If you’re like most people, you probably have at least one eBook reader on your home computer. But if you’re like me, you also have an eBook reader that’s connected to your Kindle device. The Kindle is a great device for reading eBooks, but it can’t do everything that other devices can. For example, the Kindle doesn’t support reading PDFs or books in their entirety. So if you want to read a book on your Kindle and then transfer it to your computer for further reading, there’s a way to do that using Calibre. First, open up Calibre and create a new file called “ebooks” in the root of your library. Then add the following content to the file: [EBook Name] [File Type] Now we need to add some information about our eBook. In our case, we’ll be adding a link to our website so people can find out more about it and buy it if they want to. We’ll also include some basic information about the book itself so people can better understand what they’re buying. We’ll add this information below the [EBook Name] field: [Title] [Author Name] [Title Length] Now we need to add some additional fields so our book will look nicer on Kindle: [Date Published], [Date Read], [Rating], and [Category]. We’ll leave these fields empty for now because we don’t want anyone else editing our file yet. Next we’ll add an “Add To Cart” button next to the “Download Now” button: [Add To Cart Title] [/Author Name][Date Published][Date Read][Rating][Category][/Category]
How to Set Up Calibre on Your Computer
We’ll be using the free and open-source eBook management app Calibre. It’s available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. The app is filled with pro-level features but is also easy to use if you want to do something simple like manage your eBook library or transfer eBooks between devices.
RELATED: What Is a MOBI File (and How Do I Open One)?
Go to Calibre’s website to download the app. After you’ve installed it, the Calibre Welcome Wizard will guide you through the setup process.
The first step is to choose a location for your Calibre Library. You can go with the default location or click the “Change” button to choose a different folder. If you plan to manage your entire eBook library using Calibre, we recommend you use a Dropbox or iCloud Drive folder to store your Calibre Library. Once you’ve chosen your preferred location, click the “Next” button.
From the next screen, choose your Kindle model and then click the “Next” button.
On the next screen, Calibre will ask if you want to set up wireless email delivery for eBooks. If you have a Kindle email address set up, enter the details and then click the “Next” button. This is an optional step because we won’t be using the email method for transferring eBooks.
Now, you have completed the Calibre setup. Click the “Finish” button to launch the Calibre app.
RELATED: How to Backup Your Kindle Highlights and Notes
How to Transfer Books to Kindle Using Calibre
Now that you’ve opened the Calibre eBook management app on your Windows PC, Mac, or Linux computer, it’s time to add your downloaded books. You can use both MOBI and ePub format eBooks.
To add eBooks to Calibre, simply drag the eBook into the Calibre window from wherever you have it saved on your computer.
In a second or two, Calibre will import the eBook and fetch related metadata, book details, and cover art.
Connect your Kindle to your computer using a USB cable. Once your Kindle is recognized by Calibre, you’ll see a new “On Device” column next to the book title column.
Let’s now transfer eBooks to the Kindle’s memory. Select a book (or multiple books) and then right-click the selected eBook(s). From the pop-up menu, click the “Send to Device” button and then choose the “Send to Main Memory” option.
If you’ve selected a MOBI eBook, the transfer will finish in just a second or two. If you’ve selected an ePub eBook, Calibre will ask if you want to convert the book before transferring. Here, click the “Yes” button.
Calibre will first convert the eBook and then transfer it. This will take a bit longer, depending on the size of the eBook.
You can click the “Jobs” button in the bottom-right corner to monitor the progress.
From here, you can see a history of all the imports, conversions, and transfers across all of your devices.
Once you’ve transferred all of the eBooks you want on your Kindle, it’s time to safely eject the device. You can do this right from Calibre.
From the top toolbar, click the drop-down icon next to the “Device” button and select the “Eject This Device” option.
You can now unplug the Kindle device from your computer and start reading the book you transferred.
