If you like the convenience of eBooks but don’t want to buy a Kindle Fire or ereader device, Amazon makes it easy for you to read Kindle books without a Kindle device. Android and iOS users can simply download the free Kindle app to their devices, whereas PC and Mac users can go online to Kindle Cloud Reader to view, manage, and read their Kindle books.
Kindle Cloud Reader is free, works with any web browser, and it features plenty of options for users to customize and enhance their reading experience. This quick guide will show you how to set up your free Kindle Cloud Reader account, add books to your collection, toggle the settings to your liking, and organize your library however you see fit. Let’s get started!
What You Need Before Using Kindle Cloud Reader
If you already have an Amazon account, you only need internet access and a device to start using the Kindle Cloud Reader. Simply log in to Amazon and skip to the next section for step-by-step instructions for viewing your Kindle books.
If you don’t have any Kindle books in your library yet, check out our free books page to find and download new reading materials in all your favorite genres! There are thousands of free books available on the Kindle store at any given time, so come back often to keep your digital bookshelf fully stocked.
How to Use Kindle Cloud Reader
After logging in to your Amazon account, go to read.amazon.com to start using the Kindle Cloud Reader. Once you sign into this feature, follow these steps to start organizing your library and reading your Kindle books:
- If you’re asked if you want to enable offline reading, select this option if you want to be able to download and view Kindle books even when you’re not connected to the internet. If you decline, you can easily enable this setting later.
- Before you buy a Kindle book or download a free Kindle book, locate the “Deliver” button beneath the “Purchase” button on the product page. Click on “Deliver” and select “Kindle Cloud Reader” to ensure that the content will be sent directly to your account.
- To read a Kindle book, just click on the title in your library. If you haven’t started reading the book yet, it should take you straight to the beginning. As you read, your progress will be saved so you can pick up right where you left off in your next reading session.
Kindle Cloud Reader Features
The Kindle Cloud Reader offers a wide variety of features and customization options to make reading simple and enjoyable for all users. In fact, it shares many of the same benefits as Kindle Fire tablets and eReaders, including these capabilities:
- View your Kindle library. On the upper left side of your Kindle library, toggle the “Grid View” or “List View” buttons to view your books in your preferred format. If you select “Grid View,” you can change the book cover sizes by using the sliding scale on the upper right side. Use the Grid View or List View buttons to see your books in two ways. On the Grid View, use the Cover Size scale on the right side of the screen to make each title smaller or larger.
- Sort your content. On the main page of your Kindle library, select whether you’d prefer to sort books by author, title, or date purchased.
- Search books in your library. To search for a specific book, click on the magnifying glass at the top of the page and type in the title.
- View book contents. Click the icon that looks like an open book to quickly navigate the contents of a book. You can view the cover, start from the beginning of the book, choose a specific page, or find where you left off last time.
- Place bookmarks. To leave a bookmark on a page, simply click the icon that resembles a bookmark.
- Add or review notes and highlights. Select the notepad icon to review notes you’ve written, sections you’ve highlighted, and bookmarks you’ve added. To add a new note or highlight, just click the text in your Kindle book to reveal your notation options.
- Change display settings. Locate the “Aa” icon to change and customize the font size, background color, margins, number of reading columns, color theme, and your reading location visibility.
- Enable offline mode. Centered at the top of your Kindle library, you should see a “Cloud” tab and a “Downloaded” tab. To download a book for offline reading, just right-click the title and hit “Download & Pin Book.” It should be automatically added to your downloaded content.
- Sync your account. If you happen to have a Kindle device or you prefer to use the free Kindle app on your phone, you can sync all your reading activity across all devices by clicking the button with 2 arrows arranged in a circle.
For more helpful information about finding and enjoying Kindle content, see our other blog posts or sign up for our newsletter to get free and discounted book recommendations delivered right to your inbox!
