1. Use your book cover as the lock screen
With some of the later Kindle models, you can make the cover of the current book you’re reading – your Lock Screen. It’s a unique feature that you can change with every book you read. Here’s how to do it.
- Open your Settings app
- Tap Device Options
- Toggle on Display Cover
Credit: Amazon
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2. Show word meanings and improve vocabulary
Word Wise
- Open any book on your Kindle
- Tap at the top of your screen
- Click the Aa icon
- Click More
- Scroll down and select Word Wise
- Toggle on Word Wise and wait for the data to download
- You will now see the descriptions above the more difficult words in your book. You will also see the phrase Word Wise appear at the bottom corner of your screen. You can tap that and use the scale at the bottom to adjust the number of descriptors appearing on your screen
A quicker way to learn the meanings of words without turning on Word Wise is by simply long-pressing on a word you don’t know. This will make a dictionary definition of the word appear right above it so you can get a glance at what the word means.
3. Connect Goodreads to your Kindle
If you’re an active Goodreads user, you can connect your account to your Kindle. In case you’re unfamiliar with Goodreads, it is a popular online platform that serves as a pretty amazing social cataloging website for book lovers.
Connecting the two makes it that much easier to review and rate books.
- Tap the home icon at the top of your Kindle screen
- Click the three vertical dots on the right side of the screen
- Tap Settings
- Select My Account
- Select Social Networks
- Click on Goodreads
- A dialogue box should pop up. Follow those directions to connect your Goodreads account to your Kindle
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4. Turn on Warmth Schedule
- Open your Settings app
- Tap Device Options
- Click Warmth Schedule
- Toggle on Schedule and choose either Automatic or Manual. Automatic will make the screen turn warmer when the sun rises and sets. Manual will let you choose a specific time for the screen to turn warm
- If you choose Manual, click ALLOW
- Use the scale at the bottom to choose how warm you want your screen to be
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5. Turn off popular highlights
Another cool feature that Kindle has is Popular Highlights. This feature will make a certain line or passage of text appear underlined in the book you’re reading because more than 10 people who have previously read this book have highlighted that line or passage. Although this is a cool feature, some people might find it distracting. Here’s how to turn it off.
- Open any book on your Kindle
- Tap at the top of your screen
- Click the Aa icon
- Click More
- Scroll down and toggle off Popular Highlights
6. Free up storage space
- Go to your Settings app
- Tap Storage
- Click ARCHIVE NOW. This will archive any items on your device that have not been recently used, which will free up some storage space for you
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7. Turn on landscape mode
Every book on a Kindle will default to being viewed in a vertical Portrait mode. However, there is a way for you to read your books in a horizontal Landscape mode if that’s what you prefer, and this is a feature that comes on every Kindle model. Here’s how to turn on Landscape mode.
- Open any book on your Kindle
- Tap at the top of your screen
- Click the Aa icon
- Select Layout
- Under Orientation, select the horizontal Kindle icon
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8. Make collections
- Go to your Library
- Click OPEN KINDLE
- Click SORT in the top right-hand corner
- Click Collections
- Click the + icon
- Type in a name for your collection and tap Create
- Check off all the titles you want to add to your collection and click ADD
9. Use Alexa
- Open your Settings app
- Select Alexa
- Toggle on Alexa
- If you want to use hands-free mode, click Hands-Free Mode and toggle it on. This will allow you to use Alexa without having to press the Home button
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10. Make text size bigger or smaller
- Open any book on your Kindle
- Tap at the top of your screen
- Click the Aa icon
- Select Font
- Tap Font Family
- Choose your preferred font and size
Kurt’s key takeaways
What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of reading on a Kindle versus a physical book?hat are some of the best books you have read on your Kindle and why?Let us know by commenting below.
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