Like most of my friends, I have a lot of books. The last time I moved in the states, I had to figure out what to do with several bookcases of them. I've found that it's very difficult to carry these books around with me everywhere I travel. I've since changed over to ebooks because I can fit hundreds of books on my computer or phone. They're not as enjoyable as holding the physical books, but they also take up a lot less space in my suitcase.

Even ebooks aren't a perfect solution. Sometimes I need to use a book on a different device or I need a hard copy of something because I'm travelling somewhere that doesn't have internet or electricity. After much research, I've found a solution.

I've started using a program called Calibri to manage all of my ebooks. Calibri is available for Linux, Mac, PC, and even USB drives. One of my favorite features is that it lets you convert ebooks between different formats including iBooks, Kindle, and PDF. This has let me read my books on the computer and various phones including Nokia, Android, and iPhone.

Unfortunately, digital rights management and anti-copying measures can make it difficult to read your books the way you want or where you want. Device or software manufacturers can also delete books you own from your collection after you've paid for them if the books have DRM. If your book has DRM, if the company who makes the reader software stops making it, you can no longer read your books. Maybe you need to print off a couple pages for a presentation. Have you ever been given a book by someone before they died or inherited a book after someone died? Can't do that if there's DRM. Thankfully, Apprentice Alf has found a way to remove the DRM so you can enjoy your books the way they were meant to be: at your leasure.

**Please note that this process only removes DRM when a book is imported into Calibri; it won't work on books already imported

Here's the step by step:

1. Download Calibri
2. Install Calibri
3. Download the latest version of tools
4. Unzip tools to a folder. A safe place to keep it is your "My Documents" folder
5. Open Calibri
6. Click on "Preferences" in the upper right corner
7. Under "Advanced", click on "Plug-ins"
8. Click on "Load plug-in from file" in the lower right corner
9. In the new window, go to the tools folder
10. Go to the "Calibri_Plugins" folder
11. Select the first file (eReaderPDB2PML)
12. Click "Open"
13. Click "Yes"
14. Click "OK"
15. Repeat steps 8-14 for the other files
16. Click "Apply" in the upper left corner
    
17. Click "Close" in the lower right corner
18. Congratulations, you're done!

You should have done steps 8-14 for each of these files:

• eReaderPDB2PML 
  
• ignobleepub 
  
• ineptepub 
  
• ineptpdf 
  
• K4MobileDeDRM 
  

To remove the DRM from an ebook, import it into Calibri:

1. Open Calibri
2. Click on "Add Books" in the upper left corner
3. Choose your book
4. Click "Open"

To change the format of an ebook:

1. Open Calibri
2. Find the book
3. Right-click the book
4. Choose "Convert books"
5. Choose "Convert individually"
6. In the upper right corner it says Output format and has an option next to it
7. Choose the format you want: EPUB for iBooks, MOBI for Kindle, PDF for pdf, etc
8. Click "OK"

To copy an ebook to a folder:

1. Open Calibri
2. Find the book
3. Click "Save to disc"
4. Choose where you want to save the book
5. Click "OK"

Resources:
Calibri eBook Management
Apprentice Alf's Blog
Apprentice Alf's tools

I've been looking and looking and I finally found a nice little art store here in Paris! The name is Loisirs et Création. The one I found is at Centre Commercial (Mall) Passy Plaza. The nearest metros are Line 6: Passy, Line 9: La Muette, and RER C: Boulainvilliers. They are the first place I've found that has Fimo, that means I can now get back into making prototypes for pewter casting! I don't have the equipment to do the pewter casting itself, but I can at least improve my skills by making prototypes. They also have fabric glue at a good price, which means I can attach the backlog of patches I have to my instrument case. There is also a nice variety of brushes, drawing supplies, painting supplies, beading supplies, fabric paints, etc. Admittedly, they aren't the largest of stores, but they have a fair amount of what most people need, especially me :) It's the closest thing to a Michaels that I've found in Paris. They have some other sites at C.C. (Centre Commercial) Crétail Soleil, C.C. Evry II in Evry, and C.C. Les Passages in Boulogne.