Kindle adds real page numbers, public notes to new release

By Hayley Tsukayama

Book clubs, rejoice!

The latest software update from Amazon Kindle will list real page numbers at the bottom of its screen, making it much easier to coordinate while reading together.

In a Tuesday post on Amazon, the company said that the page numbers will be displayed when users hit the "menu" button. If the Kindle book includes the page information, it will match up with the ink-and-paper version. For those times when you're showing information from more than one paper page on-screen because of the font size you're using, Kindle will list the page number of whatever text is in the top, left-hand corner.

The new release also includes the opt-in option for public notes, which will let users share their annotations and highlights with their personal and Kindle communities. The Amazon post suggests that authors could use the feature to tell readers more about their books, or let professors do some impromptu footnoting for classes.