does open it with BLANK pages!!!!

You cannot read a paid-for book from the ibookstore on your laptop, and it DOES say on every purchase page that an iOS device is required.

But you should certainly be able to read your book on your iphone.  This thread is about laptops, not iphones.  So you really should post a new topic about your problem.

Not being able to read iBooks on my MacBook Pro is a deal breaker for me.  Hopefully, Apple add supports for this.

Wow. It's 2012, and we can't read books on our laptops? Come on Apple, what's the issue? We can listen to music, watch videos, but we can't read a freaking BOOK?! Is this real life?

You can of course read all kinds of books on your laptop, just not those purchased from the iBookstore.  Other stores normally have a better selection in any case.

I purchased 4 book yesterday, and am able to read these books within Calibre, so...

Padraig with an accent over the first A but apple wont let me type it in :( wrote:

 

I purchased 4 book yesterday, and am able to read these books within Calibre, so...

That's good.  If you bought these from the iBookstore, could you provide the names of the publishers?   It's useful to have a list of those which do not do DRM.

Purchased "Rich Man, Poor Man" by Adam Carolla today; when opening this iBook purchased in the iTunes store via Windows 7 PC in Calibre I receive an error stating:

This book is DRMed:

 

This book is locked by DRM. To learn more about DRM and why you cannot read or convert this book in calibre, click here.

A large number of recent, DRM free releases are available at Open Books.

So no, Calibre is NOT a solution for any DRM eBooks as of version 0.8.35. Nor is Adobe Digital Editions, I received the same "blank white pages" another poster did when trying to open the aforementioned iBook.

I am new to ebooks so I have been searching and am here. This thread might be old, but for newbies like me it is relevant. I own 4 ebooks: 1 from an individual from his website,  1 purchased from itunes, and 2 books I purchased from another individual from her website. I believe that all 4 are EPUB format. So  I downloaded Adobe Digital Editions, but I can only read 3 of the ebooks on my iMac.

The itunes purchased book shows up as blank pages in Adobe Digital Editions (as many other people have mentioned).

I don't own an iPad or Kindle, but I do own an iTouch. Are you all saying that I can only read copyprotected books only on my iTouch?!!! Oh, boy.

As my comment implied, not all material is DRM protected.  Not Calibre will open DRM protected material.

Three of books I purchased were actually published by the author himself, Michael McCloskey, so it looks like the non-DRM books will be those published by the smaller publishing houses and self-published works.

Another option may be DRM removal but I am unsure as to the legalities of this in the U.S.  It's legal in Europe to remove DRM.

Given that iTunes purchased music could be burned to CD then re-imported DRM free, or the CD listened to in a car stereo, should the same freedom not exist for books you purchase.

Just saying.