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 through the E Ink pill and indulged in each style — from younger grownup dystopias to World Conflict II spy novellas. Whereas I largely stick 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 directly, 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. After I lastly click on again into them, I generally get confused and expertise one thing alongside the traces of Jack Sparrow stepping onto the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.

Whereas I am not writing that off as a possible avenue for a incredible space-pirate crossover, I really want 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 motive folks love e-readers: distraction-free leisure.

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

What’s Kindle X-Ray?

And the place you’ll find it

X-Ray is a reference device 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 device is not new. Actually, Amazon rolled out the function again in 2011. Nevertheless, most customers nonetheless do not make the most of it, in the event that they even realize 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, Individuals, Phrases, and Photos. Notable Clips is a curated assortment of necessary passages that Amazon and publishers flag as significantly important. It exhibits quick excerpts of memorable quotes, character introductions, turning factors, and in style highlights from different readers. It is mainly the ebook’s “best hits” reel relating to excerpts.

The Individuals tab is basically a catalog of each character talked about within the textual content. This one’s particularly helpful in case 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 occasions they’re talked about all through.

Phrases acts as a glossary of ideas, areas, occasions, or concepts that seem inside the textual content. It supplies definitions, descriptions, and related quotes. As somebody who reads largely fantasy and sci-fi, I exploit this part essentially the most. Should 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, varieties 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 photographs — the quilt artwork and the map at first — 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.

While 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 just isn’t an AI abstract

Nevertheless it did one thing related approach earlier than it was cool

Should you seek for something on-line today, 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 just isn’t that — and it by no means has been. It presents a deeper, extra considerate option to interact 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 occasions 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 a long time of required studying, I am comfortable to say that 80% of the time now, I am studying purely for enjoyment. Whereas I used to like selecting aside The Return of the King for my JRR Tolkien seminar in school, today, if I can not bear 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 relating to character arcs and world-building. However inside these eight books, Maas does not overlook a single character. If you wish to really feel the total 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 sort of an enormous deal — however one which’s straightforward to overlook.