Between tablets, applications, phones and, of course, “old school” books, there is no shortage of reading media every day. When people hear the name “Kindle,” they are bound to think of Amazon’s popular e-ink reading devices. The truth is, Kindle stands for a variety of devices, including Kindle Cloud Reader. Let’s take a look at Kindle Cloud Reader and see if it’s the best way to read.
What is Kindle Cloud Reader?
According to Amazon, Kindle Cloud Reader is sort of a service that “lets you read your Kindle books on your web browser.” A browser-based reading solution, Kindle Cloud Reader has worked on desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets for years. Between ebooks, comics and graphic novels, as well as school or personal reading, this is a fantastic way to read. The good thing is that it contains almost all of the feature sets available on Kindle devices. This includes features like adjusting font size, highlighting, setting margins, etc.
How to access Kindle Cloud Reader
To access Kindle Cloud Reader, go to https://read.amazon.com/ and fill in your Amazon account details. Once you have signed in with your Amazon account, any Kindle books that have already been purchased or downloaded will appear. If this is your first time signing in, you will be asked if you want to enable offline reading.
Offline reading is a very handy feature for those with spotty internet connection. On the Cloud Reader page, you will see the title, cover, and author name of the book displayed in your library. The list is organized by your most recently opened or read titles, but you can also sort by author or title. Books are organized in a grid by default, but you can also switch to a list view.
Add Books to Kindle Cloud Reader
Adding books to your Cloud Reader library couldn’t be easier. In fact, for anyone already familiar with buying eBooks on Amazon, this whole process should be very familiar.
1. At the top right of the Cloud Reader page, there is an option for “Kindle Store”. Click on it to access the Kindle eBooks page on Amazon.com.
2. Find a book you want to buy. You can scroll through Amazon’s suggestions for you based on your previous history or wishlist. You can also search and find the book you want.
3. When you are ready to buy, make sure “Kindle” is selected as the version of the book you want to buy. You should also make sure that the option “Deliver to” under the purchase button displays the option “[Your name’s] Kindle Cloud Reader ”, so that it is delivered directly to your Cloud Reader.
4. Add the book to your cart and complete your purchase. When the purchase is complete, the book should appear in your Kindle Cloud Reader almost instantly.
Now that you have some books available, you will probably want to read them. To get started, click on any book to open it. Clicking on the right or left arrows will help turn the pages. The top menu bar includes the features to change font size, background color, bookmark creation, highlight, etc. If the mouse does not move for a few minutes, the menu bar will disappear so that you have the full screen view for reading. Everything is very simple – reading on the web couldn’t be easier.
Benefits of Kindle Cloud Reader
If you are deciding if the Kindle Cloud Reader is right for you, it is important to know some of the benefits. Although few of them are exclusive to other Kindle apps, they show that the Cloud Reader app is hardly limited in its functionality.
- Offline mode is one of the main reasons everyone should use Kindle Cloud Reader. Whether you can read with or without an internet connection is a big plus, especially when traveling.
- Sync all your reading activities across all your available Kindle devices or apps. This will help you instantly pick up where you left off if you step away from Cloud Reader and switch to another device.
- Books are automatically added to Kindle Cloud Reader immediately upon purchase, so you can start reading immediately on a large, high-quality screen.
- All your favorite Kindle extras such as bookmark creation, text size, highlighting, notes, and more are available.
- Reduce paper consumption in your home by going virtual and leaving more space in your home without storing used and read books.
- It is compatible with almost all browsers including Chrome, Brave, Edge, Safari, and more. Amazon even says that Safari on iPad has its own enhanced Kindle Cloud Reader experience if you’d rather use the browser instead of the Kindle iOS app.
Is Kindle Cloud Reader Right For You?
The million dollar question is whether Kindle Cloud Reader is right for you. Reading on a big screen may not be as comfortable as it is on a small tablet or phone. Cloud Reader is probably the best for anyone who wants the bigger screen when reading.
All in all, it’s hard to get comfortable on a sofa with a desk above you. Kindle Cloud Reader is designed for anyone who wants to read quickly while sitting at their desk. If you own a Kindle device or an Android or iOS device with the Kindle app, it is definitely a more comfortable experience.
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David Beren is a freelance technical writer with over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He loves dogs, his kids and everything Nintendo.
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