Late last month, I was having trouble with my Nook pre-order of Skin Game (the new Dresden Files book), and I discovered, mostly by accident, that you could open Nook Books in Adobe Digital Editions.

My pre-order downloaded fine to my Nook, but it was corrupted on Nook for PC. I went to the website, mostly thinking it would be in vain, and I saw a Download button. I figured I’d see what would happen.

nook books in adobe digital editions

It downloaded as a normal-looking .epub, and I double-clicked on it, thinking it would open in Nook for PC. Instead, it opened in Aobe Digital Editions. The program asked for my unlock information (user name and credit card number). I entered them, and the book opened!

Why would you want to, you may ask? Well, I’ve never been a fan of Nook for PC, and the version that’s compatible with Windows 7 hasn’t been updated since 2011. Adobe Digital Editions, while not my favorite way to read, is, in my opinion, a better option for computer reading. If you want to strip DRM from your Nook books, this means you can completely bypass Nook for PC and just use Adobe Digital Editions.

Besides, it’s just cool to discover new stuff!

4 COMMENTS

  1. Adobe Digital Editions has been able to open NOOK Books since the preview version of ADE 1.8, released almost three years ago. Adobe had originally promised NOOK Book functionality would be put into ADE during 2010, but they missed that target.

  2. @Juli,

    I do two things when I buy a book from B&N. First, I have it automatically downloaded to my 2 Nook devices. But I also go to my Nook Library and click the download button to save it to my hard drive. There I use Calibre to upload the book (and to strip the DRM) to my wife’s Sony, if she is interested in reading the book. If she isn’t interested, it just remains on my hard drive.

    I download the book because I want to be sure that the book will be available to me in the future should I change devices or B&N be driven into the ground by its current management. I would encourage all ebook buyers to do the same regardless of where they purchase the book. Even Amazonians may someday change devices or discover that Amazon has decided to drop the book business. I used to think there were certain things one could rely on with big corporations, but over my long lifetime, I have learned otherwise.

    • @Richard, I do the same, for all books, including ones from Amazon. I got burned in the Fictionwise to B&N transfer, and I don’t trust my ebooks to anyone except my own hard drive (and Dropbox).

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