How to Make Your eBooks Inheritable

by Konrad Botor

I listen regularly to both Off The Hook and Off The Wall podcasts.

Recently there was a discussion on one of them concerning Amazon and its business practices.  One of the questions posed by a caller was "What happens to my Kindle eBooks after I die?  Will they be inherited by my family?"

While I do not know what Amazon's official policy is on the subject, I thought I'd share my method of ensuring that I can access eBooks I bought whenever I want - and pass them to whoever I want after I'm gone.  Without further ado, here are the steps I took.

Download and Install Calibre

Calibre (calibre-ebook.com) is digital library software which allows for the easy management of eBooks in various formats.

It supports multiple operating systems, can convert unencrypted books into multiple formats and, in my opinion, is very easy to use.  On Windows and MacOS, you can simply download and run the installer.

The Linux version requires using the command line to download and run the installation script or installing from source.  Both approaches are described here at: calibre-ebook.com/download_linux

Install Goodreads Calibre Plugin (optional)

Calibre has the ability to download various eBook metadata and covers from the Internet using plugins from "metadata source" category.

It comes with many such plugins pre-installed - including one for Amazon.

It is, however, missing one for Goodreads - in my opinion, one of the biggest book information repositories on the Internet.  You can install it by clicking on "Settings" on the toolbar in the main Calibre window, and on "Plugins" in the "Advanced" category to open the "Plugins" dialog.

Once the dialog window appears, select "Download new plugins" and then type "Goodreads" in the filter field.  Finally, select the plugin from the list and click "Install".

Download and Install DRM Removal Tools (optional)

As far as I know most, if not all, Kindle eBooks are protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM).

While it is not necessary to remove this protection to store books on your computer, if this is not done they will only work on "authorized" devices - and since the bookstore decides exactly what "authorized" means... well, I'm sure you see how easily you can lose access to your digital library.

DRM removal tools can be downloaded from this website: apprenticealf.wordpress.com

They can be installed as Calibre plugins or used from the command line as described in the article "Removing eBook DRM without OCR or GUIs by lol-md5 in the Autumn 2018 edition of 2600.

Download the Books

Every book vendor (and Amazon is no exception) gives its customers the ability to download the books to their computer.

In the case of Kindle eBooks, it's done via the "Your Content and Devices" page (www.amazon.com/hz/mycd/myx#/home/content/booksAll/dateDsc).

To download the book, simply click on the "..." button next to the book you want to download, then select "Download & transfer via USB", and click "Download."

Repeat the process for all the books you want to store locally.

Import the Books to Calibre

Now that you have downloaded all your eBooks from Amazon, place them in a single directory.

If you wish to remove the DRM, but opted not to install the DRM removal Calibre plugin(s), do so now - see the previously mentioned article by lol-md5 for more details on the process.

Now in the main Calibre window, press "A" to open the eBook import dialog, then navigate to the directory that holds all your books, press Ctrl+A to select them all, and click "Open".

Calibre will now process the books and add them to your library.  Once it's done, you can delete the directory you imported the books from.

Organize the Library (optional)

At this point, you should have all your books stored in your private digital library.

You can stop there and enjoy the fact that your eBooks can no longer be taken from you on someone else's whim.

However, once your library grows, you'll find it much easier to find the book you'll looking for if you keep the library properly organized.  To do this, it's necessary to edit eBook metadata.

While it's possible to do it for multiple books at once, I strongly recommend editing one at a time to avoid corrupting the entire library.  Simply select the book you want to edit in the main Calibre window and click the "Edit metadata" button on the toolbar.  A dialog window will appear, which allows for editing all of the book's info, as well as downloading it and the cover from the Internet using one of the metadata plugins I mentioned before.

Repeat the Last Three Steps for Any New Books

Now that you have your library safely stored and organized on your computer, all you have to do is keep it up to date by importing any eBooks you purchase on Amazon.

And that's it!

When you pass away, whoever inherits your computer inherits your library as well - or, if you chose to keep it on a removable drive, you can simply deed that to whichever of your relatives and acquaintances you feel is most deserving of your eBooks.