8 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With Your Kindle

1. You can get books for free—lots of 'em.

There's no need to spend money on new reads. Amazon offers many book options for free in a variety of genres, including thrillers, science fiction, romance novels, and classics, like A Tale of Two Cities and Les Miserables. Just make sure to check other readers' reviews first though, because some free downloads may not be supported by all the Kindle features.

2. Create a Kindle display out of a binder.

From morning commutes to family getaways, book lovers rarely leave home without their e-reader. That's why using a protective cover is important. Blogger Chica created this DIY cover that props up for table-top reading, but also lies flat. The best part: It started as a 3-ring school binder.

3. Your Kindle has two hidden games: Minesweeper and GoMoku.

The standard Kindle can also be used as a gaming device. To access Minesweeper, select Alt+Shift+M​ from the home screen. To get to GoMoku, hit the G key when you get to the Minesweeper screen.

4. There a lots of ways to loan or borrow a book for free.

Since 2010, Kindle has allowed owners to lend a book out to a fellow bookworm for 14 days. They don't even have to own a Kindle; they can just download the Kindle app and read the book from any device they already own. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can also borrow books from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library​, which has hundreds of thousands of options. Those e-books have no due dates, and you can send them to anyone else under your Amazon account, also free of charge. For those who don't want to sign up for Amazon Prime, BookLending.com "matches lenders and borrowers of Kindle ebooks​."

5. You can easily publish your own books onto the Kindle store.

If you're a writer, Amazon offers direct publishing onto their e-store. After filling out all of the appropriate information on publishing, pricing and royalties, your book can be available for purchase to Kindle users worldwide.

6. You can take screenshots.

On the original Kindle, you hold alt+shift+G to take a screenshot. If you have a Kindle Voyage or Paperwhite, just press the two opposite corners of the screen at the same time. Have a Kindle Touch? Hold down the home button while tapping the screen.

7. You can read your files on your e-reader.

Calibre is the best tool for that. It can convert any e-book files you have that aren't supported by your Kindle into a supported format.

8. You can send articles from the web to your Kindle.

The most popular way to do this is through Instapaper—after setting up an Instapaper account, you can push articles, recipes, lyrics and more to your Kindle account!

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