Using Thorium Reader to Read DRM protected Readium lcpl books from archive.org, Linux Ubuntu

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I download and/or convert a lot of books from archive.org. A lot. Tons. Most of those books are in the public domain and are not restricted by DRM. They are downloadable, editable and readable in pdf, epub, etc. formats. Occasionally a book is still copyrighted Some of those copyrighted books are available to read for one hour at a time; those books cannot be downloaded. But other copyrighted books are available for 14 days and may be downloaded, but only as DRM-protected books. 

Until recently, all those 14-day downloadable books were downloadable only as .ascm files, which meant they could be unlocked for reading only by using ADE (Adobe Digital Editions). Because there is no Linux version of ADE, that means you are forced to download and read those books using ADE on my a Windows machine. As a matter of principle and practicality (1) I don't even attempt to use ADE in Wine on Linux because it's an intolerable mess; and (2) I hate being captive to doing anything in Windows, in any way, form or fashion.

Fortunately, the archive.org folks recently have incorporated the new Readium LCP format into their system. For most archive.org books that are still under copyright and are available for reading and download, the Readium LCP pdf and epub versions are available (for pdf, the non-Readium pdf download suffices; but the "regular" epub version, if available, is normally a mess. That's why I download the Readium epub version.)

WARNING: Borrowed Books Are Time-Limited.

This advice and these instructions are applicable only to DRM-protected books downloaded from archive.org. DRM-protected LCP books downloaded from archive.org are available to read only for 14 days and will expire at the end of that 14-day period. With the book open in Thorium Reader, click on the circle-i icon, top left of screen, to see borrow dates.

How To

  1. Find the copyrighted book you want to read at archive.org. If it is available for 14-day loan, read on. If not, stop here—-you cannot download 1-hour loans.
  2. Download the LCP epub (or LCP pdf).
  3. Now you need the Thorium Reader on your desktop.
    1. My advice is to NOT download the Snap version from the Ubuntu (in my case) Software Center. It comes with a "not ready for prime-time" warning in the Software Center, and I have a general dislike for Snaps.
    2. Instead, go here and download either the appimage or the deb package. 
  4. Install Thorium.
  5. Launch Thorium.
  6. Click the plus (+) button at the upper-eight of the Thorium app screen to add the publication your just downloaded.
    1. Because you downloaded the file from archive.org, you will be asked for your archive.org password.
  7. Enter your archive.org password
  8. After the book is downloaded, click on its icon to open and read. Voila. That's it.

Helpful Hint for Writers and Researchers

Within the confines of the Book's copyright protections and generally-accepted citation practices—and because you cannot simply select the protected text and copy it—I suggest that you install NormCap (see blog labels) and use it to copy and OCR text passages you want to recite LEGALLY.

Microsoft Windows Moochers:

Thorium Reader is available to you, too.

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