If you’re like me, you may have more time to listen to audiobooks than time to sit down and read an ebook or physical book.
But sometimes, you don’t have access to an audiobook.
Or you have a million ebooks you’ve bought for pennies. Or you want your kids to be able to listen to the ebooks you have in your library.
In any of those cases, the good news is that Alexa has your back!
Yes, Alexa can read your audiobooks aloud, both Kindle books that you own or are from Kindle Unlimited or library ebooks checked out through the Libby app that have been added to your Kindle library.
Even better?
It couldn’t be easier to have Alexa read your books aloud to you.
This feature is officially called “Kindle Assistive Reader” and it’s impressively good (much different from the robo-reading of the past!).
You can do it with an Alexa device (like an Echo Dot) or on your phone through the Alexa app.
Let me walk you through how each one works.
With an Alexa device, all you’ll need to do is say “Alexa, read my Kindle book” and like magic, she’ll start reading your current Kindle read.
You can also ask for specific titles like “Alexa, read ‘Hidden Potential’ from my Kindle library.”
You can also ask Alexa to read faster or slower, if you prefer a different audio pace.
Want to listen to Alexa read to you from your phone? Here’s how that works.
Open the Alexa app and from the home screen, tap “More.”
Choose “Settings” and then “Accessibility.”
Toggle on the “Kindle Assistive Reader” switch.
When you go back to the “More” option, you’ll see “Music & More.”
When you tap that, you can scroll down and see Kindle Library. Tap the Kindle book of your choice and Alexa will start reading it aloud to you!
Any other questions about how to get Alexa to read ebooks aloud to you? Let me know in the comments and I’m happy to help!
Lynn Bass says
Thank you! This is great to know!
Ashley says
Can you change the speed of the reading? If so how? Thanks.
Janssen Bradshaw says
Tap the little “Talk to Alexa” icon (kind of a blue swirl in the right bottom corner) and then say or type “Read faster.” If you’re using an Echo device, just say “Alexa, read faster.”
Brandi says
How do you get it to pick up playing from where you stopped? Mine keeps replaying from the beginning.
Lynn Lambert says
I did this – works great! Thank you! But I fell asleep listening. How can I get it to go back a couple of chapters where I left off before I fell asleep?
M says
Can Alex’a read a book from the Libby app?