Tip #20: Kindle Collections.... how do you use yours?

Update: This tip works for Kindle e-inks, 2nd generation (2009) and up. It does not apply to kindle apps or the Kindle Fire.
This was was initially written for Kindles with a keyboard and 5-way controller. For touchscreens, the 5way instructions are tap/ hold to get options.

Original post:

The long awaited Kindle "folders" are here for Kindle and with a far easier way to organize your ebooks on your Kindle homepage. A little different to folders on a computer and are named "Collections".

It's simple to create new collections from your Home page menu. Click Menu > Create collection and type the name you want to call it. They may be based on genre, author, your ratings (good/ bad) or a combination of all of these. I have quite a few collections  based on my reading tastes, but at least 2 collections that seem popular are "current reading" and "to be read".  I debated having a "rubbish pile" too but decided to simply delete books I hate.

Some of my collections
Current Reading
To Be Read and Samples
Horror/ Sci-fi/ Supernatural
End Of the World/ Disaster
Mystery/ Thriller
Young Adult/ Children
Favorites/ Read again
Classics
Non Fiction
Other

To add a book to your collection:

You can do this 2 ways.

1) Select the book first then add it to your collections

Scroll to the title on your home page, flick the 5 way to the right and click Add to Collection (see left).

When your collection list comes up, scroll down to the one you want and click the 5 way. A check mark appears when it has been added.
You can add the book to as many collections as you like, so it can be in favorites and classics at the same time, or in children and series at the same time, for example.

Note: When adding samples to collections, be careful not to click Buy This Book - for samples, this link appears above Add to Collection and if you have wireless turned on, you might buy a few by accident! Luckily Amazon are very forgiving and will refund you for your error if you let them know within 7 days.



2) Selecting a collection first THEN add your books

Scroll to your collection, right click and you'll see this page (screenshot right).

Click Add/ Remove items.
This will then show you all of your books - scroll through and click the ones you want to add to the collection. A check mark will appear beside the title. (see below)

When done, simply scroll to the word Done and click it. Or click HOME.

Home page organization


You may still organize your books the "old way" - that is, by title or author. You can no longer organize by subscription or personal documents. These all appear with your books.

To remove Books from your Kindle's Home page, then you need to sort your home page By Collection... this will leave behind Collections and unsorted books.

If you organize by collections (left), then they appear in the order of Most Recently First. You cannot organize collection names alphabetically on your home page, even if you use asterisks in front of the name.

For ultra neatness, I keep my *Current reading folder open all the time (see below). That means when I turn on my Kindle, it's a clean uncluttered page with just a few books on it.

Within collections, you can continue to organize by Most Recent, By Author or By Title. In the screenshot above,  I have it organized by author. That's what I prefer for many collections, especially my collection for Series so all the books in a series are grouped together.

View: Sorting By Title or By Author


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