How to Listen to Audiobooks on an Amazon Echo Device

If you own ebooks purchased through Amazon's Kindle service or audiobooks from Audible, you can listen to them through your Echo device. Amazon’s voice assistant can also read to you using the same text-to-speech tricks that allow Alexa to read news, calendar appointments, and other items.

Alexa can read books purchased from the Kindle store, borrowed from the Kindle Lending Library, taken from Kindle Unlimited, or shared with you via the Kindle Family Library. If you subscribe to Audible or purchase any audiobooks, Amazon’s voice assistant can pipe those books through your Echo device as well.

When listening to a book, you can control the reading by telling Alexa when to pause, resume, move forward, go back, or change volume. Let's check out how to listen to ebooks and audiobooks through your Echo.

Manage Your Amazon Devices

Alexa can read your books on any Echo device as well as the Amazon Tap . You can view all your Kindle ebooks by signing into the Amazon page to "Manage Your Content and Devices." In general, Alexa should be able to read most of your books with the exception of comics and graphic novels.

Open the Alexa App

To see which specific books Alexa can read, open the Alexa app on your mobile device. Tap on the hamburger icon () and select "Music, Video, & Books."

Find the Books Section

Swipe down to the section for Books and tap on the entry for Kindle.

Choose a Book

The app displays a list of all the ebooks Alexa can read. Simply tap on the name of a book to prompt Alexa to start reading it. Alternatively, you can say: "Alexa, read [title of book.]"

Control Your Audiobook Preferences

After Alexa kicks off, you can control the reading through the app or through your voice. To control it through the app, tap on the Volume icon at the bottom right of the screen. Now you can pause, resume, go back 30 seconds, go forward 30 seconds, and control the volume by tapping on the appropriate control. You can also tap on the name of a specific chapter to jump to it.

Guide Alexa's Narration

To control the narration via your voice, tell Alexa to pause, resume, go forward, go back, increase volume, lower volume, or stop. To jump to a specific chapter, however, you’ll have to turn back to the Alexa app. If you want to see the text as well as hear it, you can also open the book in the Kindle app.

Tap Into Audible

If you're an Audible subscriber or have bought or downloaded any audiobooks through Audible, you can listen to those through your Echo. Alexa doesn't actually read the book; that task is still left to the narrator.

But you can trigger and control the reading through Alexa. Again, open the Alexa app on your mobile device. Tap on the hamburger icon () and select "Music, Video, & Books." Swipe down to the section for Books and tap on the entry for Audible.

Browse Your Audible Library

The app displays a list of any of your Audible audiobooks that Alexa can launch. Simply tap on the name of a book to start listening to it through your Echo device. You can also tell Alexa to trigger the book by saying: "Alexa, read [title of book] from Audible."

Sit Back and Listen

From there, you can control the book by tapping on the Volume icon or by telling Alexa what to do.

Which Amazon Kindle Is Right for You?

If you want to read on the go, check out our guide to Amazon's Kindle lineup.

About Our Expert

Lance Whitney

Contributor

My Experience

I've been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I've written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for CNET as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I've also written two books for Wiley & Sons—Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn.

My Areas of Expertise

I've used Windows, Office, and other Microsoft products for years so I'm well versed in that world. I also know the Mac quite well. I'm always working with iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and Android on my various mobile devices. And these days, I write a lot about AI, so that's become another key area for me.

The Tech I Use

My wife always jokes about all the tech products we have around the house, but I manage to put them to good use for my articles. I like Lenovo computers, so I own a couple of Lenovo desktops and several laptops. I have three MacBooks and a Mac mini. For my mobile life and work, I use an iPhone 16 Pro, iPad Pro, and iPad mini as well as an Apple Watch. But since I write about Android, I own several Android phones and tablets. Like any tech person, I have a cabinet full of cables, wires, and assorted mysterious gadgets. And when it's time to take a break from writing, I have an old Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, both of which I use for exercise and fitness games.

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