When reading a book series, we sometimes put it aside for a few weeks. That’s enough time to forget how the plot was rolling out or how a minor character developed into a tour de force in the series in Book #4. Amazon has a new feature on its Kindle device to help them. 'Recaps' is focused on book series and provides a “quick refresher on storylines and character arcs” before readers start the next book, Amazon says.

The feature doesn’t give out spoilers and is applicable to “thousands of bestselling English language Kindle books in series you have purchased or borrowed”. Here’s the catch: The feature is currently available in the US only.

To find out if a series has the Recaps feature, look for a View Recaps button "in the series page in your Kindle Library”. It will also be available in a three-dot menu where a series of books is grouped together in the Kindle UI.

The feature first arrived through a Kindle software update released last week that also lets Kindle Coloursoft and 12th-gen Paperwhite Signature Edition users double-tap the back and sides of their e-readers to turn pages or scroll lists. It will be available on a wider range of Kindle devices, including older models that are eligible for the 5.18.1 update.

“The Recaps feature enables readers to dive deeper into complex worlds and characters without losing the joy of discovery, all while ensuring an uninterrupted reading experience across every genre. From epic fantasy series to mystery thrillers, Amazon’s digital book series offer something for every reader, including trending titles and longtime favourites,” Amazon said in a statement.

The feature is being rolled out gradually as an over-the-air update but it can also be downloaded from Amazon’s website and manually installed on Kindles immediately. The company will soon make the feature available on its Kindle app for iOS.