Chapter 6

Loaning, Borrowing, and Gifting

In This Chapter

Letting friends borrow an e-book

Borrowing books from the library

Checking out the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library

Giving a book as a gift

Your Kindle Paperwhite has several innovative features that give you new ways to lend e-books to others, borrow from libraries and Amazon (through the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library), and give e-books as gifts.

Loaning Books

You can loan an e-book to anyone — even if the person doesn't have a Kindle! All you need is the person's e-mail address and a book that has loaning enabled.

You can loan e-books from your computer. Follow these steps to lend an e-book to a friend:

1. Open a web browser on your personal computer and go to the Manage Your Kindle page ( www.amazon.com/myk).
2. If necessary, log in.
3. Scroll down to view the e-books in your Kindle Library.
4. Hover the cursor over the Actions button for the e-book you'd like to loan, and click the Loan This Title option (if it appears).

   You'll see this option if loaning has been enabled for the e-book.

5. Enter the person's e-mail address and name. You may also type a message if you want.

   The borrower of the e-book receives an e-mail from Amazon, similar to the message shown in Figure 6-1. The borrower has seven days to accept the loan by clicking the Get Your Loaned Book Now button provided in the e-mail.

   

What if the person you've loaned the e-book to doesn't have a Kindle? No problem! You can use many devices to read Kindle e-books, as you discover in Chapter 4.

The borrower can return the loaned e-book before the 14-day loan is over. If you're reading a borrowed book and want to return it, go to the Your Kindle Library section of the Manage Your Kindle page on Amazon. Click the plus symbol (+) next to the loaned title and then click the Delete This Title link.

While an e-book from your Kindle is on loan, you can't read it. Also, you can loan a book only one time. A letter will be sent to your personal documents to remind you that the book is on loan and the annotation On Loan will appear next to the book in Your Kindle Library.

Currently, only e-book customers residing in the United States can loan Kindle e-books. Loans can be made to people living outside the United States, but the borrower may not be able to accept the loan, depending on geographic differences in publishing rights.

You can join Kindle community forums to participate in exchanges in which Kindle owners lend and borrow e-books. A popular forum is the Lend and Borrow Exchange link at www.kboards.com.

Want to know whether a book can be loaned before you purchase it? From a personal computer, view the book's product page on Amazon. Scroll down to the Product Details section and look for Lending: Enabled.

Borrowing Books from the Library

Many public libraries allow Kindle e-books to be checked out. How does this work? The e-book is made available to you for a fixed amount of time — the loan period varies by library. When the loan expires, the e-book is no longer available to you, unless you check it out again or purchase it from Amazon's Kindle Store.

You can make highlights, add notes, and include bookmarks in a borrowed library e-book. Those annotations are preserved even after the e-book loan expires, in case you later decide to purchase the e-book or borrow it again.

To borrow an e-book, go to your local public library's website. If your library supports OverDrive digital e-book services, you can check out Kindle-compatible e-books. Note that you must use your library card and have online borrowing privileges. And, just as with paper books, all available copies of an e-book may be checked out. Most libraries will allow you to reserve an e-book or put it on hold.

Public library e-books for Kindle e-readers are presently available only in the United States.

From your library's website, you can have the e-book delivered wirelessly to your Kindle or Kindle app through Wi-Fi. (They aren't distributed over a 3G connection.) Note that some publishers allow books to be transferred to your Kindle Paperwhite only by using the USB cable. These books also cannot be read on other devices such as an iPhone or a PC (using the Kindle app).

Borrowing Books from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library

If you're an Amazon Prime member, you have access to the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library. Amazon Prime is a $79-a-year subscription program that provides a number of benefits to subscribers, including free shipping on Prime-eligible products; access to the Prime video library; and for Kindle owners, the opportunity to borrow books from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

At the time of this writing, close to 440,000 books were available, covering topics from fiction, to humor, to travel. For an overview, use your device to go to the Kindle Store and open the drop-down menu for All Categories. The Kindle Owners’ Lending Library is the last item on the list.

After you select Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, a screen appears listing all the books available in various categories, such as Nonfiction, Travel, and History. Tap on a topic of interest to see specific books, and then select a book that appeals to you. Figure 6-2 shows a book available for loan from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

Read the book's description and reviews. If you find a book that intrigues you, simply tap the Borrow for Free icon to download the book immediately to your Kindle Paperwhite. When you borrow a book, you'll see a screen similar to the one shown in Figure 6-3.

You can borrow one book per month. You can't borrow a new book until you return the previously borrowed book. If you aren't eligible to borrow a book (that is, you've reached your monthly quota), the option to Borrow for Free appears dimmed at the Kindle Store.

If you have a borrowed book on your Kindle Paperwhite, you'll be asked to return the book before you can borrow another, as shown in Figure 6-4. Although you can borrow only one book per month, you can keep a book on your device for as long as you want — but you won't be able to borrow a second book until you return the first one.

Although you can use your computer to browse the Kindle Store and see books that are available for borrowing, you have to use your Kindle Paperwhite to borrow a book. You can't send a borrowed book to your Kindle Paperwhite from your computer.

If you maintain a Wish List at Amazon, you can access it from your Kindle Paperwhite and see which books on your list are available for free borrowing. Tap Settings, and then swipe the list to see additional options. Your Wish List will be at the top of the list. Tap it, and then Tap Kindle Wish List. Books that are available in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library will appear with the Prime logo.

You can also rent Kindle textbooks, which is a great option for students. See Chapter 9 for details.

Gifting Books

You can give anyone an e-book from the book's product page on Amazon. A Give as a Gift button is available for most e-books in the Kindle Store.

You can e-mail the gift directly to someone or specify when the e-mail should be sent. Recipients receive a link in the e-mail that enables them to access the e-book.

Alternatively, you can have the e-mail sent to you. Perhaps you'd like to forward the e-mail later to the giftee or you want to print the e-mail and present the gift that way.

If the recipient already owns the book you have selected, he or she can use the gift certificate toward the purchase of a different book.

Many online e-booksellers also let you give an e-book as a gift. Details on how to do so are available at the seller's website. I list some popular e-booksellers in Chapter 5.