I got my Surface RT about a week or so ago, and I am loving it. One thing I really want to do is use it for a reader so I can have my books, games, word processing all in one spot when I am on the go. I had a Sony Reader (still have) but would like to put my ePub books on the Surface and so far I haven't been able to figure this out. I have downloaded three aps from the store and it seems the readers work, but I can't get a book to download, it tells me that it can't work on my device. I can't find a place on this forum (cause I don't know how to use it either?) that answers my questions. Anybody, can you help me? Thank you soooo much! Eilene
Hi! I'm Confused!
- Thread starter Eilene
- Start date
smalltowngirl13
Active Member
Hello and welcome to the forum Eilene! Hopefully someone will have some suggestions for ya 
...good luck!
...good luck!
Russ
Active Member
Eilene --
I don't which reader apps you're using, but it should be easy. I use Freda, and it works like this:
1 - Create a folder to hold your Epub books. This can be on your C: drive, or on an SD card if you have one.
2 - Use File Explorer to move your books to that folder, either from a USB drive or over your network if you have one.
3 - Open Freda, and choose Sources from the top line menu
4 - Then choose Folder, upper left corner
5 - "Go Up" until you get to your drive, then choose it
6 - Find the folder you made for your books and open it
7 - Choose the book you want and open it.
8 - Freda will return to that folder by default
Don't know how it works for other apps, as Freda is the only one I use on the RT.
Hope this helps. If any other questions, don't be shy, just ask.
Regards,
Russ
You're not clear on exactly what you're trying to do here (in terms of steps). From where are you downloading books, and what's the "it" that tells you "it" can't work on your device, for example?
The trick is to get your ePub books onto the Surface. I have the Book Bazaar Reader, and there's an option to simply open a book from a file, which then opens the file selection window and I can choose a locally stored book format.
I don't know if your Sony Reader would be recognized as a regular USB device when plugged into the Surface RT; if that works, then it's as easy as drag-n-dropping the books from your Sony Reader into a folder on the Surface RT and then selecting that folder from within the book reader app. If the Surface RT doesn't recognize the Sony Reader as a USB device, then you'll have to find another computer--copy your ebooks to another PC, then copy to a plain USB thumb drive, and then stick that into the Surface. Move the ebooks into a folder on your Surface, and you're good to go. (Other methods: SkyDrive, emailing yourself.)
Only after your ebooks are stored locally on the Surface can you access them using steps similar to Russ' (depending on the app).
Thank you everyone. You did help me! I copied the books onto the RT and tried each of my readers I had installed. Each of them did the same thing with them - said the DRM prevented them from being loaded. The good thing I learned is that I can download new books from the net and that is not a problem as I already had read most of my old ones anyway.
Now I guess it is just finding the reader I like best. I will try Freda next. I already downloaded Book Bizarre and something else called Reader Lite or something like that. Again, thanks to you two for the good help.
Now I guess it is just finding the reader I like best. I will try Freda next. I already downloaded Book Bizarre and something else called Reader Lite or something like that. Again, thanks to you two for the good help.
Russ
Active Member
Eilene --
Mystery solved. We were wondering why you couldn't load the books. There is a ton of non-DRM free stuff out there in Epub format. Just Google "free ebooks epub" (or some variant of that), and you will find lots of sources.
Glad we could help.
Take care,
Russ
Well, that makes a whole lot of sense. Too bad you can't just (legally) get another version of the books you did buy from the same source, DRM-free.
A side comment--DRM comes from the bookseller, right? Nook (B&N) and Kindle (Amazon) have their own DRM formats, but they also have app readers in the app store, which would then open their own proprietary DRM ebooks. I suspect since OP has a Sony e-reader, she got books from the Sony store, and unfortunately there isn't a Sony e-book reader app (yet?).
Russ
Active Member
Oion --
Sort of a general FYI. I run Amazon's "Kindle for PC" app on my Pro. It allows me to "sideload" .mobi books. The Kindle Reader app from the Store (either Pro or RT) does not allow this. Amazon's Kindle reader allows direct transfer of .mobi books. I have a large collection of mobi books and two granddaughters with Kindles, so I often send them books. I tried converting .mobi to .epub (with Calibre) to read on my RT using Freda, but the conversions were erratic, so I gave up on that project.
I know next to nothing about Sony's reader, so can't speculate there.
Take care,
Russ
I think I may have to give up! Each reader does something different and has some good features and others I can't figure out. For example, Freda, I would like to remove some books that I have managed to put on there, but they aren't readable. I would like to delete them and I cannot see how too do that. Tell me if I am correct on this point: I can go to free downloads, and do I "save" a downloaded book to "My Books" folder? Maybe I need to start over, use one reader and figure out only one of them. I have different books in all of them and most of the ones I don't want are already in the reader. Am I dumb or what? (Sorry, but I am BLOND!)
PS I FINALLY figured out how to delete books from each reader! I am still getting use to "swiping" up and down . . . I don't know . . maybe you can't teach an old dog new tricks . . . but I am tenacious and will keep trying and asking for help. Thanks again . . .
PS I FINALLY figured out how to delete books from each reader! I am still getting use to "swiping" up and down . . . I don't know . . maybe you can't teach an old dog new tricks . . . but I am tenacious and will keep trying and asking for help. Thanks again . . .
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Don't worry, the Win RT/8 interface isn't necessarily easy for some people to learn simply due to more functionality; the more functions there are, the more complex the array of possible interface commands.
The "aren't readable" issue may be anything from DRM to format, which is a bit harder to troubleshoot without screenshots and some terminology, but as for deletion...
File interaction in the Windows RT/8 "Modern" interface, meaning the new Start Screen and "Modern"-designed apps, includes special swipe gestures from all four edges of the screen. This is different from both iOS/Android. There are also special gestures within such apps, and one would be file selection.
A typical generic example would be the Photos (photo album) app. If you simply press a thumbnail, the app will open the image to see the full size. But if you want to do "file management" with the photos, you have to do a quick swipe down on the file, which selects it. Then, a simple bar "menu" of options will show up on the bottom of the screen, allowing you to actually manage the file (e.g. delete, select all, import, etc.).
Touchscreen gestures for Surface | Zoom, scroll, and tap
Microsoft does have tips and tutorials on their website, including a downloadable manual, but I highly recommend searching Youtube for tips because it's just much easier to see how these things work in "motion." I watched a short 3-minute video before buying my RT and learned all the swipe gestures and multitasking that way.
Edit to add: I don't know about the free downloads thing, mainly because nearly all my documents are PDF papers that I have to move around locally. If you're attempting to download DRM-free books in the web browser, I think they will save in the default Downloads folder unless otherwise specified. Then you'd have to find the folder while using the book reader apps, or find the downloads in Windows Explorer and move them to a folder of your choosing (I recommend finding a well-reviewed file manager/explorer app in the store because the "Modern" interface is easier to use with fingers).
The "aren't readable" issue may be anything from DRM to format, which is a bit harder to troubleshoot without screenshots and some terminology, but as for deletion...
File interaction in the Windows RT/8 "Modern" interface, meaning the new Start Screen and "Modern"-designed apps, includes special swipe gestures from all four edges of the screen. This is different from both iOS/Android. There are also special gestures within such apps, and one would be file selection.
A typical generic example would be the Photos (photo album) app. If you simply press a thumbnail, the app will open the image to see the full size. But if you want to do "file management" with the photos, you have to do a quick swipe down on the file, which selects it. Then, a simple bar "menu" of options will show up on the bottom of the screen, allowing you to actually manage the file (e.g. delete, select all, import, etc.).
Touchscreen gestures for Surface | Zoom, scroll, and tap
Microsoft does have tips and tutorials on their website, including a downloadable manual, but I highly recommend searching Youtube for tips because it's just much easier to see how these things work in "motion." I watched a short 3-minute video before buying my RT and learned all the swipe gestures and multitasking that way.
Edit to add: I don't know about the free downloads thing, mainly because nearly all my documents are PDF papers that I have to move around locally. If you're attempting to download DRM-free books in the web browser, I think they will save in the default Downloads folder unless otherwise specified. Then you'd have to find the folder while using the book reader apps, or find the downloads in Windows Explorer and move them to a folder of your choosing (I recommend finding a well-reviewed file manager/explorer app in the store because the "Modern" interface is easier to use with fingers).
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