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 1000’s of tales by way of the E Ink pill and indulged in each style — from younger grownup dystopias to World Struggle II spy novellas. Whereas I largely follow 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 holding 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 actually need to know what is going on on in my ebook if I am studying to chill out or benefit from the story. Certain, 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 cause individuals love e-readers: distraction-free leisure.

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

What’s Kindle X-Ray?

And the place you could find it

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

The X-Ray instrument is not new. In reality, Amazon rolled out the function again in 2011. Nonetheless, most customers nonetheless do not make the most of it, in the event that they even understand 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 Photographs. Notable Clips is a curated assortment of essential passages that Amazon and publishers flag as significantly important. It reveals quick excerpts of memorable quotes, character introductions, turning factors, and standard highlights from different readers. It is mainly the ebook’s “best hits” reel in relation to excerpts.

The Folks tab is actually a catalog of each character talked about within the textual content. This one’s particularly helpful for those who’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 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, areas, occasions, or concepts that seem inside the textual content. It gives definitions, descriptions, and related quotes. As somebody who reads largely fantasy and sci-fi, I exploit this part probably the most. If you happen to’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, forms of magic, and political alliances in that world.

Photographs 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 pictures — the duvet artwork and the map at the start — however X-Ray makes referencing them easy. After I learn A Courtroom of Mist and Fury, I used to be continually flipping again to the map of Prythian to see the place my favourite characters have been teleporting to and from.

If 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 fancy story.

X-Ray is just not an AI abstract

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

If you happen to seek for something on-line as of late, likelihood is 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 is just not that — and it by no means has been. It presents a deeper, extra considerate technique to interact with a narrative by jogging your reminiscence as a substitute of pondering for you.

Kindle may simply fall down the AI rabbit gap, but it surely 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 perfect 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 pleased 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, 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 nearly as good as their world-building — however that additionally means remembering varied magic programs (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 in relation to character arcs and world-building. However inside these eight books, Maas does not neglect a single character. If you wish to really feel the complete emotion of her storytelling, you’ll be able to’t both. So when a beloved facet character briefly talked about within the first ebook makes his comeback 4,500 pages later, it is type of an enormous deal — however one which’s straightforward to overlook.