Well, after all these years, I thought that by 2022 everyone had figured out that the Kindle e-reader could do a lot of things. But, in reality, it looks a lot more complicated than it sounds...
That's why we're going to look at the different ways of adding ebooks to your Kindle e-reader, and in particular ebooks in ePUB format.
Kindle e-readers compatible with EPUB ebooks ?
Hardly a week goes by without a reader telling me about their dissatisfaction with Kindle e-readers and their closed ecosystem.
There's truth and falsehood in this complaint.
First of all, Kindle e-readers are not fully compatible with the EPUB format. In fact, they are technically capable of reading them, but Amazon has chosen not to enable this compatibility directly.
However, since August 2022, it has become much simpler to send EPUB ebooks to your Kindle e-reader, and it's even Amazon that has implemented this new feature.
Here's what the official website says:
- It's possible to send EPUB files to your Kindle e-reader using the Kindle smartphone app (Android or iOS)
- You can send EPUB files to your Kindle e-reader by e-mailing the file to your Kindle library using your Kindle e-mail address.
In any case, as you'll see, it's very easy to read EPUBs on the Kindle e-reader.
The official Kindle bookstore
First of all, if you don't know how to get started with Kindle ebooks, the easiest way is to take a look at the official Kindle bookshop.
It's directly accessible from your e-reader, but you can also browse it from a computer or smartphone, which I find easier.
From the bookshop, you can buy or download free ebooks in a format 100% compatible with your Kindle e-reader.
It's really the easiest thing to do if you're just starting out with your e-reader and are looking for ebooks to read. You'll also notice that the latest literary releases are cheaper in digital format than in print.
On the other hand, if you already have ebooks in a format other than the one supported by the Kindle, you'll need to continue reading the article to see how to load them onto your e-reader.
Using the Kindle application on your smartphone
You can use the Kindle app on your smartphone to add an EPUB file to your e-reader.
Here's how:
- download the Kindle application
- log in to the Kindle application with your Amazon account (you should be able to find your library)
- download the Epub file to your smartphone
- add the ebook in EPUB format to your Kindle library
Other ebook files : you can send a Kindle email
The Kindle e-reader is compatible with a large number of files:
- Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx)
- Rich Text Format (.rtf)
- HTML (.htm, .html)
- Text documents (.txt)
- Archived documents (zip , x-zip) and compressed archived documents
- Mobi books (no longer possible by the end of 2022)
- Epub (from end 2022)
**If you want to send an ebook of this type to your Kindle, you can do so simply by e-mail.
Your Kindle e-reader is associated with an e-mail address. You can find it by going to Settings > My Account.**
Kindle e-reader email address
All you have to do is send an e-mail with the EPUB file attached to the address indicated.
If all goes well, you'll then need to connect your Kindle e-reader to the Internet (Wifi), and a few minutes later, the book will appear in your personal library.
Note that if you have several readers, the book will appear on all your readers connected to the same Amazon Kindle account.
Using Calibre
If you want to send an EPUB file to your Kindle e-reader without using Amazon tools, you need to use Calibre software.
Indeed, Calibre is now the benchmark in ebook library management software.
So you might as well use it right from the start to manage your digital books and send them to your Kindle e-reader.
To install Calibre, go to: https://calibre-ebook.com/download
As you can see, the software is free and runs on Windows, Mac OS and even Linux. The only constraint is that you'll need a computer.
After downloading, you can install the software and start using it for the first time.
In most cases, your Calibre software will recognize your Kindle and you'll be able to transfer your EPUBs directly to it.
