How To Lend Kindle Books (And Why It Doesn’t Always Work)

Lending an Amazon Kindle book is a great way to share it with a friend or family member — so long as you know how to do it. Although they aren’t talked about nearly as much as smartphones or smartwatches, e-readers are still a vital niche in the consumer tech space. While it’s possible to read books on your phone, tablet, and computer, e-readers remain the superior form factor for doing so. From the e-ink display to weeks of battery life, it’s a better experience in almost every way.

The keyword there is ‘almost.’ While reading on something like a Kindle is fantastic, the software that powers it often leaves a lot to be desired. Even simple tasks on the Kindle require some technical know-how. Want to see page numbers on your books or get back to the home screen? Be prepared to dive through settings menus and know exactly where to tap the screen.

Another key feature of Kindles is the ability to lend books to other users. If you purchase a Kindle book that you want to share with someone else, lending it allows that person to read it without paying a dime. Like most Kindle features, though, figuring out how to lend Kindle books isn’t immediately apparent. To get started, head to the Amazon website on your computer, make sure you’re logged in, move your mouse over the ‘Account & Lists’ button at the top right of the screen, and click ‘Content & Devices’ from the pop-up menu. Click ‘Books’ and find the book you want to lend. Click the ‘More actions’ button next to the book, and if it’s eligible, click ‘Loan this title.’ Enter the email address for the person you want to lend the Kindle book to, add an optional message if you want, and click ‘Send’ to confirm it.

Why You Can’t Always Lend Kindle Books

One issue you may run across is that the ‘Loan this title’ option isn’t appearing as an available action. This is because only certain Kindle books are eligible for the lending feature. To see if a book is eligible or not, open its product page on Amazon and scroll down the page until you see the ‘Product details’ section. If it says ‘Lending: Enabled,’ you’ll be able to lend the book without a problem. If it says ‘Lending: Not Enabled,’ it isn’t possible to lend the book.

There are also some restrictions to know for books that are eligible for lending. After lending a book to someone, it’s immediately removed from your library and you can no longer read it. If someone accepts the loan, they have up to 14 days to hold onto it. If the loan isn’t accepted within 7 days, it’s returned to your library. That’s a lot to keep in mind, but when everything falls into place, lending Kindle books is a fantastic way to share your love for reading with other Kindle users.

Source: Amazon

About The Author

Joe Maring
(1516 Articles Published)

Joe has been actively writing and talking about consumer tech since 2012. His biggest passion lies with smartphones, but he’s happy to talk your ear off about just about anything with a CPU. He lives in Kalamazoo, MI with his wife, two cats, and pit bull/boxer mix.

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