Buying Books
Adding Books to your Cart
Use the Add to Cart button located in the desired product page. You will then be presented with the option to view your cart or to continue shopping. Once you have made your choice, press the Shopping Cart button (in the upper right corner), then View Cart.
Billing Address
Please fill in the billing address (either use an address that is already registered with your account or add a new one). Why enter a postal address while buying ebooks online? Simply because your address allows us to apply the appropriate territorial sales rights to each ebook and to calculate the applicable taxes.
Press Continue Shopping to proceed to the next step.
Payment
Select your payment method. If you already have a credit card registered to your account, it will be displayed by default; simply enter the 3-digit security code (found on the back of the card). Otherwise you will be ask to fill in the form with your credit card information. You can choose to keep your credit card information securely on file with us to make your next purchase easier and faster.
We accept Visa and Mastercard credit card payments. You will be able to print your order's details from the Orders section of your account. Now press Save and continue.
Order Confirmation
This page display the summary of your order; it can still be modified.
Once you have verified your order, press Place Order. Your order will be processed and the details will be displayed on the screen. You can print this information for your records, and you will also receive a confirmation email.
Retrieving your books
There are two ways to retrieve the ebooks and audiobooks you have purchased:
(1) By clicking the link in your order's confirmation email. Please note that when you pre-order a book, you will receive a confirmation email once the book becomes available.
(2) All the titles you have purchased are available in your account, under the Your Library tab, whey you can either download them or read them online.
Reading an ebook
How to read an ebook
There are three main ways of reading ebooks:
using a mobile application (such as Aldiko or Bluefire Reader)
using an e-reader or reading device
using a reader application installed on your computer (e.g. Adobe Digital Edition, iBooks)
ou can read the same ebook on multiple devices as long as they are all registered under the same Adobe ID (for DRM-protected ebooks).
PDF and EPUB: Two ebook formats
Two of the most widespread ebook formats are PDF and EPUB. Some ebooks are available in both formats, but many come only in PDF or only in EPUB.
Adobe PDF
The PDF format was created by Adobe to preserve document formatting (fonts, images, layout, etc.) across all platforms. This format provides comfortable and consistent reading on a computer screen as well as on most tablets. However, PDF files are not recommended for reading on a e-reader or on a smartphone, as in many cases the text will be too small. Almost all computers and reading devices support PDF files.
EPUB
The EPUB format was designed to facilitate on-screen reading. Its main advantage is dynamic reformatting: the layout (text and images) automatically adapts to the font or screen size. This format is therefore very well-suited for reading on smaller devices such as e-readers or smart phones. The EPUB format, however, is not suitable for content types that require a fixed layout, such as comic books. The vast majority of computers and reading devices support EPUB files, with the exception of Amazon's Kindle.
File protection: watermark and digital lock (DRM - Digital Rights Management)
When it comes to applying anti-piracy protection to their ebooks, publishers have a few options:
A digital watermark. The buyer's name will be embedded in the file and displayed at the bottom of the first and last pages of the ebook (may vary depending on the file).
A digital lock. The term designates several DRM methods for protecting copyrighted content. Most of them limit the number of copies that can be made of an ebook, or its availability period.
No protection.
Reading an ebook on a ebook reader
To read an ebook on a ebook reader, you need an Adobe account and the Adobe Digital Editions application, that allows you to open ebooks and transfer them to the reader.
Obtaining an Adobe identifier (Adobe ID)
If you already have an Adobe account, you can use it to read ebooks purchased from the Store.
If you do not have an Adobe account, you must first create a free Adobe account and get your Adobe ID. In order to be able to read the same ebook on several devices, you need to have each of them authorized using the same Adobe ID. Please note that the maximum number of devices that can be concurrently authorized under the same Adobe ID is currently 6.
Installing Adobe Digital Editions
Go to http://www.adobe.com/fr/solutions/ebook/digital-editions/download.html
Download and install the application. The launch procedure vary according to the browser you are using:
In Edge/Internet Explorer, click the Run button in the download bar displayed at the bottom of the page.
In Google Chrome, select a location where to save the downloaded file, then click Save. When the download is complete, click ADE_4.0_Install.exe in the download bar displayed at the bottom of the page.
In Firefox, click Save File. Once the download is complete, click the download button in the navigation bar, and then click on ADE_4.0_Install.exe.
The installation of Adobe Digital Editions will start. Check the box "I accept the terms of the license" and click Next.
On the following screen, we recommend that you select the option "Associate .acsm and .epub file types". The other three options concern shortcut management. Click Next. Then on the next screen click Install. In Windows you may be asked to install the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 before resuming the installation. If so, simply install this component before relaunching the Adobe Digital Editions installer.
Please Note: If this is the first time Adobe Digital Editions is installed on the computer, you will be prompted to also install Norton Security Scan. To prevent the installation of this unsolicited application, uncheck the box at the bottom of the window before clicking Next.
When the installation is complete, click Close to quit the installer. Adobe Digital Editions will start automatically.
In Adobe Digital Editions, select the Help menu and then click Authorize Computer.
Enter your Adobe ID (the email address and password you chose when you created your Adobe account). Then click on Authorize.
Your computer can now download ebooks.
Reading an ebook using ADE
To view the list of compatible devices maintained by Adobe, click here.
Open the ebook (depending on your setup, the dowloaded file will be in the Downloads folder or on the Desktop).
By default, the file will open in Adobe Digital Editions and will be added to your library.
You can now read the ebook in Adobe Digital Editions, or transfer it to your e-reader.
Transferring an ebook to your e-reader
Make sure Adobe Digital Editions is open.
Connect your ebook reader to your computer using the USB cable supplied with the device. Your e-reader will display a message asking if you want to connect it to your computer; click Connect.
On your computer, select the ebook you want to transfer and drag it onto your device's icon.
The first time you transfer an ebook to your device, it will get authorized using the Adobe ID provided earlier to Adobe Digital Editions.
You can repeat the previous step for all the ebooks you wish to load into your e-reader.
When you're done, eject your reading device from your computer and unplug the USB cable.
Sony Reader
If your device is a Sony Reader, you will need to use the provided Reader software for PC/Mac. It works works the same way as Adobe Digital Editions.
Once the software is installed, you will need to authorize the computer:
In the information tab, under the Reader for PC/Mac header, click the Allow button.
- In the authorization form, enter your Adobe ID and password, then click OK.
Your computer is now authorized to download borrowed ebooks. You can now borrow an ebook and transfer it to your e-reader.
Amazon Kindle
The Amazon Kindle does not read EPUB files natively, but uses a similar proprietary format called MOBI.
Reading an ebook using an ebook reader app
Watermarked ebooks can be read by any ebook reader application. DRM-protected ebooks, however, must be read in a compatible application. We recommend using the free ebook reader app called Aldiko. Another very common app is BlueFire Reader.
To read an ebook in a mobile reader application, you can first download the file directly on your mobile device, either from your account on Boutique Québec Loisirs, or from the confirmation email.
Once the file has been downloaded, Android should ask you which application you want to use to open it. In any case, the file should be available in the Download folder. Just click on it and select the desired reading application.
Linking the Aldiko app to your Adobe account (Please note that the procedure is different for each reader application.)
If the ebook is DRM-protected, you must first link the reader app to your Adobe account, using your Adobe ID (remember that a maximum of six devices can be linked to a single account).
On iOS
On Android
- Once the application is open, tap About in the left menu.
- Select Adobe DRM in the Settings menu.
- Enter the email address and password you chose when creating your Adobe account.
- Tap Log in.
Reading an audiobook
You can download the audiobook and listen to it using any application that supports MP3 playback.
You can also open your audiobook directly in your Web browser by clicking on Listen (or on the access link sent to you by email).
In the Web player window, you will see the cover of your audiobook and the player's controls:
The Reading speed selector allows for the selection of 3 playback speeds: 1x, 1.25x and 1.5x.
Use the Volume control to set the desired volume level or to mute the sound.
Use the Chapter selector to go directly to any chapter of the book.
The remaining standard Playback controls allow you to play or stop the playback, go forward or backward 30 seconds, or jump to the next or the previous chapter.