How to use Kindle Cloud Reader to read ebooks on your computer
- The Kindle Cloud Reader is a browser-based Kindle ebook reader you can use on your computer.
- You automatically get access to the Cloud Reader with your Amazon account.
- You can buy Kindle books using the link to the Kindle store at the top of the Kindle Cloud Reader's library page.
The Amazon Kindle is a popular tablet designed for reading ebooks, and if you purchase Kindle books from Amazon, you can read them using the Kindle app for other mobile devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Android. But Amazon gives you another simple way to read electronic books — using the Kindle Cloud Reader, which lets you read your books online in almost any web browser.
How to set up and access Kindle Cloud Reader
If you have an Amazon account, you automatically have access to the Kindle Cloud Reader; you can open it in any popular web browser and sign in using your Amazon account credentials.
If you don't already have an Amazon account, you'll need to create one before you can start using Kindle Cloud Reader. Go to Amazon and click Account & Lists at the top right. In the dropdown menu under the New to Amazon? section, click Create your Amazon account and follow the instructions to get started. Once you've created an account, the Kindle Cloud Reader will be ready and waiting for you.
Quick tip: If you want to read Kindle books offline in a location that has no internet service, you should use the Kindle app on a mobile device or your computer. The Kindle Cloud Reader no longer allows you to download books for offline reading.
How to add books to Kindle Cloud Reader
You can add books to your Kindle Cloud Reader by purchasing ebooks on Amazon.
From the Kindle Cloud Reader, do this:
1. Click Kindle Store at the top right of the page.
2. Browse or search for books. When you find one you want, click it.
3. On the book's product page, make sure the Kindle version is selected. You might see other editions listed as well, such as paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.
4. Before you complete the purchase, you might notice that there's a Deliver to: dropdown menu. It's not important to select a specific entry (like Kindle Cloud Reader). When you buy a Kindle book it becomes available on all of your devices, including the Cloud Reader, immediately.
5. Purchase the book in the usual way.
You should see the new book appear automatically in the Kindle Cloud Reader.
How to read books on Kindle Cloud Reader
Reading a book in the Kindle Cloud Reader is straightforward — click the title you want to read. The book will open and you can advance through the book by clicking the arrow on the side of the page, using the keyboard's arrow keys or the space bar.
You can also customize the reading experience with a small menu. To make the menu appear, move the mouse pointer to the top or bottom of the page. Here are your options:
- Kindle and Your Library: Click either the Kindle logo or the Your Library button to go back to your library page to select a different book.
- Go to menu: This menu, which looks like three horizontal lines, lets you go directly to specific parts of the book, such as the cover, table of contents or a specific page.
- View settings: This menu lets you change formatting and readability options like the font size, margin size, page color and number of columns.
- Toggle bookmark: Click this to bookmark (or remove the bookmark from) the current page.
- Show notes and marks: This button displays a list of all pages that have bookmarks, notes, and highlighted text.
- Synchronize: Click this button to manually sync the current book so all changes are up to date on any other device you want to read it on.
- Location: At the bottom of the page, you'll see a slider that indicates where you are within the book. You can drag the slider to quickly go to another location.
In addition to those menus, you can highlight text or add notes for later reference. To do that, select the desired text with the mouse and you'll see a popup menu appear. Choose Highlight or Note and enter a note if desired.
How to delete a book from Kindle Cloud Reader
One disadvantage of using the Kindle Cloud Reader rather than the Kindle mobile app is the Cloud Reader can become crowded with books, making it potentially hard to find a title you want to read.
If you want to organize the Cloud Reader by deleting a book, you unfortunately have to permanently delete it from your Amazon account (so if you want to read it again, you'll have to repurchase it). If you want to do this:
1. Open the Amazon website in a web browser.
2. Move the mouse pointer over Account & Lists and then click Content & Devices from the dropdown menu.
3. Click the checkbox for one or more books you want to remove and then click Delete at the top of the page.
