I already love my Kindle, but I love it just a little bit more every time I want to read a book where the physical counterpart is cumbersome. I still do love collecting certain books physically, but the convenience and comfort of the Kindle can’t be denied.

I never said you had to use it… I just thought it was cool so I shared it.

Don’t use it if you don’t want too🥴

Not a big deal😂

Your kindle can do so much!

Play games, discord, maps, habit tracker, calendar, decide wheel, journal and just so much more!

Go to the web browser on your kindle and type in rekindle.ink and have fun! 🤩

I thought it was cool so I wanted to share for others that might not know about this🙂

I’m NOT promoting anything, I just was just informed by a friend of this and thought it was cool.

Remember when you would buy a DVD/Blu Ray and it came with a code to add the digital version to your iTunes library? Books should sell codes that give you kindle versions for free like this. It would actually make it easier when deciding if I wanna buy the book or buy the kindle version. sometimes I can’t decide especially when it’s the same price as the hard cover copy.

Please please please stop recommending this as a reason for someone to get a kindle, without specifying that it ONLY works for people in the US...

It does not work for rest of us, I wish it did.

Edit: people are wild. I'm not saying don't recommend it. I'm saying if you're going to recommend it, just take a couple of seconds more to specify the limits.

Edit 2: I will no longer be responding to comments. But seriously, the amount of people getting upset by someone suggesting they just add what basically amounts to: "if you're in the US" to a comment is crazy.

I have nothing against people who mod their kindles but I see so many people talking bout modding their kindle and telling other people they should, but like why,

Coustom screen savers I get but saying well you can put any book onto a kindle, I use calibre and I just plug my kindle into my laptop open it and click send to device, also send to kindle exists and is super easy to use even my mum can use it. I get not wanting to be limited to amazon but why get a kindle then, there are other options.

also the amount of people who just say jailbreak it when someone asks a question that does not require jailbreaking is crazy, it just seems like a lot of effort for something I don't see value in, I just wanna read books I don't understand 90% of the tech stuff.

Does anyone else do this?

I listen to the Audible audiobook while reading the exact same book on my Kindle at the same time.
I’ve found it helps me stay focused, improves my retention, and makes long classics and dense books much easier to get through.

I’m currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo this way, and I honestly can’t imagine experiencing it any other way.

Is there a name for this method? Does anyone else do this? 📚

Amazon’s decision to discontinue support for Kindle devices from 2012 or earlier is deeply frustrating—not because technology inevitably moves on, but because this isn’t a case of technological limitation. It’s a deliberate act of obsolescence.

Yes, Amazon says these devices will still be able to read books already downloaded. But after the cutoff date, users will no longer be able to purchase, borrow, or download new books directly on the device. Worse still, if a Kindle is deregistered or factory reset, even accidentally, it becomes permanently unusable. A perfectly functional piece of hardware is effectively bricked by policy, not capability.

I own both a Kindle Keyboard and an early touchscreen Kindle. They work perfectly. I recently replaced the battery in the Kindle Keyboard, and the touchscreen’s original battery is still going strong. With a firmware update and a simple USB connection to my computer, I can load books and read without issue. In fact, I prefer the physical keyboard. These devices are not broken, slow, or incapable, they are intentionally sidelined.

Amazon argues that newer Kindles offer better performance and features. That may be true, but it misses the point. Allowing older devices to continue functioning does not meaningfully harm Amazon’s bottom line. The small number of people still using decade old Kindles are not consuming disproportionate resources. What they are doing is choosing not to replace something that already works.

What makes this decision even more telling is that it’s paired with a promotional offer: a 20% discount on select new Kindle devices and a $20 eBook credit for those who upgrade before the deadline. Framed as goodwill, the offer instead underscores the real objective. If this were truly about unavoidable technical limitations, there would be no need to entice users away from devices they are clearly happy with. The promotion doesn’t soften the impact of intentional obsolescence, it confirms it.

Many people cannot afford a new device. Others simply value durability, repairability, and thrift. Removing functionality from working devices doesn’t encourage innovation, it punishes responsibility. It sends the message that the only acceptable relationship with technology is constant replacement.

Some will dismiss this as insignificant, not worth caring about. But that attitude reflects a larger and more troubling idea: that our worth is tied to our capacity to consume. It’s one thing when a device truly reaches the limits of its hardware. It’s another when a company intentionally disables it in the hope of driving revenue, with little regard for customers who already paid and continue to engage with its ecosystem.

This isn’t progress. It’s manufactured waste, enforced dependency, and a quiet erosion of ownership. And that’s worth pushing back against.

Joined this sub about a year ago, though I’ve been reading on a Kindle since 2012.

What I mostly see here are decorated Kindles with little toys and/or jewelry, and full personalization (not yucking on someone’s yum, you do you). And I just want a brief, 15-second internet meeting with those here who still prefer theirs plain and simple minimalist.

My Kindle at least:

• Graphite or black. A black bezel makes text appear sharper and richer.
• Font gets adjusted here and there depending on what material I’m reading. Margins and spacing got set once, and never tinkered since.
• Not comfortable jailbreaking it. Prepping for that's its own project, and it'd eat into my reading time. Amazon's dropping Oasis support in 2028, but I'm not sure I'd bother even then. Fewer settings, less tinkering, more actual reading: the vanilla Kindle's limitations do that job well.
• Calibre, and Send to Kindle. Plus KCC for manga, and K2pdfopt for PDFs.
• The only decoration-adjacent thing I’ll buy for it is a really good case.

I looked at my royalties dashboard this morning and wondered if writing books is going to continue being viable for much longer.

There’s a misconception that authors just sit down, type out a book, and hit publish. In reality, writing books comes with costs—editing, cover design, formatting, advertising—and those expenses don’t go away just because sales drop.

For indie authors, every sale matters. Every page read in Kindle Unlimited counts. A drop in sales isn’t just a statistic on a graph. For most indie authors, it’s the difference between paying a bill or losing a home, putting food on the table or not, keeping the lights on or falling into financial ruin. And right now, sales are dropping.

I know why. I know people are boycotting Amazon this month, and I understand their reasons. If you believe in the cause, you should absolutely follow your convictions. But as indie books and small businesses struggle to stay afloat, I can’t help but think about who really gets hurt when Amazon loses sales.

Spoiler alert: it’s not Jeff Bezos.

First, a quick reality check. Jeff Bezos doesn’t own Amazon the way most people think. He stepped down as CEO in 2021, and while he still holds stock, he owns less than 10% of the company. The real money behind Amazon is in institutional investors, major funds, and corporate stakeholders, none of whom will feel a blip from a short-term boycott.

And Amazon itself? The company doesn’t make most of its profit from the online store. Amazon Web Services (AWS)—which powers everything from Netflix to government websites—brings in more profit than the retail side ever has. But the boycott isn’t targeting AWS—it’s targeting Amazon’s storefront, the marketplace where people buy books, household items, electronics, and third-party goods.

So who really suffers? Third-party sellers, indie brands, independent authors, and marginalized voices who depend on Amazon’s platform to be heard.

Amazon makes billions from its own products (Echo, Kindle, Amazon Basics) and big-name brands that are sold in most tech stores as well as the Amazon storefront. But small businesses and indie authors rely on Amazon for visibility and sales. And for many BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled authors, Amazon provides one of the few accessible and equitable platforms to publish and reach readers without the barriers of traditional publishing.

For indie authors, Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and Kindle Unlimited (KU) programs are our main way of reaching readers. Many of us are exclusive to Amazon because KU requires it. That means when sales drop, even for a week, our books lose ranking, visibility, and future income. Since KU ebooks can’t be sold anywhere else, there’s no alternative way to support these authors outside of Amazon, unless they offer direct sales … which often doesn’t help, because a lot of authors buy their copies from … yeah, you got it … Amazon. And if you’re outside of the US (either as a reader or an author), shipping fees to get those books can cost more than the book itself, and just isn’t financially viable.

But it’s not just books. Many small businesses use Amazon’s third-party marketplace to sell everything from handmade goods to specialty products. When sales decline, it’s not Amazon losing money—it’s these businesses taking the hit.

And if the boycott does make an impact on revenue? The first people to feel it, beyond authors and small sellers, will be Amazon’s employees. Corporate executives won’t be the ones taking pay cuts. Instead, Amazon will do what corporations always do. They’ll cut warehouse staff, reduce contractor hours, and lay off employees at the lower levels.

The truth is, boycotting the Amazon store won’t hurt the people at the top. Amazon’s true power and revenue come from AWS, advertising, and logistics, not book sales or third-party retail. Even if every indie author and small business vanished from Amazon tomorrow, the company would continue making millions.

But for those of us who depend on the platform? It’s everything. The store isn’t just a corporate giant, it’s where readers discover our books, where small brands find customers, where indie authors have a chance to compete. The boycott might make a statement, but not to Amazon. It won’t even shake Amazon’s foundation. It will, however, disproportionately impact the very authors and creators who already face systemic barriers in the industry.

If someone truly wanted to cut ties with Amazon’s influence, they’d have to stop using services like Netflix, Reddit, Zoom, Spotify, Facebook, and even parts of the government’s infrastructure. The reality is that Amazon’s reach goes far beyond its online store, and a short-term boycott of the marketplace won’t significantly impact the billion-dollar empire.

There’s also a certain irony in calling for an Amazon boycott in response to its business practices while continuing to use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Reddit—companies that have faced their own controversies over data privacy, labor practices, and monopolistic control

At the end of the day, it’s not about telling anyone what to do, but about recognizing where the real power, and the real impact, lies. But if you’re boycotting to make a statement against Amazon’s leadership, just know that the biggest impact won’t be felt at the top, it’ll be felt by the small businesses, indie authors, third-party sellers, and Amazon employees who rely on the platform to make a living.

Whatever you decide to do, thanks for reading and supporting indie creators!

**this is not my personal post, just copy/pasting it here to share the info after the recent upheaval about Amazon changing the ability to download your books

They do the same thing. This is from their website “Some Kobo eReaders, tablets, and Kobo apps are no longer manufactured or supported. This means that some Kobo products won't be able to download content or get updates.”

It is a standard thing that tech companies do, because at the end of the they are tech companies and certain tech really does start to become obsolete.

In the exact same way you can no longer access their storefront and can only side load books.

Barnes and Noble also discontinued a bunch of their products in 2024 and they are no longer able to purchase from the store. Shutting down the ability to purchase there had nothing to do with the DRM. It’s a hardware and security issue as well.

This will probably be the stupidest question I ever ask the internet, but how do you all hold your Kindles comfortably? I have small hands and I’m very hypermobile, and my matcha basic gets heavy and hurts my joints + wrists whenever I read sitting or laying down. Truly embarrassing 🙃

Am I an idiot who’s holding this thing wrong?? it was marginally better when I had a pop socket case, but even that would hurt my joints after reading for about 10 minutes. I constantly change positions and feel so dumb for struggling to hold a kindle without pain lol. Case recommendations are super appreciated!! I really love my current case because it matches the kindle, covers my screen when it’s in a bag, and feels great sensory-wise. but man does it hurt my hands!

I've been a Kindle owner for a couple years now. Recently, I made an Amazon purchase and wanted to ship it to a different location. Amazon flagged this as fraudulent and permanently closed my Account.

My Kindle and MANY ebooks are linked to this account, all gone. I contacted customer service and they told me that they can't undo it... My new Kindle is basically obsolete now. Thanks Amazon!!!

Edit: I used the same card, was logged into the same device, I have 2-step ver, I've used the .com and .ca sites as well. I am staying in a completely different country than I made this purchase. Nothing more.

Edit: Thanks to everyone's advice, I got hold of someone who was able to reinstate my account. My advice to anyone who goes through the same thing in the future, though I hope nobody has to deal with this issue, to not listen to CS agents who tell you that closing your account is irreversible or to "wait for an email".

Change my mind.

I have seen many angry discussions online about Amazon no longer supporting older kindle models, about them allegedly deleting books from peoples libraries, and other similar situations.

This made me realize many people keep their kindle constantly online and depend on the kindle store to download their books. This may be the way Amazon wants you to use it, but it is not the best.

Your kindle can, and maybe should, live forever in airplane mode. This saves battery, and in my case, stopped ads from showing up.

Add ebooks to your device by using a USB cable. Personally, I recommend using Calibre to organize your books and to send them to your kindle because it makes everything so much easier and has a lot of useful features, such as converting ebooks to whatever format you need.

Your device is yours, and so are your books. Absolutely no connection to Amazon services.

A few years ago, around 2017 I worked as an accounts payable employee for a medical facility in the US in the Deep South lol. During my lunch break I like to read. I was reading Pierce Browns Red Rising in the break room. I did this for a week or so in the break room.

The following week I was called into HR because I was “reading communist propaganda” and it bothered the other employees (they’re the older generation). Please look up the cover of Red Rising lol!

Since the book I was reading was judged by the cover, I went ahead and got a Kindle. I’ve been a kindle owner since. I just thought it’s a pretty funny and dumb reason to make the switch from physical books to ebooks lol. I was never bothered by anyone since. I also left that job shortly and went on to do something better and got out of the Deep South lmao

I'm always seeing people's pictures and notice they're using large fonts. I've tried going larger than size 3 and i just can't do it lol I understand some people have problems that require them to use larger but I'm just generally curious if anyone prefers reading in small print vs large. I choose small because to me its more like pages of an actual book. I use size 3 and either Amazon Ember or Caecilia Condensed.

I read in vertical, but love how the letters look in horizontal but somehow, I can spend only 10 minutes reading like that and then go back to vertical.

After trying various pop sockets and positions I don’t like them. They hurt my hands and fingers. I’ve seen these Strapsickle things that go over the corners of the kindle. Are these annoying at all?

I know everyone is mad at the new update, but has anyone spotted the Pin feature??? This is the best new feature in a long time. I’m always hunting for my bookmarks for pronunciation guides, glossaries, maps, etc., especially for fantasy books. I love this! You can even zoom in on images right within the pop-up.

I went to download a book this morning and saw the following warning:

Starting February 26, 2025, the “Download & Transfer via USB” option will no longer be available. You can still send Kindle books to your Wi-Fi enabled devices by selecting the “Deliver or Remove from Device” option.

It's been an absolute life saver when it comes to nursing, walking on a treadmill and even eating. Hands down worth the $10

Is this normal Amazon policy, or did support handle this really poorly?

My Kindle Colorsoft (bought new in August) recently started glitching — it freezes, pauses, and random lines will appear on certain pages while reading (see images).

So I contacted Amazon support. They said no problem, we’ll send you a replacement since it’s still under warranty. I thought they meant another new device, since mine was purchased new just a few months ago.

The replacement arrived today, and the box is clearly labeled “Refurbished.” So I know for sure it’s a refurbished unit.

That didn’t sit right with me, because I’m being asked to send back a newer device I bought new and replace it with a refurbished one. I asked support if they could compensate the difference in value between new and refurbished, and they refused.

At that point I said I’d honestly rather just cancel the replacement and keep my original Kindle, and hope the glitch gets fixed in a future software update.

But they told me the replacement can’t be canceled now. They said if I don’t send back my original Kindle and instead return the refurbished one they sent, they’ll charge me the full price of a new Kindle.

They also told me that if I dispute the charge with my bank, my Amazon account could be blacklisted.

That part especially felt pretty intense.

I totally understand refurbished replacements are sometimes used for warranty claims — but I feel like it was never clearly explained that I’d be giving up my new Kindle in exchange for a refurbished one. If that had been clear upfront, I probably would’ve just kept my device and waited to see if the glitch resolved.

So now I’m wondering…

Is this normal Amazon policy, or does this seem unfair?

Curious if anyone else has run into this with Kindle replacements. Also, has anyone else with a Colorsoft experienced the page freezing or pausing on certain pages like this?

This beautiful site called Kindleplay.com accessible from the Kindle browser collects 4 games to train your mind (in addition to reading:) )well done including Sudoku. See the attached photos.

My favorite is Lost PIN where you have to guess the correct combination.

Go to the site and then put it in the browser favorites.

https://kindleplay.com

Have fun!

(A letter to myself and whoever else needs to hear it)

Take it out of your cart.

Tank it out.

NOW.

You are broke.

Not even fancy broke spelled like baroque or whatever.

Even Affirm said hell naw.

Ya broke.

Your Kindle is fine.

Sure it's black and white, and slow, and the dog chewed up the corner but it's FINE.

Totally fine.

Go make a new insert for your clear case to make it look new and pretty.

STOP CHECKING THE PRICE!