Between tablets, apps, phones and, of course, “old school” books, there is no shortage of ways for you to read 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 means a variety of devices, including Kindle Cloud Reader. Let’s take a look at it and see if it’s the best way for you to read.
Also read: What Is Kindle Unlimited? Here’s Everything You Need to Know
What Is Kindle Cloud Reader?
According to Amazon, Kindle Cloud Reader is something of a service that “lets you read your Kindle books on your web browser.” As a browser-based solution for reading, it has worked across desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets for years. Between ebooks, comics and graphic novels, as well as school or personal reading, it’s a fantastic way to read. The good thing is it contains almost all of the feature sets available on Kindle devices. This includes features like adjusting the font size, highlighting, setting margins and more.
Also read: How to Use a Kindle Without an Amazon Account
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 sign in with your Amazon account, any previously purchased or downloaded Kindle books will appear. If you are signing in for the first time, you will be asked if you want to enable offline reading.
Offline reading is a really handy function for those with a spotty Internet connection. On the Cloud Reader page, you will see the book’s title, coverage and author’s name 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 as well. The books are organized in a grid by default, but you can switch to a listview, too.
Also read: Best Kindle Unlimited Alternatives for Unlimited Reading
Add Books to Kindle Cloud Reader
Adding books to your Cloud Reader library could not be any easier. In fact, for anyone already familiar with purchasing eBooks from Amazon, this whole process should be very familiar.
1. At the top right of the Cloud Reader page, there is an option for the “Kindle Store.” Click on that to be taken to the Kindle eBooks page on Amazon.com.
2. Find a book you would like to purchase. You can scroll through Amazon’s suggestions for you based on your previous history or wish list. Alternatively, you can search and find any book you want.
3. When you are ready to purchase, make sure “Kindle” is selected as the book version you want to purchase. You should also make sure that the “Deliver to” option underneath the purchase button shows the option “[Your name’s] Kindle Cloud Reader” so that it gets directly delivered.
4. Add the book to your cart and complete your purchase. Once the purchase is complete, the book should almost instantaneously appear in your Cloud Reader.
Now that you have books available, you likely want to read them. To start, click on any book to open. Clicking on the right or left arrows will help turn the pages. The top menu bar includes the options for changing font size, background color, bookmarking, highlighting, 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. It’s all very straightforward – reading on the Web could not be any easier.
Kindle Cloud Reader Benefits
If you’re determining whether the Kindle Cloud Reader is for you, it’s important to know some of the benefits. While few of these are exclusive to other Kindle apps, they do show that the Cloud Reader app is hardly limited in its functionality.
- Offline mode is one of the biggest reasons anyone should use the Cloud Reader. That you can read with or without an Internet connection is a major plus, especially when you are traveling.
- Sync all of your reading activity across all of your available Kindle devices or apps. This will help you pick up where you left off instantly if you move away from Cloud Reader and switch to another device.
- Books are automatically added to the Kindle Cloud Reader immediately at the time of purchase, so you can begin reading right away on a large, high-quality screen.
- All of your favorite Kindle extras like bookmarking, text size, highlighting, notes, etc., are available.
- Reduce paper consumption in your home by going virtual and allowing for extra space in your home without storing used and previously read books.
- It’s compatible with nearly every browser, including Chrome, Brave, Edge, Safari and more. Amazon even says that Safari on iPad has its own optimized Kindle Cloud Reader experience if you would prefer to use the browser instead of the Kindle iOS app.
Kindle Cloud Reader Troubleshooting
As Kindle Cloud Reader is essentially a web app, it’s at the mercy of all those things like cookies, caching and other things inherent to the browser experience. Problems with the Cloud Reader may manifest as simply not loading, or you may get the “Error Opening Content” message.
If you have problems, you should try these solutions.
1. Clear your browsing data (especially cookies and cache)
The first solution to try is to clear your browsing data. If you’re using Chrome, go to “Settings -> Clear browsing data,” then select “All time” and check all the boxes.
If you happen to be on Microsoft Edge, go to “Settings -> Privacy,” search and services, then click “Choose what to clear,” check all the boxes and select “All time” for “Time range.”
These are just two examples, but know the the Cloud Reader works on all browsers, whether mobile or desktop. You just need to find how to clear your browsing data, which should be in the browser’s settings.
Also read: 4 of the Best Ebook Reader Apps for iOS
2. Disable your adblocker for read.amazon.com
This will vary depending on which ad-blocker you use, but most ad-blocker extensions should have a one-click way to “allow ads” on a given site. In the case of UBlock, just click its icon, then the big blue standby button followed by the “Refresh” icon.
3. Disable dark mode in your browser
Dark mode is still something of a nascent feature on many browsers, and as such, it doesn’t always work perfectly. Man Kindle Cloud Reader users reported that disabling dark mode fixed their problems.
4. Update your browser to the latest version
The most recent versions of browsers tend to be the most stable, so make sure you’re on the latest version.
Is Kindle Cloud Reader for You?
The million-dollar question is whether Kindle Cloud Reader is right for you. Reading on a big monitor may not be as comfortable as doing so on a small tablet or phone. Cloud Reader is probably best for anyone who wants the largest display while reading.
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Kindle Cloud Reader is built for anyone who wants to get in a quick read, and you can do it while sitting at your desktop, reclining on the sofa with your tablet, or on the go with your smartphone. While you’re at it, find out how to temporarily turn off notifications on your Android phone for distraction-free reading.
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David Joz
David is a freelance tech writer with over 15 years of experience in the tech industry. He loves all things Nintendo.
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