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I have a Kindle ebook reader. How can I liberate ebooks that are stored on it? (transfer to my PC and make them readable on any device).

Also, I tried copying my ebooks to Kindle directly, but they don't get recognized in any format I tried. I send them to my email address @kindle.com and they appear on my Kindle alright, but they get converted to azw3 format. Is there a better way to transfer ebooks to Kindle, e.g. just make it read mobi files?

I use Linux, so I can't use Apprentice Alf because apparently it is Windows and Mac-only (even though Calibre works on Linux)

Recap: I'm concerned about freedom of both Amazon and non-Amazon content:

  1. I would like my ebooks bought from Amazon to be readable on other devices (the most pressing issue)

  2. I would like to be able to get my ebooks (not bought from Amazon) back from Kindle, if necessary.

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    If you question is about non-amazon content, where the only version you have is on the kindle, can you edit the question to clarify?
    – James Jenkins
    Mar 31, 2014 at 15:48
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    Kids, please note the distress of Nickolai and learn from it: stay away from DRM and platform/format lock-in!
    – Raphael
    Apr 1, 2014 at 13:39
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    You replying to things I never wrote. Sore point or an attempt at forming an argument (in the latter case, I recommend some reading)? As for the matter at hand, with EPUB and lots of DRM-free reading material, you don't have to go all Stallman if all you want is not get locked in with one company and their technology. Heck, you are even better off with (Adobe) DRMed EPUB than you are with Amazon. Thus, I have nothing but ridicule for folks that consciously choose Amazon or Apple and then look for ways out. Sorry.
    – Raphael
    Apr 1, 2014 at 14:04
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    By clarifying 1. in your edit, are you not openly planning to and asking for help with violating Amazon's terms of service? (Honest question, I'm not familiar with their terms.)
    – Raphael
    Apr 1, 2014 at 14:05
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    @NickolaiLeschov Regarding ToS, see Amazon Kindle Store Terms of Use, section 1, Use of Kindle Content: "[Seller] grants you [...] right to view, use, and display [...] solely on the Kindle or a Reading Application or as otherwise permitted as part of the Service [...] Kindle Content is licensed, not sold, to you by the [seller]." So there you go: you are not allowed to liberate your books. (Hence my stance towards Amazon in this regard.)
    – Raphael
    Apr 1, 2014 at 14:26

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I had the exact same issue you are having now when I first bought my Kindle. I had many books in EPUB that the Kindle just didn't read (got used to it - found http://www.epub2mobi.com/ :-) ) and then I bought first e-book on the Amazon. Boom, stuck in there. I wanted to put it on my iPad and eventually I managed but was it worth it? Meh, not sure...

First I had to get rid of DRM - I am a Mac user, so I used Mac DRM removal. Questions here: Is it legal? Is it right? -- I didn't share it with anyone but I was not sure. It required that the book was on the reader downloaded and it needed the serial number of the reader. Because only with that the software was able to remove it.

For you, I suggest reading this article for getting the tools for the workflow I described above. And then I suggest reading also this article for converting the book formats. However...as I said - the work was simply not worth it. I still read the books most of the times on my Kindle only. Once I read them I don't come back to them so why would I store them anywhere else?

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