I love using my Kindle.  I wrote about why HERE.

One thing I complained about was that I wish there was a way to share a book with somebody.  Here’s what I said:

I love to share books and give them away.  But I can’t with the Kindle.  And I get the whole copyright deal…I do.  Authors work incredibly hard, and should be rewarded for their work.  But here’s how sharing could work: if I share a book with you on the Kindle, I lose privileges with viewing the book on my Kindle…until you “give” it back to me.  If you choose to keep it, I would never be able to view the book again, unless I purchased the book again.

Looks like Amazon listened to me.  Well…I know I had little to do with their decision.  But regardless, sharing is now a reality on the Kindle.

I can loan you a book (at which point I can’t read it…because I’ve loaned it to you).  And it’s really easy to do.  I’ll walk you through it.

How to loan a book on a Kindle

1. Buy a Kindle. (or get the app HERE).

2. Login to your Amazon account.

3. On the left side of the page, under “Shop All Departments,” move your cursor over “Kindle” (see below screenshot).

4. Click on “Manage your Kindle” (see above screenshot).

5. Scroll down the page, and at the bottom of the “Your Orders” section, you’ll notice a link to “View All Orders; ” click on that. (see screenshot below)

6. This will take you to a page (see below screenshot) of all of your past orders.  On the right side of the order, click “View Order.”

7. Click the link for the name of the book to view the order.

8. Under the title bar on the next page, you’ll see a yellow-ish highlighted section.  At the bottom of the highlighted section, you should see a link, “Loan this book to anyone you choose.”  Click that link. (unfortunately, some publishers have disabled their title from being loaned at this time)

9. This will take you to the loan form.  Fill out the loan form and click “Send Now.”

10. Your recipient will receive an email with a personalized message (if you so choose).  They should click the “Get your loaned book now” link in the email.  Your book will be automatically “returned” to you 14 days after the recipient begins the loan period.

Have any troubles?

Are you convinced that the Kindle is worth it?