From vampire romance to daily life in space, eBooks are crawling their way up the bestseller lists. Two self-published eBooks, Not What She Seems by Victorine Lieske and Her Last Letter by Nancy C. Johnson, cracked the New York Times Bestseller list of eBooks in March 2011.
"Big Six" publishing firms are putting out amazing reads in eBook format, from Water for Elephants to Alone. If you're using Ubuntu as an operating system and you don't own a Kindle, how can you tap into the eBook phenomenon and read some of these bestsellers - or more obscure indie books?
Kindle eBooks and Ubuntu
If you browse the Amazon.com Kindle Books section, you'll notice to the right of the screen that you can download various software applications to support reading eBooks on various devices. Amazon supports reading Kindle eBooks on the following devices:
- PC
- iPad
- iPhone
- Blackberry
- Android
Customers who try to download the app for reading on a PC are greeted by a "Download Now" icon informing the user that the only operating systems supported are Windows 7, Vista and XP.
Most Ubuntu users install the Linux-based OS to avoid Windows products. Fortunately, a simple workaround can allow you to read Kindle Books.
Download WINE for Ubuntu to Download the Kindle for PC Apps
You need to install WINE to create a "compatibility layer" for running Windows apps on Linux systems. Don't worry if you're not a programmer and are thinking, "Hey! I just want to read the latest Debbie Macomber romance! This is too complicated."
Go into Applications -> Ubuntu Software Center. Enter "WINE" in the search box in the upper right corner. Find the WINE program. Click "install."
To find out the latest instructions for running Kindle under WINE, go to WINEHQ.org. Click on AppDB and type "Kindle" in the search box. It will show the version of WINE that you need to have.
Check your version of WINE from the Applications menu. Go to WINE/configure WINE, and then click on the "About" tab. If it's anything less than v 1.3, you need to go to WINEHQ.org, click on "Home" and then click on "Download" to download the latest version.
At this point, if you have WINE 1.3, you can download the Kindle App for PC just as if you were a Windows user. Follow the Amazon.com instructions. If you get stuck, check WINEHQ.org for advice.
Melanie Zoltan - Melanie Zoltan is a former college professor and administrator who has written for About.com, PCWorld, Brain Child, Thomson Gale, and ...
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