How was CalyxOS overall? Are there some things that CalyxOS does better than GrapheneOS?
Congratulations!
From what I heard, the Dell XPS 13 is one option to run a Linux distro, but it isn't the only option. Should it not work for you, another alternative you could consider is the Acer Swift 3. That's the laptop I currently own, and I run Arch Linux on it. I have not yet encountered any issues with it. Prior to running Arch, I have tried Linux Mint and Pop OS on it. I wouldn't recommend Linux Mint on a laptop, not because it's a bad distro (Linux Mint is quite good as a beginner distro), but because the Cinnamon DE isn't great for laptops. The GNOME and Cosmic DE are more suited for laptop workflows.
I used Linux Mint for about 1.5 years before transitioning to Arch Linux. For me, the transition was to learn more about Linux and to try something new. Thus far, I'm really liking Arch. There have been a few issues that have popped up here and there, like getting Bluetooth devices to connect properly, but the Arch Wiki and forums often have the solution. You just have to spend time reading the articles or the forum responses.
As for other distros, I've tried Zorin, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Pop OS, and KDE Neon before settling on Linux Mint.
Yes, I do realize that what I purchased may have been "licenses" to access the book. That's why I'm looking for a solution that will allow me to keep what I purchased. I'm not in a position where I can just re-purchase every eBook that I got on Kindle.
I am aware of Calibre, but like you, I have also been told that it doesn't always work as expected.
What is your experience with the Nook? I haven't seen that many positive reviews of the Nook when compared to Kindle and Kobo.
Linux Mint with a secondary partition running EndeavourOS
Well, if YouTube videos haven't been much help to you, then perhaps these books will give you what you want:
I personally do not think it is conflicting, especially when you consider how hard or impractical it is to completely avoid the non-free/proprietary software. Services like Gmail, YouTube, and Facebook, to name a few, have been around for a long time, and they have become so entrenched in our daily lives and social circles that avoiding them completely and all at once may be too disruptive. I've been using Facebook since I was in high school, and that's also the platform I use to communicate with my closest friends. To suddenly jump away from that and expect my closest friends to follow me to the next major platform (e.g. Mastodon) is going to take a lot of effort and convincing, especially if my friends have people they connect with on Facebook and are not likely to move to another platform.
The same can be said for YouTube, even with their ridiculous anti-adblocker stance. People have become so invested in it that completely breaking away from YouTube would be almost impossible. Thankfully, that's where services like Piped and PeerTube come into play.
I think what really matters is that people at least make the effort to utilize FOSS whenever and wherever possible. Whether that be a Linux distribution over Windows and Mac, or a FOSS alternative to one of Google's or Microsoft's products, or a federated platform like Lemmy and Mastodon, there are so many ways we can demonstrate our love and support for FOSS, and utilizing a non-free/proprietary service does not make us any less committed to FOSS.
Anyways, that's just my two cents.
That's true, and as with any networking platform, whether that be a social media site or a messaging app, who you know and how many of them are on the platform is a strong determining factor in whether you join that platform or not. For now, I just have an account set up on both of those sites, just in case, but I'm not holding my breath for any of my close friends to join anytime soon.
Why does it not work? And, is there an alternative?
That's an interesting analogy!
It would appear that the overall nature of the Fediverse is to have numerous small instances that can communicate with each other, and since instance size is a factor in determining the cost of hosting, many people could host without seeing a huge chunk of their income being taken away for hosting.
Of course, I would imagine other factors that would determine whether someone should host or not, like having the technical competence necessary to troubleshoot server issues.
Initially, it is quite bland, but I have already downloaded the Linux Mint themes and backgrounds, plus some other theme options that were recommended to me. So, in terms of themes, I'm okay with that.
As for the Wayland option, that is available as a selection in the Login Screen. I don't use it very often, because it is quite buggy.