Sharing Kindle Books with Friends and Family

By Ann M. Augustine

Anytime of the year, we can discover meaningful ways to share good food so why not open the conversation to good books with friends and family. In my family, recently we circled around the kitchen stove preparing dinner. As the cookbooks were scattered about, someone brought up the topic of sharing Kindle books.

Everyone seemed enthused about the possibilities for loaning and borrowing books. To get started, I shared my Books checklist on my phone. This opened up a dialog about a particular book someone wanted to read and one I’ve already downloaded to my Kindle (and accessed on a Kindle reading app on my phone and laptop). Now loaning and borrowing books adds a new twist to quench a book lovers’ thirst.

Who Can Borrow or Lend Books?

As a civilization, we have come a long way in providing faster and more economical means to access reading material. When you loan your Kindle books, it enables others to expand their access to reading resources and utilizes the life of your books.

In business, sharing books is an effective means to acquire knowledge quickly. However, time is the limiting factor to keep up with the latest trends and technologies, particularly for busy parents. Imagine creating your own book discussion clubs at work (wherever you are!) that accelerates learning and connects people with different knowledge resources.

At work or at home, if you have the opportunity to borrow a Kindle book, the best value is not having purchased the book. Much more than an economical choice, the social sharing experience opens up new conversations with coworkers, friends and family. And the Kindle reading app is usable anywhere on any device—laptop, tablet, and smartphone.

These are several ways to actually share Kindle books on Amazon.

How to Lend or Borrow Kindle Books

Surprise a friend and share your great books. It is quite easy to loan or borrow books, in some ways, similar to a formalized library system.

To lend Kindle books:

A maximum of 14 days a book can be loaned to another reader.
You may loan the book only once.
If the borrower doesn’t accept the book within 7 days, you can loan the book to someone else.
The book is not available to you while lending the book.

To borrow Kindle books:

You must have an Amazon account.
When you get your loaned book, you will have to download the Kindle reading app (unless you’re using a Kindle).

To get started, read these step-by-step instructions on Amazon.

Share Books in Kindle Family Library

Would a family member or friend like to read your Kindle books? Don’t worry, once you’re using the service, the digital technology allows each of the book readers to create their own settings in the Kindle eReader or Kindle Reading app, such as furthest page read, notes and highlights.

To set up an Amazon Household:

Each of the two adults must have an Amazon account.
As many as four children can be included on an adult’s account.
Sharing payment methods occurs when each of the adult accounts has their own current payment settings. Note: Amazon hopes to eliminate sharing payment methods in the future.

See the family library’s Family Library Step-by-Step Instructions to utilize these Amazon digital services.

Compatible Devices for Sharing Kindle Books

Although you can use the Kindle Family Library on a single device, your family may want to use their own devices. Devices are highly personal so don’t expect everyone to use the same device.

Anyone sharing Kindle books can use a Kindle reading app on their preferred device among the dozens of types of devices. A Kindle eReader is not required to share Kindle books. I use the Kindle reading app on my iPhone and Macbook Air, as well as use a Kindle Paperwhite for reading Kindle books.

Compatible devices enabled to share Family Library content using the Kindle reading app include Microsoft, Apple, Android (Google), Samsung, Blackberry, and Amazon.

See also:

Demystifying the Kindle Reading App

Updated: April 2017