Thank you, but I already checked AA and unfortunately, it didn't have any of them. Ebook3000 used to have most magazine issues, but it finally shutdown some time this year and I have no clue if it's permanently gone or they changed their URL. Ebook-Hunter is a bit of a letdown compared to it, but I suppose beggars can't exactly be choosers.
There are tools for stripping DRM from ebooks, including Amazon Kindle ebooks, but the version I have is pretty old. I got the tools from an invite-only torrent booksite. I was promptly banned because it’s basically impossible to keep a good ratio on a torrent site that only serves ebooks. Only torrent site I’ve ever been removed from for low ratio.
The issue that do strip the DRM yourself means you first have to purchase a copy to strip of DRM, which many people who are trying to find obscure books aren’t ready to do… because if they were, they would have already bought a copy.
I know the feeling, one of my favorite film analysts, Rob Ager, locked up his analysis behind paywalls a long time ago. I eventually paid for access to the things I wanted from him, because no one else has them.
I'm happy you're here! I only use Calibre since I'm not too familiar with DRMs and their removal. I wouldn't even mind buying a copy myself honestly, but they aren't available where I'm from and to order online would cost me a leg and an arm due to shipping, clearance and all the various taxes added on to imports.
Jeeze, you know, that's the kind of stuff that makes me appreciate piracy.
The amount of media I've digested from other countries that I would have otherwise never been able to have been exposed to, because the cost of importing would be too high, is a lot. Piracy has literally made me a more well-rounded human by giving me access to information from other cultures and not restricting me to my own native culture's viewpoints.
It's the reason why I love piracy and OER so much! Sci-Hub was such a great help when I wanted to read research papers and archive when I wanted to read an important article. It's disheartening the way information is being so heavily gatekeeped and access to products being commercialized using a subscription-based model rather than a one and done deal.
it's difficult, books already have a pretty low demand compared to games/videos/software.
perhaps even try searching at your library, checking it out, and scanning it.
i'm about to do that with a book that isn't available digitally.
Sadly, these books aren't available at the library. Libraries where I'm from depend on book donations, so many of the books don't go beyond 2010-2015 and anything published after those years are impossible to get unless you order them on Amazon or via the magazine website.
Only other thing I could think of would be to go the public universities near you and try to get the help of an archivist there.
They may not have it, but they'd be your best bet for ways to find it.
I checked it out and learned that that service isn't available at my local university. I'd have to leave the country and go to a foreign university for that.
But thank you so much for your help! I didn't even know archivists were a thing.
The only IRC I've accessed was via IPT and some other kind where you had to get an app in order to use and set it up. The book I was looking for around that time couldn't be found and the books I'm searching for now are a decade or so old (before 2010 I think) and obscure. Would they have magazine issues for July, 2023? I'd be happy to shoot my shot if that's the case. Who knows, maybe they'll surprise me.
I responded to another fellow with the below c&p from reddit, giving instructions on how to use IRC to do this. I sorta doubt they will have periodicals, but it is always worth checking. This is probably not a universal tool for you, but it is ANOTHER tool. The only note I would make, is that I use hexchat, not MIRC.
You may have seen mentioned above (or heck, you might be the one who mentioned it...) Annas Archives for magazines. If it was you who mentioned it, i apologize! Anyhow, here is the IRC info!
Guide: The idiot proof guide to downloading ebooks off IRC. With Pictures and everything!
I'm putting this together because I posted a while ago about using IRC to acquire ebooks on Reddit, and there was a metric shit ton of interest from others in learning how to do it. Much of this info is available on the net, but it can be difficult to track down if you don't know exactly what to look for.
Disclaimer: I am in no way responsible for how you choose to use this knowledge. This method can and should only be used to download legally available ebooks, as an alternative source in case other services go down for whatever reason. You use this guide at your own discretion.
Now then, to the good stuff.
Q&A
> Question: Why should you use IRC to acquire ebooks, there are so many different ways to get them!
Answer: IRC is the best method to find ebooks. The quality is almost always high, the selection is extensive, and finding and downloading the books is quick and easy. Put simply, unless you happen to have access to a private site exclusively made for ebooks, you probably won't find a better source.
> Question: What do I need to make this happen?
Answer: A IRC client (I'll be using mIRC for the purposes of this guide, it's the simplest to use and the most widely distributed as well. Besides that, the ability to copy and paste, and a bit of common sense.
Setup
Now then, to begin, download a IRC client. I personally suggest mIRC.
Once you do that, install it and open the client up. You should be greeted with a page like This.
The first thing you want to do is write in a name that's unique enough to have not already been taken. For the purposes of this guide, I just choose something random.
Once that's done, you want to navigate down to "Ignore" section in the DCC options, and turn the box option to "disabled". This is to ensure that incoming files are not ignored, which is important if you actually want to receive your ebooks. Example
Next thing you want to do is scroll back up to the "Servers" tab and pick out a server. For ebooks, I know of two servers that host channels dedicated to ebook downloads. One is "Undernet", the other is "IRChighway". While both have their uses, IRChighway is the one you want to use 90% of the time. The selection is generally more robust, the channels are more stable, and the downloads are faster. You generally only want to use Undernet if you can't find the ebook you're looking for on IRChighway. Sometimes you can get lucky and one will have a book if the other does not. In any case, select you server by finding it in the drop down menu and double clicking it. Example
Actually finding and downloading your ebooks
Once you've done that, it'll take you back to the menu that I originally showed you. This time, click the connect button, and it'll connect you to the server and open a window offering you a chance to join a channel. Now, there are several channels you can join depending the server you're on. On Undernet, you can either go with "Bookz" or "ebooks", while on IRChighway, you can join "ebooks". Type in your channel and hit join. Example
Once you've done that, you'll be presented with a channel window filled with a whole bunch of people typing in seemingly meaningless strings of text, none of them talking to one another. This can be intimidating, but don't worry, it's not hard to figure out! It's at this point that you need to know the commands to properly utilize the channels bots.
When you join one of the channels I listed, there will be channel bots you'll use to interact with the bots that you will be downloading from. To access the commands for these bots, use the "@" symbol followed by the command you need.
To search for an ebook, Use
> @Search <book name or author name>
This will have the channel bot automatically search through it's index and return you a listing of the books available from the download bots in the channel. It will look like this. As you can see, I searched for Romeo & Juliet, and the bot went through its index and returned a list of potential downloads. Click the accept button to have it download.
Once you've done that, go into the upper portion of mIRC, click tools, and go to the "received files" drop down. Click it. Example
This will open up your mIRC downloads folder, which should contain a .zip file of the list of download options that the bot sent you. Extract it and open it up in notepad. There will be a variety of download links available in many different formats. Find whichever book you're looking for, in whichever format you prefer (I like HTML because they're generally the best formatted and the format is universal for mobile devices) and copy the text string up til the the end of the file. Example
Once you've done that, go back to the mIRC channel window and simply paste the text string into the channel. Example
Click enter, and wait for the bot to respond, and then click accept when a file transfer window comes up. I've highlighted my download query, and the bots response with relevant information for you. It should be pretty self explanatory. Example
And you're done! The file will be downloaded to your mIRC downloads folder in a zip or rar archive. Simply extract it and read it!
Note 1: You can also use the command
> @find <book or author name>
To search for your ebook if the channel bot is down or not responding quickly to the @search command. However I do not suggest this, as it gives you a clusterfuck of responses in your IRC client as personal messages. It can work, but only as a last resort. Example
Note 2: I've used the public domain "Romeo And Juliet" for the purposes of this guide. This book is in the public domain, and thus is not subject to any copyright. Once again, I encourage you to only download public domain books, but cannot control (and am not responsible) for what you wish to download.
Note 3: Edit. Damnit, Reddit fucked the formatting and keeps renumbering my list. Whatever, not a big deal I guess. It doesn't change the content of the guide at all. Just go down the list, everything is in the proper order anyway.
So, that's how you download ebooks off of IRC. Not so hard, is it? I hope you find this helpful, I promised this to more than a few people months ago, and I finally got around to it.
Wow! This is incredible! Thank you so much!
For something like this, should I use a vpn and DNS server? Trying to learn how this works.
Yup, I learned this method earlier this year and can confirm it is the best method for finding ebooks ever. Absolutely amazing took.
I used to be on IPT but they disabled my account earlier this year after I forgot to login within the 3 month time frame. I tried reaching out via IRC and got banned because my connection kept rejoining(?) the channel while I left for about 30 min. until an admin/mod finally logged online and thought I was a bot. Doesn't MAM require proof of seeding and whatnot? I don't have a seedbox so I don't think I'd be able to join :(
The only thing MAM requires is a simple interview. Most of the questions are simply about the rules or "do you know what seeding, ratio, VPN, etc. is?". You have to log in periodically to keep your account but that is it. It is also extremely easy to keep a good ratio (lots of freeleach).
Oh thank you! I'll join when the next available time slot arrives. 😊
thanks for using Leebra!
go to feed...
Anna's Archive is a great resource. It has mirrors for libgen, zlib and other sources. I've never found something elsewhere that I couldn't find on there.
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