Reading a book can be an extremely fulfilling exercise, something that perhaps only a die-hard book lover can relate to. It’s like a journey into a world of your own making. You shut down the book (or put down the e-reader) after you have finished reading and close your eyes, you seem to relive all that you had visualized while reading and get immersed in it all. Sometimes you’d like to keep all of those to yourself though there may be times you are eager to share your feeling with someone, whom you believe can relate to all that you experienced while reading. Fortunately, there is a way to share or loan your Kindle book, just like you’d do with a physical book. Read on to find out more.
What you need to know
Before we get into the steps to loan your Kindle book, here are a few things to keep in mind. Not all books can be loaned. To find out if the book can be loaned, click on the three dots on the left of the e-book title. Only those books that offer the option ‘Loan this title’ can be loaned out. The e-book will remain unavailable to the lender for the duration of the loan term. This applies to even your own titles as well that you may have bought.
Further, as the site ZDnet mentioned, it is the publishers who set the loaning terms though it usually is for a period of 14 days. If the book is not accepted within seven days, it will return back to the lender. Also, since the book is being loaned out and not sold, there is no royalty payment involved. Only those titles bought from Amazon is eligible to be lent out.
To loan your Kindle book
Now, coming to the steps to lend out an e-book you have purchased.
- Log into your Amazon account, either via the mobile app or the browser.
- Click on ‘Account & Lists’ on the top right corner to access your account settings.
- Click on ‘Content & Devices’ under the ‘Digital content and devices’ tab to see all the content and devices that you own.
- Click on the ‘Content’ tab at the top to see all the e-books you have bought or borrowed.
- For each e-book that you have in your collection, there is a list of options shown on the right that defines things that you can do with the particular title.
- Here, select ‘More actions’ which will open up a list of drop-down options.
- If the particular title is lendable, you should see the option ‘Loan this title’. Click on it.
- You will be guided to a page where you will have to fill out the recipient’s details. That includes his/ her e-mail address, name, or any personal message that you wish to convey.
To share with Family Library
This provides for another means to share your Kindle title with others. Also, this is the option to try in case the title is not lendable. The steps to share the book with Family Library are also similar as well.
- It’s only that instead of choosing the ‘Loan this title’ option, select ‘Manage Family Library’ instead.
- You will see a pop-up where you will have to select someone from your Amazon household to share your title with.
- After you have made your selection, click on the ‘Make Changes’ button to share your e-book
- You can add or remote book from your Family Library at any time.
Worth mentioning, that you have the option to share some of the perks you are entitled to as a Prime member with your family members. However, this applies to only a single adult member but can cover four teens and four children. You can add or remove users from Amazon’s Household via the ‘Manage your household’ option.
The point to keep in mind is that sharing is a one-time option. Once you have shared a title for a maximum period of 14 days, it can’t be shared again.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
