Reading tip: how to get your Kindle highlights and notes on your computer (and sync to Evernote)

As a general rule, I love paperbacks. And of course hardbacks. But I like reading on my Kindle because it’s portable.

Also, I highlight an obscene amount in the books I read that I read, and I have a way of importing these highlights into an easier format on my laptop. This comes in very useful when it comes to writing an article, or if I feel like simply reliving the magic of a book.

If you’re curious, I use a Google Chrome extension called clippings.io to import Kindle highlights and notes. It costs a tiny amount per month ($2 I think), but it’s useful and appeals to my love for order (no affiliation whatsoever). So I’d say it’s worth it.

How to set up clippings.io to export your Kindle notes

After installing the extension, make sure you’re logged into your Amazon.com and clippings.io account in Chrome.
Then press the ‘full import; button if it’s the first time you import your highlights, or the ‘quick import’ button if you just want to import your latest annotations.

It takes a few minutes to do its thing (it seems to have got quicker in the last few weeks though), but soon you get a lovely list of all of your Kindle highlights and notes.

On the clippings.io website, it also suggests that you can automatically sync your notes if you use the Apple or Android Kindle app.

Add your Kindle highlights to Evernote (or Word, Excel, PDF)

You can then export the list of highlights. I choose to do this to Evernote (a digital filing cabinet for all of my notes, ideas, and things to read later), but there are other options too.

After syncing clippings.io with Evernote, you can just press “integrate with Evernote” each time you want to export new annotations.

Then you can get a new note on Evernote for each book, with all of your notes and clippings within it (or whatever options you choose). The page or location can be stored for each highlight, and if you’re looking for a quote in future you can just use the Evernote search function.

For me, it’s great to have my Kindle highlights in one place and ready to search through–it does simplify a lot. Hopefully some of you also find this useful! Back to books in my next article…

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