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

I’ve had a Kindle since 2011. Within the 14 years since, I’ve learn 1000’s of tales through the E Ink pill and indulged in each style — from younger grownup dystopias to World Conflict II spy novellas. Whereas I principally stick with science fiction and romantasies these days, my Kindle Library is crammed to the digital brim with my favourite e-books.

As a voracious reader who typically has a number of titles open directly, I do a reasonably good job of conserving all my fictional characters and their respective worlds separate. Nonetheless, 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. After 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 improbable space-pirate crossover, I really want to know what is going on on in my e-book if I am studying to loosen up or benefit from the story. Positive, I might 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 cause individuals love e-readers: distraction-free leisure.

Fortunately, there is a hidden characteristic solely two faucets away that may get you in control with out even leaving your e-book. It is referred to as X-Ray, and I feel it is probably the most underrated Kindle feature.

What’s Kindle X-Ray?

And the place you will discover it

X-Ray is a reference software inside your e-book that permits you to “see by means of” the story by mapping out each character, place, and noteworthy idea. It provides 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 e-book itself — however some authors additionally add additional data to X-Ray manually.

The X-Ray software is not new. In actual fact, Amazon rolled out the characteristic again in 2011. Nonetheless, most customers nonetheless do not make the most of it, in the event that they even comprehend it exists in any respect. To search 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, Individuals, Phrases, and Photographs. Notable Clips is a curated assortment of necessary passages that Amazon and publishers flag as significantly important. It reveals quick excerpts of memorable quotes, character introductions, turning factors, and common highlights from different readers. It is principally the e-book’s “biggest hits” reel in terms of excerpts.

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

Phrases acts as a glossary of ideas, places, occasions, or concepts that seem inside the textual content. It supplies definitions, descriptions, and related quotes. As somebody who reads principally fantasy and sci-fi, I take advantage of this part probably the most. For those who’ve ever learn (or needed to learn) Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, I extremely suggest doing so on Kindle. I devoured that e-book in a single sitting and was nonetheless confused by the handfuls of locations, sorts of magic, and political alliances in that world.

Photographs is pretty self-explanatory: a visible index of each illustration, map, or picture embedded within the e-book. Many of the books I learn characteristic solely two pictures — the duvet artwork and the map initially — however X-Ray makes referencing them easy. After I learn A Court docket of Mist and Fury, I used to be continually flipping again to the map of Prythian to see the place my favourite characters had been teleporting to and from.

While you use X-Ray, you get rid of 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 fancy story.

X-Ray just isn’t an AI abstract

Nevertheless it did one thing comparable manner earlier than it was cool

For those who seek for something on-line nowadays, chances are high you will 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 just isn’t that — and it by no means has been. It provides a deeper, extra considerate strategy to interact with a narrative by jogging your reminiscence as a substitute of pondering for you.

Kindle might 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 need to learn and really feel extra — not simply skim a soulless gist and transfer on.

The very best occasions to make use of X-Ray

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

Studying is my favourite pastime. After a few a long time of required studying, I am completely happy 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 faculty, nowadays, if I am unable to bear in mind Éomer’s whole arc, I simply open X-Ray for a fast reminder so I can maintain my studying momentum going.

Fantasy and science fiction tales are solely pretty much as good as their world-building — however that additionally means remembering numerous 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 sequence by Sarah J Maas — it is a hill I am going to die on in terms of character arcs and world-building. However inside these eight books, Maas would not neglect a single character. If you wish to really feel the total emotion of her storytelling, you possibly can’t both. So when a beloved facet character briefly talked about within the first e-book makes his comeback 4,500 pages later, it is sort of an enormous deal — however one which’s straightforward to overlook.