Amazon has updated its most recent Kindle family of eBook readers with a couple of new features and enhancements. The update will be available over-the-air in the next few weeks, but if you can't wait you can download and install it now.

The features will work on the new £59 Kindle, the Kindle Voyage and last year's Kindle Paperwhite. Word Wise is an optional new function that helps the reader understand more challenging words without having to stop and look them up. It will bring up a card with definitions, synonyms and more when a word is tapped and is available on thousands of eBooks on the Amazon store.

A new family library feature lets you access all the eBooks a spouse or partner has bought on their Amazon account as well as your own.

READ: Amazon Kindle Voyage redefines the premium eBook reader experience, we go hands-on

X-Ray for Books has been enhanced to help you flick through all the images in a book or easily browse the most notable passages. And search has been improved, now presenting results from your own library and the store on the same page.

To update your Kindle you need to download the software on the specific support page for your device, be it a Kindle Voyage, 7th generation Kindle or Paperwhite. Click on the Software Update 5.6.1 link and save it to a folder or the desktop of your computer.

Connect your Kindle to the computer through a USB cable and access the main drive for the eBook reader. Transfer the file you downloaded onto the drive at the top level, not into any of the folders on it.

READ: Amazon Kindle Voyage vs Kindle Paperwhite (2013): What's the difference?

Once it has been successfully transferred, unplug your Kindle from the computer (ejecting it first if you use a Mac) and go into the menu on the home screen on your device. Tap settings and then "update your Kindle". Hit "OK" and your Kindle will update and restart. The new features should then be installed for you to play with.

If you don't fancy the faff, you can just wait for the normal OTA update. Also, make sure you have the Kindle either charging or fully charged before attempting the update.

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