1394242559-1394242559_goodreads_miscAmazon released an update for the first generation Kindle Paperwhite today, which helps put the e-reader on level footing with its newer counterparts.

The update brings a number of features that Kindle Fire and new Kindle Paperwhite owners have had access to for the past several months, but didn’t trickle down to early adopters of Amazon’s backlit e-reader.

Like the latest generation of Amazon’s highly-reviewed e-reader, the older Kindle Paperwhites will sport integration with Goodreads, the book review sharing social network that Amazon acquired in March of last year. The integration gives users easy access to the review site to share reviews of the books that they’re reading, and see what literary activities their friends are up to.

In addition, Amazon has also added support for Kindle FreeTime to the first generation Paperwhite, which allows parents to set limits for their children’s e-reader use to make sure that they’re not spending all night reading under the blankets. With FreeTime, kids can also track their reading progress and earn badges for their activities.

The update also brings some reading features that first-gen Paperwhite owners have been missing. Users will be able to organize their into custom categories that are saved in the cloud, read in-line footnotes, and quickly flip through a Kindle book chapter-by-chapter.

Kindle Paperwhite users can wait for their software to automatically update, or they can choose to manually download and install the update here.

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