The Kindle’s most underrated function is my new secret weapon

I’ve had a Kindle since 2011. Within the 14 years since, I’ve learn hundreds of tales through the E Ink pill and indulged in each style — from younger grownup dystopias to World Battle II spy novellas. Whereas I principally persist with science fiction and romantasies these days, my Kindle Library is stuffed to the digital brim with my favourite e-books.

As a voracious reader who usually has a number of titles open without delay, I do a reasonably good job of protecting all my fictional characters and their respective worlds separate. Nevertheless, as an editor who juggles freelance work together with her personal inventive writing, generally my studying behavior falls by the wayside, and my present reads should go on pause. Once I lastly click on again into them, I generally get confused and expertise one thing alongside the strains of Jack Sparrow stepping onto the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.

Whereas I am not writing that off as a possible avenue for a implausible space-pirate crossover, I really want to know what is going on on in my ebook if I am studying to calm down or benefit from the story. Positive, I may open my telephone or laptop computer and get a fast reminder, however that simply opens the door to doomscrolling on Instagram or TikTok. There is a motive individuals love e-readers: distraction-free leisure.

Fortunately, there is a hidden function solely two faucets away that may get you up to the mark with out even leaving your ebook. It is referred to as X-Ray, and I believe it is essentially the most underrated Kindle feature.

What’s Kindle X-Ray?

And the place you could find it

X-Ray is a reference software inside your e-book that allows you to “see by means of” the story by mapping out each character, place, and noteworthy idea. It affords readers deeper insights, related passages, and generally even exterior context from sources like Wikipedia. It is out there on most books you purchase by means of Amazon, as metadata is pulled from the ebook itself — however some authors additionally add additional data to X-Ray manually.

The X-Ray software is not new. Actually, Amazon rolled out the function again in 2011. Nevertheless, most customers nonetheless do not reap the benefits of it, in the event that they even comprehend it exists in any respect. To seek out X-Ray, full the next steps:

1. Faucet the highest of the web page to open the menu.
2. Faucet the three dots on the far proper.
3. Choose X-Ray.

There are 4 tabs inside X-Ray: Notable Clips, Folks, Phrases, and Photos. Notable Clips is a curated assortment of essential passages that Amazon and publishers flag as notably vital. It exhibits brief excerpts of memorable quotes, character introductions, turning factors, and in style highlights from different readers. It is mainly the ebook’s “biggest hits” reel with regards to excerpts.

The Folks tab is actually a catalog of each character talked about within the textual content. This one’s particularly helpful when you’re attempting to recollect a love curiosity, an enemy, or just which narrator you are following in that chapter. It first exhibits the characters on the present web page, however scrolling down reveals each character within the ebook, their first or most memorable excerpts, and what number of instances they’re talked about all through.

Phrases acts as a glossary of ideas, places, occasions, or concepts that seem throughout the textual content. It gives definitions, descriptions, and related quotes. As somebody who reads principally fantasy and sci-fi, I exploit this part essentially the most. In the event you’ve ever learn (or needed to learn) Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, I extremely suggest doing so on Kindle. I devoured that ebook in a single sitting and was nonetheless confused by the handfuls of locations, kinds of magic, and political alliances in that world.

Photos is pretty self-explanatory: a visible index of each illustration, map, or photograph embedded within the e-book. A lot of the books I learn function solely two photos — the duvet artwork and the map at the start — however X-Ray makes referencing them easy. Once I learn A Courtroom of Mist and Fury, I used to be always flipping again to the map of Prythian to see the place my favourite characters had been teleporting to and from.

Whenever you use X-Ray, you remove all of the confusion, page-flipping (or tapping), and psychological gymnastics it takes to select up the place you left off — or to remain oriented in a posh story.

X-Ray will not be an AI abstract

However it did one thing comparable method earlier than it was cool

In the event you seek for something on-line as of late, chances are high you may run into a fast TL;DR AI abstract. Left and proper, we’re being bombarded with machine-written blurbs that cease our analysis in its tracks with lazy roundups. X-Ray will not be that — and it by no means has been. It affords a deeper, extra considerate approach to have interaction with a narrative by jogging your reminiscence as a substitute of considering for you.

Kindle may simply fall down the AI rabbit gap, nevertheless it is aware of its viewers. Anybody who calls themselves a reader is in it for the love of the sport, not an AI shortcut. We wish to learn and really feel extra — not simply skim a soulless gist and transfer on.

The most effective instances to make use of X-Ray

I by no means wish to learn with out it once more

Studying is my favourite pastime. After a few many years of required studying, I am joyful to say that 80% of the time now, I am studying purely for enjoyment. Whereas I used to like choosing aside The Return of the King for my JRR Tolkien seminar in school, as of late, if I am unable to keep in mind Éomer’s whole arc, I simply open X-Ray for a fast reminder so I can preserve my studying momentum going.

Fantasy and science fiction tales are solely pretty much as good as their world-building — however that additionally means remembering varied magic methods (and their limitations), fictional cities and cities (generally even planets), villains, henchmen, allies, and forgotten facet characters who reappear for a full-circle second on the finish of an eight-book saga.

The clearest instance I can consider is the Throne of Glass collection by Sarah J Maas — it is a hill I will die on with regards to character arcs and world-building. However inside these eight books, Maas would not neglect a single character. If you wish to really feel the complete emotion of her storytelling, you may’t both. So when a beloved facet character briefly talked about within the first ebook makes his comeback 4,500 pages later, it is sort of an enormous deal — however one which’s simple to overlook.