Amazon Kindle update lets you share books with the whole family

Amazon has announced a Kindle update that will let you share books with someone else.

The new Family Library feature gives you access to another Amazon user’s Kindle library. Amazon says it’ll let you access books from the account of a “spouse or partner” but we’re not sure how it’ll know who they are to you. The feature also allows two adults to manage up to four children’s accounts.

The Kindle update, which will be delivered over-the-air in the coming weeks, will benefit owners of the newest version of the Kindle, the Kindle Voyage and the most recent Kindle Paperwhite. If you can’t wait, you can download the update directly from Amazon today.

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The update also includes Word Wise, a feature for readers learning English and children learning to read. It automatically adds short and simple definitions above difficult words. Tapping the word will bring up definitions, synonyms and other information. Amazon says Word Wise is already available for thousands of titles including The Hunger Games.

Other additions in the update include Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, giving access to hundreds of children’s chap books for $2.99 a month, an expanded version of X-Ray which lets you quickly flip through images in a book and a timeline of notable passages, and deeper integration with Goodreads. There’s also enhanced search functionality and more information in the About This Book section.

➤ Kindle update [Amazon]