If you own ebooks purchased through Amazon's Kindle service or audiobooks from Audible, you can listen to them through your Echo device. Alexa reads to you using the same text-to-speech tricks that allow Amazon's voice assistant to read news, calendar appointments, and other items.
Alexa can access books purchased from the Kindle store, those obtained through Kindle Unlimited, and ones shared with you via the Kindle Family Library. If you subscribe to Audible or purchase any audiobooks, Alexa can pipe those books through your Echo device as well, and you can tell Alexa when to pause, resume, move forward, go back, or change volume.
PCMag-Recommended Echo Devices
Find a Book to Read
You can view all your Kindle ebooks by opening the Manage Your Content and Devices page. Alexa should be able to read most of your books, with the exception of comics and graphic novels.
Choose a book for Alexa to read from the Alexa app on your mobile device. Tap the Play icon at the bottom of the screen and swipe down the Entertainment screen to the Kindle Library section. Swipe through the thumbnails of the books or tap See All to view everything on one page.
Tapping the name of a book will prompt Alexa to start reading. You can also say "Alexa, read [title of book.]" If you have more than one Echo device, you must choose the device you want to play the audio. You can then open the book in the Kindle app on your device and follow along with the audio.
View Currently Playing
The book currently being read will be shown at the bottom of the screen with the option to pause the reading and control the volume. Tap the entry for the narration to view the book currently being read. You can then control the reading from the app or through your voice.
The app allows you to pause, resume, go back 30 seconds, go forward 30 seconds, and adjust the volume. You can also jump to specific chapters by tapping the Outline icon in the lower-left corner. If you want to control playback by voice, tell Alexa to pause, resume, go forward, go back, increase volume, lower volume, or stop.
Find an Audiobook to Read
If you're an Audible subscriber or you've bought or downloaded any audiobooks through Audible, you can listen to them through your Echo. The audiobook’s narrator will read the book, but you can control the reading through Alexa.
To find an audiobook, open the Alexa app and tap the Play icon. Swipe down the Entertainment screen, and swipe through the thumbnails of the books listed in the Audible Library section. You can also tap the See All link to view all your options on one page.
Tap the name of a book to start listening through your Echo device. You can also tell Alexa to trigger the book by saying "Alexa, read [title of book] from Audible." If you have multiple Echo devices, choose the one on which you want to hear the book.
Tap the entry for the narration. You can now control the book through the volume controls and other options or by telling Alexa what to do.