Amazon's Kindle Unlimited - Yes or No?

[LeeM]

Amazon just launched Kindle Unlimited for $9.99 a month. You get to "rent" as many books as you want that are enrolled in the program. Note..many major publishers are not in the program but Amazon claims 600,000 books are.

As an author, I am curious if this KU service is something you are willing to spend money on? BTW they are offering a 30 day free trial.

[redwitch]

Knowing Kindle/Amazon, I'd guess that most of the books are what I call trash -- bad sci fi, first-time authors with poor editing, kid books, etc., the books they now offer on sale. So, no, I wouldn't pay $9.99 a month for unlimited books. If Kindle would offer better books and at least one best seller each month, yes.

[BarryRX]

I agree with Redwitch. I took a look at some of the books that they are offering on kindle unlimited, and most sell for $3 or $4 if you are not a member. Most of my kindle purchases are for current best sellers and usually go for about $12. I am sure that I could probably find some hidden gems among those cheaper books, but I don't think it would be worth it for me. I am also a member of Amazon Prime, so I already can get a bunch of books for free.

[Lauren Sweeny]

I went to www.BookBub and get Amazon Kindle books for free daily. Agreed they are not best sellers but ...I read a book a day and they do have a selections if you want to pay a nominal price. Readers may want to try this before investing in the above plan.

[Count'n the days]

I go through the library and download books to my Kindle. The selection may be limited, but the price is perfect!

[JGVillages]

I have Amazon Prime. Prime gives one free book per month, but also free 2 day shipping on thousands of Amazon stocked items, and now Amazon Music which lets me download specific songs and albums to my iPhone. Have had a lot of fun reading some not so famous authors, and have enjoyed most of them The reader reviews help considerably in picking a book. Amazon unlimited is for those that enjoy reading the lesser known authors but want unlimited books per month. Love the constant innovation of Amazon.

[LeeM]

i signed up for bookbub. thanks for the tip.

i went to amazon kindle and they have quite a selection but i could not find a link to sign up for free daily. lauren, could you point me in the right direction? sometimes i miss the obvious. thank-you

I think Lauren means she gets free books daily at BookBub. You can get one free book a month with Amazon Prime but the books are limited to those enrolled in the program.
There are a number of sites that offer free Amazon books, you can pull them up with a Google search and get the emails with selections delivered to you as desired.

I do see some major authors and books enrolled in the new program including The Hunger Games trilogy and Harry Potter but many of the big publishers are not currently participating.

Many thanks for the input on the new Kindle Unlimited product. Indie authors like myself, are offered the option to participate in it, but it requires exclusivity to Amazon i.e. the author cannot put their book on iTunes, Nook etc. So I appreciate reading your feedback.

[perrjojo]

I have Amazon Prime. Prime gives one free book per month, but also free 2 day shipping on thousands of Amazon stocked items, and now Amazon Music which lets me download specific songs and albums to my iPhone. Have had a lot of fun reading some not so famous authors, and have enjoyed most of them The reader reviews help considerably in picking a book. Amazon unlimited is for those that enjoy reading the lesser known authors but want unlimited books per month. Love the constant innovation of Amazon.
I luv Prime too. Also free movies.

[asianthree]

I read at least 15 books a month but the selection seems thin

[Bonnevie]

I think it's too pricey for what they are offering now....but once the major publishers find a way to make more money off it, I can see it in the future.

[Polar Bear]

Not only are current best-sellers not included, but even very old works of some of my favorite authors aren't either. It's not for me.

[Lauren Sweeny]

BookBub gives you an opportunity to choose what genre of books you want to read. Daily, it will offer you several selections at various low prices. Next you retrieve the books by clicking where they are being offered, I choose Amazon, it takes you to Amazon site where I sign in to my acct.allowing me to decide if I want it on my I pad or Kindle device.

[RErmer]

My concern with the Amazon deal is the publishing houses that are missing for their offering, and the ongoing legal battles with their tactics (reference Steven Colbert's feud with Amazon). Given that, despite the fact that I was an early user with Kindle (travel to Hong Kong is much better with many books), I'm going to pass on the offer. I love bookbub, get many free books and enjoy them. I read mysteries daily and view them as "popcorn" - don't care if they are great literature or not, just want a few hours of escapism.

[zcaveman]

My and my wife both use bookpub. We have many books yet to read.

I tried the Amazon Prime during the free period and did find it cost effective. I could not get enough books to pay for the price of the subscription at one a month. I did not care for any of the other features.

I might give the 30 day free trial a shot just to see what books they have to offer since I cannot get a lot of older books that I want to read from the Lady Lake of Sumter e-libraries.

Z

[mrscrimefighter]

Try kindlebuffet.com. free books every day and once you download them they are yours to keep. I use both sites and although they aren't best sellers there are good choices.

[LatDoc]

I have been using Oyster books for five months. Same deal. Ten bucks a month for all you can read. Just like a Netflix for books.
I just started Bookbub. I like it so far.
Depends on your reading habits and interest.
I read about ten books a month. Many I do not finish if they get boring. Much easier to do when they are free.
Oyster has a 30 day free trial. I have enjoyed it and can cancel whenever I want.

[RVRoadie]

Yes to Amazon Unlimited, no to Amazon prime.

I dropped prime when they increased the price. Apple users are second class citizens on Amazon Prime. Free kindle stuff does not apply to the kindle app on IOS devices and they don't support Apple TV.

My wife spends about $30/month on Amazon and iTunes for her entertainment, mostly from bookbub. It is pretty much all the stuff she enjoys now, so a nice savings for us. Lots of stuff for me, non fiction, cooking, stuff that I would never buy otherwise.

PS: Unlimited means 10 books at any one time. You only find out that little detail when you download number 11. So, don't plan on building your collection. They do make it easy to pick the book you want to get rid of when you select a new book.

In terms of selection, it is analogous to Netflix, which we also use.

We cut the TV cord almost a year ago. Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Unlimited and a lifetime XM Radio subscription are all the news and entertainment we need.

[rosygail]

I signed up for the 30 day free trial. I will let you know what I think after I have given it a shot!

[clouwho]

I just wrapped up my 30 day free trial of Kindle Unlimited and have decided not to renew.
I read...a LOT; so any and every site/program that offers me free or steeply discounted kindle books is my friend. I've been on bookbub, bookbasset, ereaderiq, hundredzeros, etc for as long as they've been around.
The offerings on Kindle Unlimited are generally the exact same books I'm already getting free (to own, not borrow) from the above website offerings. As others have noted there aren't many bestsellers offered, nor are there many 5-star books. I also don't like being limited to "checking out" 10 books at a time. So many of the freebies are awful that I load up dozens at a time and then sit down and preview them to see which are worth keeping (about 10% is my average on keepers).
As to amazon prime, I wouldn't be without it (and haven't for years). We order a substantial amount of our groceries, car parts, household items, gifts, etc via amazon and the free 2-day shipping (which is frequently overnight) is worth it in and of itself.
We don't have cable, so the Prime tv/movie offerings are what we have to watch other than hulu/netflix subscription.