Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
Growing up, my dad and I bonded over sprawling fictional universes (in case anyone wondered how nerds are created). He got me to slog through the entire Dune saga, his personal favorite, which I enjoyed but also consider a heroic act of filial love. Every time he brings up Tolkien, though, I stall out. And then a colleague told me about fictional dictionaries, or “Fictionaries,” on Kindle.
Have you installed a dictionary on your Kindle? 3 votes Yes, including a fictional dictionary! 0 % Yes, but not a fictional dictionary. 67 % No. 33 %
How fictionaries work
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
First of all, hats off to anyone who has already read the Lord of the Rings series in full. Memorizing that many names, places, and lineages feels like a lot of commitment. Book-based dictionaries are a Kindle hack that lifts some of the mental load fiction can induce. Instead of juggling separate glossaries, wikis, or dog-eared prequels, I can tap a word mid-book and see exactly who or what it is, right in context. Suddenly, Middle-earth feels navigable. If you’ve ever highlighted a word on a Kindle and had a definition pop up, you’ve already seen how dictionaries function on Amazon’s e-readers.
Fictionaries are custom dictionary files with entries for a book's characters, places, and lore.
Fictionaries are simply custom dictionary files formatted for Kindle. Instead of “serendipity” or “photosynthesis,” they hold entries for characters, places, and lore. When you tap “Elendil” or “Khazad-dum,” you don’t get an error. You get a concise description. That makes a dense series like Lord of the Rings infinitely more approachable. I can still focus on Tolkien’s storytelling instead of stopping every few pages to hunt through appendices.
Beyond Middle-earth
Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
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