How do you use Kindle's Ask this Book without spoilers?

01What do you need first?

• A US Amazon account. Amazon describes Recaps, Story So Far and Ask this Book as available to US customers.
• A supported Kindle ebook, bought or borrowed. Amazon says the features cover "thousands of best-selling English-language eBooks", not every book.
• The right app or device. Ask this Book is "currently available on the Kindle iOS app in the U.S." on Amazon's page. Story So Far works on Kindle devices and the Kindle iOS app.

Print books and audiobooks are not covered. For those, see AI reading companions compared.

02How to ask a question with Ask this Book

1. Open the book in the Kindle iOS app and go to where you are reading.
2. Start a question in one of two ways Amazon describes: "Find the feature in the in-book menu or simply highlight any passage as you read."
3. Pick or type a question. "Tap one of the suggested questions or type your own to get instant answers."
4. Follow up if you need to. Amazon says "You can also keep the conversation going with follow-up questions."
5. Stay on the default scope. Answers "provide immediate, contextual information up to your current reading position". Amazon adds that "you can also choose to ask questions about the entire book"; if you see that choice and have not finished the book, leave it off.

03How to open Story So Far

1. From your Library: press and hold the book and look for the "Read recap" button. If it is there, the book has Story So Far.
2. While reading: tap the three-dot menu in the book and open the recap from there.

Amazon describes the result as "a catch-up tailored to your current position in the story".

04How to open Recaps for a series

Recaps refresh you on earlier books you have already read in a series. Amazon lists three ways in:

• On a Kindle device: "View Recaps" from the three-dot menu within the series grouping.
• In the Kindle iOS app: press and hold the series grouping.
• On the web: "View Recaps" on the series page in your Kindle Library or on Amazon.com.

05Which questions are safest to ask?

Questions about what you have already read are the safest: who someone is, why a character did something, what a term means, what happened in a scene you skimmed. Avoid questions whose answer gives the ending away whichever way it goes, such as "Does she survive?" Our spoiler-safe question bank has ready-made wording.

06What if the button or menu is missing?

Work through these in order:

1. Is the book supported? If "Read recap" does not appear when you press and hold the book, Amazon's description suggests the title does not have Story So Far.
2. Are you on the right app? Ask this Book is on the Kindle iOS app; Amazon says devices and the Android app are coming "later this year".
3. Are you in the US? The features are described for US customers.
4. Is the app up to date? The Kindle iOS app was on version 7.70.2 on 30 October 2026.

07Ten questions that work well in Ask this Book

These are phrased so the answer cannot spoil what comes next:

1. "Who is [name], as of where I am?"
2. "How is [name] connected to [name] so far?"
3. "Remind me what happened in the last chapter I read."
4. "Where is [place] and who lives there, so far?"
5. "What does [term] mean in this book, as introduced so far?"
6. "Why did [name] leave [place] earlier?"
7. "Which characters have I met in [place]?"
8. "What do I know so far about [object]?"
9. "Summarise [name]'s story so far in three sentences."
10. "What questions has the book raised so far without answering?"

Avoid yes-or-no questions about the future ("Does she survive?"), because either answer spoils it. The spoiler-safe question bank has more.

08Ask this Book compared with Google Play Books' Ask Play Books

Google's Book insights works much the same way inside Google Play Books: highlight a name, place or phrase, or type in the "Ask Play Books" box, and Google says answers only reference the text up to your current reading position. It runs on Android, iOS and the web for select English-language ebooks. If you buy from both stores, the habits on this page apply to both. See our Book insights profile.

09A two-minute routine for coming back to a Kindle book

1. Open the book and check that the position is your real place, not the map or glossary you last looked at.
2. Open Story So Far for an overview of what you have read.
3. Ask one or two questions in Ask this Book about anyone you have forgotten.
4. Read the last two pages before your place, so you re-enter the story in the author's words.
5. Keep reading. If something in the recap does not match the book, trust the book.

10How does it compare with other tools?

The differences between the three Kindle tools are set out in Story So Far vs Ask this Book vs X-Ray. The full profile is Kindle Ask this Book and Story So Far.