It’s also for the Kindle app on iOS, but unfortunately not yet for the Android version.
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Last September, Amazon announced a feature for Kindles designed to help you catch up on a book in case you’ve lost the plot or are simply taking an extended break. But this week, Amazon finally began rolling out its “Story So Far” tool to Kindle devices and select versions of the Kindle app.
Created as an extension of the Kindle’s Summary feature, Story So Far is meant to serve as the literary equivalent of the “Previously on…” segment you sometimes get on weekly TV series. It will provide a summary of important characters and story beats so you can more easily pick up where you left off or simply get a little more context about what has happened in the book up to that point.
Amazon says Story So Far will be available to US customers on “thousands” of English-language titles, both for purchased and borrowed books. That said, you may need to update your device to access it. From here, you can see if a summary is available by looking for the Read Summary button that appears when you long-press on a specific book. Alternatively, if you already have a book open, you can view a summary of the story so far simply by tapping the three-dot menu in the upper right corner. Just be careful as some recaps may include spoilers, although luckily there is a warning when this is the case.
Unfortunately for those using Android, it appears that Story So Far is not yet added to this version of the app. Additionally, not all Kindles are supported, so if you have an older device, it may not be connected to your hardware. And to make things a little more confusing, just because an ebook supports the broader Recap feature doesn’t mean it also supports Story So Far.
That said, anyone who has left a book for a long time knows how difficult it can be to get back into the action, especially when you’re perhaps a little confused about what’s happening in the story. So, as a tool for people to revisit titles they may have abandoned, Story So Far could be a good way to encourage people not to give up on their reading goals.
