this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2024
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Discworld

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[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (5 children)

This one?

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/terry-pratchetts-discworld-harpercollins-books

Sad it doesn't have quite all of them.

Hmm looks like it's just missing Raising Steam?

And it looks like it's through kobo.com? Do you just get the files or have to use their site/app?

Edit: looks like these books can only be downloaded as .ascm files. DRM-managed adobe files. Very lame.

Welp I just burned $18 as I'm absolutely not going to use Adobe Digital Editions or the Kobo app to read books. Humble's "Use on Any Device" is an absolute lie.

[–] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

Humble gives you a code to use on kobo.com

Which isn't ideal, but for the price....

[–] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I've heard it's not too hard to recoup your value for your $18, by making the books actually readable on your devices:

https://github.com/subdavis/kobo-book-downloader?tab=readme-ov-file#alternatives-to-kobodl

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 2 points 9 months ago

Thanks! I'll have to try that. When I got the epub downloaded from ADE my reader said it was encrypted and even suggested a search to remove the DRM.

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Welp, I tried all that but it can't remove the DRM. Guess this is the last time I buy ebooks.

[–] FoolHen@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Did it convert it to .epub? If so you can remove epub DRM with Calibre and the DRM recover plugin

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It popped up in calibre and knew the title but wouldn't open. I didn't see a dedrm button or option.

[–] FoolHen@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

You have to install the plugin. You can get it from https://github.com/ramanveerji/DeDRM_tools . It removes DRM automatically when adding a book to the library.

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 1 points 9 months ago

I have that. It imported the 2 certs it found. Still doesn't work.

[–] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

That sucks, sorry.

I wanted to purchase that same bundle, but I didn't want the hassle of getting DRM books into my device ecosystem, so I skipped it, since I noticed it was through Kobo.

For what it's worth, I've had great luck with purchasing other (explicitly DRM Free) Humble Bundles (i.e. Tor books).

But I can understand wanting one reliable place to shop. It's a shame that the one reliable place to shop for widely compatible eBooks seems to be the high seas, at the moment. Yo ho!

[–] ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Have you tried using Calibre + the appropriate plugin to get them into a format your reader can handle?

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yes. Dedrm doesn't appear to do anything. It doesn't have a button like obok does. But the files won't read.

[–] ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I saw you mentioned ascm files, those are apparently not actually the books, just a token for them. Have you used Adobe Digital Editions to download the actual books?

Shamelessly copied from an old reddit thread:

Acsm files are not Ebooks. They are files that tell Adobe Digital Editions what to download and how long you have the ability to use the file. Download and install ADE, sign in, and then install Calibre deDRM pug in. Go ahead and double click the acsm file and ADE will download the epub or PDF. Go to where the files are stored (for me documents>Adobe digital editions) drag that book file in calibre and it will remove DRM. Convert the ePub to azw3 in Calibre and pop it onto kindle. Done :)

And this:

If someone else finds this post in 2022 or later: there's a pretty new "DeACSM" plugin for Calibre that makes things a lot easier (especially if you try to remove Adobe DRM on Linux where it's almost impossible to install Adobe Digital Editions).

You'll find more info here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=341975

At the moment (v0.0.15) it doesn't really work with PDF but I had no issues with ePub.

Sorry if this is repeating what you already know and have tried. Hopefully it helps someone.

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 2 points 9 months ago

I did install ADE first and did find the DRM epubs. I also pulled those into Calibre and saw the same thing: can't open or convert because of DRM. Of note I have not configured the Obok plugin because I don't have a Kobo device, but DeDRM is setup as I followed in the post above.

The second quote I can't figure out how to use. Doesn't seem to have an executable and isn't a Calibre plugin as it isn't a .zip.

[–] db0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 9 months ago

It's not even available everywhere.

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Adobe digital editions are very easy to de-drm into epub files.

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I tried the calibre dedrm plugin. Didn't work. Spent about an hour going through the read mes and tutorial before giving up. There's better ways to get what I payed for.

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Just pirate them, you've already paid.

[–] Neato@ttrpg.network 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That's the goal. I do like doing things the right way and learning new skills. But fuck it. Burned on Kobo.

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

It's the publishers not the marketplaces that insist on DRM. Kobo just picked the off the shelf option.