Stuck inside your house and wondering what to do next? Well, reading a book is always a good idea. The big issue, however, in the case of a lockdown (as is being experienced in many parts of the world) is: even if one does want to read a book, where does one get it from? After all, libraries have been shut down. And so have all bookstores. Well, actually not ALL bookstores. And that is why you can still get and read a book even if everything else is closed.
We are talking of the Kindle eBook Store here. Amazon’s e-book store has a massive collection of books, running into tens of thousands. It is open ‘round the clock right through the year. And can be reached if you have an Internet connection.
And before you ask: you DO NOT NEED A KINDLE to buy and read a book from the Kindle eBook Store. All you need is an Internet connection. Actually, you do not even need a credit card or anything. You can read a book you have purchased from the Kindle Book Store on your phone, your computer, your tablet and well, of course, on a Kindle as well if you have one.
Sounds odd, right? Mention the word “Kindle” and everyone – well, almost everyone – assumes that you are talking of Amazon’s e-book reader. And with good reason. After all, it was as the name of the reading device that the Kindle brand got famous. However, in the years that have followed, the name Kindle has been extended to other products and services also – a tablet, apps and most notably a bookstore.
And it is the store and the app that enable you to browse and buy books from just about any device. All you need to do is get an Amazon account (it is free) and then download the Kindle app (which is free as well). The Kindle app is incidentally available on all platforms – Mac, Windows, Android and iOS. Just grab it from the site. And well, if you do not want to download an app, you can even read books using the Kindle Cloud Reader (https://read.amazon.in/) in your computer’s browser.
You can buy books from the Kindle Store from the Amazon site or the Amazon app on your device, and then simply access and read the book on the app or in your browser. Yes, you can download free books and free book samples as well. The store never closes down and well, new books are always being added to the catalog. And by the way, the Kindle apps are pretty powerful – you can play around with font size, highlight text, make notes and all.
Of course, there are other book download services and online bookstores as well as well. But what makes the Kindle eBook Store special is that thanks to its size and importance, it not only has a vast catalogue but gets new titles very fast indeed. If you are looking for a book, there is an excellent chance you will find it here. In fact, you are more likely to get books on the Kindle Store than in a “real” one (but that is another story for another day). Oh and finally, you often get some great deals in terms of prices.
One of the biggest bookstores in the world is still open. All you need to visit it and browse away is a smartphone or a computer with an Internet connection. Go ahead. Read.