What? It was a stressful time. I needed a new book to soothe me. A healthier alternative is deleting those titles and samples I’m done with. I know, it sounds extreme, but don’t worry. Deleting titles doesn’t mean going scorched earth and getting rid of those books forever, it just means they don’t show up on your Kindle anymore. Unfortunately, deleting books on an ereader isn’t nearly as intuitive as it should be. After several starts and stops, though, I’ve got a foolproof pattern down. Here’s how to delete books from Kindle devices (and if you’re looking for unlimited reading and listening, check out Kindle Unlimited).
Step 1: Choose Your Tributes
First off, there’s a very easy, very straightforward way to remove a title from your Kindle. Go to the cover in your library, press the menu icon in the bottom-right corner of the cover, and select Remove from Device. It’s quick, easy, and is great if you only have one or two books you want to delete. But you’re not here because you only have one title to expunge, are you? The hardest part isn’t selecting what books to delete, it’s actually making it to the end of your TBR list without getting distracted by something shiny. That’s why I lump all of my “to be deleted” into a special collection. Yeah, it’s an extra step, but then I know everything in there is destined for the digital shredder and I won’t suddenly find myself ten pages into the first chapter thinking “oh, maybe I should switch over to this right now.” To add your Kindle titles to a collection, first you have to have a collection! Once you’ve created your new collection, head over to your Kindle’s library to add the rest of the titles from cover view.
Step 2: Kill Your Darlings
That was the hard part. Now comes the easy part. That’s it! Now when you browse your library in Downloaded mode you’ll only see those titles on your Kindle that you want there. All those samples, all those abandoned books, gone!
Step 3: Never Trust a Person Who Doesn’t Have Books
Of course, now you’re looking at your newly scrubbed Kindle and feeling more regret than the central character of a Killers song (are The Killers even still a thing?…hmmm). Or maybe you’re very aware that a special someone is going to be looking over your shoulder as you browse your library and you don’t want to be that person who only has two or three books on their device. Repeat this cycle as many times as you need to satisfy the whims of whatever ravens or library cats are whispering in your ear. What other tips do you have for how to delete books from Kindle devices?
