How to turn Google Drive into your personal e-book assistant

Did you know that millions of e-book highlights vanish into digital oblivion every day?

Okay, I totally pulled that stat out of my behind.

But if you’re an artist, writer, or general note-hoarder like me, this situation is practically inevitable.

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Highlights pile up. The mental tabs in your brain keep opening. And suddenly, poof, that one line you needed for your blog post, painting title, or Instagram caption is nowhere to be found.

Managing your e-book highlights shouldn’t feel like playing hide-and-seek. Thankfully, there’s a hidden feature in Google Play Books that turns your highlights into tidy, searchable Google documents.

And it’s so helpful and simple to set up, I’m shocked more people aren’t using it.

Let me show you how to set it up in under a minute.

The magic of Google Play Books sync

If you’re new to Google Play Books, think of it as Kindle’s less talked about step sibling. It lets you:

• Highlight passages
• Takes notes while you read
• Sync all that goodness to Google Drive

It’s genius because instead of flipping through endless pages digging for “that one part about the thing,” it drops your highlights into a clean Google doc with:

• The book cover
• The title and author information
• All your highlights, neatly organized and searchable

How nice would it be to have your favorite quotes ready and waiting to inspire your next creative project?

How to turn on Google Drive Sync in Play Books in 4 steps

To start using this feature, head on over to your Google Play Books app settings:

1. Open the Google Play Books app
   Tap your profile picture and head to Settings.
2. Find Google Drive Sync
   Scroll until you see “Save your notes, highlights, and bookmarks to Google Drive.”
3. Choose a Folder
   Tell Google where to save your highlights. You can keep it simple (I use “Play Book Notes”) or get fancy (“Brain Goldmine 2024” perhaps?).
   Turn Sync On
4. Toggle it on and let Google do its thing.

Why this feature is my digital lifesaver

The first book I used this feature with was Unmasking Autism by Devon Price. Every time I highlighted something (which was constantly), Google plopped it into a document for me in real time.

No more flipping pages. No more mental mayhem. Just quick access to ideas I want to revisit.

For writers, this is perfect for pulling quotes into articles. For artists, it’s great for saving phrases that spark visual inspiration. And for anyone whose brain gets a little too excited about new ideas, it’s a simple system to keep the overwhelm at bay.

So if you’re tired of losing track of your favorite lines, let Google Play Books Sync take the wheel and highlight to your heart’s desire. Your digital e-book assistant has got your back.

What about you? Do you have any other tricks for staying organized as a reader and writer? Share your favorites! I’m always looking for new ways to save my brain from itself.