So the feature that Amazon has been hinting a few weeks back is finally here. You can now lend your eligible Kindle books stored in Amazon to family and friends once for a period of 14 days. The borrower does not need to have a Kindle device to access the book. Thanks to the free Kindle application for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry and Android.

While this feature is amazing, not all books are available for lending. It depends on the publisher or rights holder which titles are they willing to loan. Owners lose access to the borrowed book during its loan period. The book is lendable if you see a “Loan this book” button next to the product image, as well as when you scroll down to the “Product Details” section and the status says “Lending: Enabled.”

The receiver of the book will be notified by email. He doesn’t have to have a Kindle device or the free Kindle app to be eligible to receive this  email notification. However, when he follows the “Get your loaned book now” link, it redirects to Amazon. In such case, he has to log in to his Amazon account or create a new one if he doesn’t have any. Billing address will be asked to verify location.

Access to books loaned will automatically restore once the lending period ends. Both the lender and the borrow will be notified three days before the book loan expires, although the borrower can return the book even before the expiration if he wishes, via the”Your Orders” section.

This feature is only available in the US for now. If the book is loaned to someone from outside US, the book might not be accessible due to publisher geographical rights. The borrower will be notified with this restriction, and the rights will be restored back to the owner seven days after the loan initiation.

Amazon has exerted real efforts to drive Kindle this year. In the event of Google eBookstore’s hype, Amazon announced the Kindle web update with a demo. As a leading e-reader device, it has launched Active Books, the first of its kind, as it aims to be an interactive reader. It also added periodicals and magazines to its product offerings, and just recently ousted Harry Potter as Amazon’s all-time bestseller.

“We’re grateful to the millions of customers who have made the all-new Kindle the bestselling product in the history of Amazon — surpassing Harry Potter 7,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. “We’re seeing that many of the people who are buying Kindles also own an LCD tablet. Customers report using their LCD tablets for games, movies, and web browsing and their Kindles for reading sessions. They report preferring Kindle for reading because it weighs less, eliminates battery anxiety with its month-long battery life, and has the advanced paper-like Pearl e-ink display that reduces eye-strain, doesn’t interfere with sleep patterns at bedtime, and works outside in direct sunlight, an important consideration especially for vacation reading. Kindle’s $139 price point is a key factor — it’s low enough that people don’t have to choose.”