How can I read this epub/mobi book on Amazon's Kindle Cloud Reader?

October 22, 2020 3:26 PM

I requested a review copy of an academic book, and they weren't willing to send the hardcover copy but sent me a free ebook. It is an epub book in .mobi format. I have been trying to read it in Calibre, but it's so frustrating, and I would love to keep it in Amazon's Kindle Cloud Reader, which I use fairly frequently on my Macbook. It would be idea to have it alongside a few other texts there, be able to highlight, etc. Is this possible? I think I can download a Kindle app for my computer, but I really just want all of my ebooks in one place. Thanks!
posted by betsbillabong to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Learn How to Use Your Send to Kindle Email Address.

You can email items to your Kindle account/devices and then they will show up in all the Kindle apps, including the cloud reader. Follow link above for detailed instructions.

Look under Manage your Content -> Devices for the email address you need to send to.
posted by tiamat at 3:35 PM on October 22, 2020 [4 favorites]

I've used the Send To Kindle Chrome extension a lot, and I thought for sure this should be possible. But after poking around Amazon's Web site and Googling "kindle cloud reader send mobi", it looks like it may not be. This article from last year about the KCR says:

3. You can’t add and read your personal files

Usually, users can add personal documents to the connected Kindle device or app, by sending them to a special email address. They can also download these personal documents from the Kindle cloud to particular Kindle apps.

However, this useful feature is not available in:

Kindle Cloud Reader
Kindle for PC
Kindle for Mac

In other words, when you open Cloud tab in the Kindle Cloud Reader, you’ll only see the books purchased from the Kindle Store.

This is the major disadvantage of the Kindle Cloud Reader. Amazon just doesn’t want users to treat Kindle Cloud Reader as a web-based reader of mobi ebook files downloaded from other sites.

I don’t think Amazon will enable an option to add and manage personal files in the Kindle Cloud Reader any time soon.
posted by davcoo at 3:40 PM on October 22, 2020

while davcoo appears to be correct in theory, I 100% have mobi books I have emailed to myself in my Kindle Cloud Reader view when tested today. Silent/undocumented feature update?
posted by tiamat at 3:43 PM on October 22, 2020

Best answer: Additionally these features may only be available if you have a supported device. I show email addresses for my actual kindle, my kindle for iOS apps, but NOT for Kindle for PC and Kindle Cloud Reader.

However, if I email something to ANY of the addresses I can then access the file from ANY of the supported apps. So a distinction without a difference.

Summary, if your ONLY kindle usage is the Kindle for Cloud Reader you will need to a) buy a kindle b) install Kindle for iOS or Android but once you have you can email your file to one of those places (get the email address at the second link I provided above) and then those personal documents will show up in Kindle Cloud Reader and/or Kindle for PC, as well as the actual kindle and the iOS/Android apps.

Edit: Sorry, just noticed the above link is for Amazon.ca here's the Amazon.com one if you're in the US
posted by tiamat at 3:48 PM on October 22, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Hi all,

Hmmmm. I did email the file to myself at my kindle address, but it didn't work. However, I do not own a Kindle device, though I do have Kindle for iOs. I just realized that I *used* to have a couple of PDFs on my Kindle Cloud but no longer do.

Ugh. I will try again, but I am thinking that since I don't actually own a Kindle I may be out of luck.
posted by betsbillabong at 10:47 AM on October 23, 2020