I HAVE USED A KINDLE KEYBOARD to pick up some tips that millions of new Kindle users might find helpful.
Alt+B sets a bookmark. This is a life saver for me because others in my family circle like reading books in my Kindle library. This means I can no longer use the Kindle's menu to go directly to my last-read page. Bookmarks help me keep my sanity. I can view all bookmarks by accessing the Kindle's menu.
Shift+SYM starts text-to-speech. If you press the spacebar, you can pause or resume text-to-speech. I use text-to-speech when driving.
Popular Highlights are one of the most intriguing features of the Kindle. I use the Menu button to select "View Popular Highlights" while reading books like the Steve Jobs Biography. The most popular highlight often changes during the time the best seller is on the local bookshelves for sale. The top three Jobs highlights changed every week.
My Clippings give me working notes for lectures and blog posts. Every time I highlight content on my Kindle, the highlighted text goes into a My Clippings file that I use for editing later.
I am not a power user of the Kindle. I hope to attract Kindle power users on Google Plus who share their tips with me so I can learn to use this clever portable technology better.
Previously: "Kindle gives me culture back", August 10, 2011.