As a voracious reader, I am always curious about programs that can help me maximize my book budget – the library, reading apps like Overdrive, book apps like Goodreads, etc.
One program I had heard a lot about was Kindle Unlimited (KU). I have had a couple trial memberships – three months for free or for a dollar – that I would sign up for and then not use. But over the last year I really tried to dig into it and figure out how it works. And I wanted to share that with all of you.
The Basics
First of all – you do NOT have to own a Kindle device. There is a Kindle app that you can get for your phone or tablet that works for Kindle Unlimited as well as for Kindle e-books.
Second, you are NOT buying the book. It’s more like a lending library that you pay for. For $10 per month, you can read as many books from the program as you want, but you can only “check out” 10 books at a time. This makes it easy to try things out and send them back if you don’t click with a particular book. The book is NOT yours to keep unless you choose to use one of your 10 slots to maintain a book or two that you want to be able to revisit or re-read whenever you choose.
Third, you have a LOT of books to choose from. Some are self-published titles and some are traditionally published. Every genre is represented. There are some books that I would consider “classics” in the program. There are also some brand new books that are in the program for awhile. (I try to note in Book News when a new book is available for KU subscribers.) Amazon offers a TON of newsletter options – by genre and just for the KU program – to help you be aware of titles that are available to you.
Fourth, if you love audio books, some of the KU books also have an audio option. Don’t think because you don’t read on a device that this program wouldn’t work for you.
Examples
Here are examples of some of the titles available at the time of this writing:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Kids/YA fiction) – The entire Harry Potter series is available for subscribers.
Lost Hills (Adult fiction) – Book one in the Eve Ronin series by suspense/thriller writer Lee Goldberg.
Regretting You (YA fiction) – A story for teens/young adults.
Murder by the Book (Adult fiction) – First in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series. The first book in the series is part of the KU program, but the rest are not at this time. It’s a great way to try out a new series with no risk.
Tea Shop Cozy Mysteries, books 1-6 (Adult fiction) – You can even read book collections through the KU program. For one spot in your KU library, this would give you six mysteries to try.
The Purpose Driven Life – There are nonfiction options in a variety of topics for the KU program.
Phantoms of Arendelle – There are kids books – chapter books and picture books – in the program as well.
You can try out the Kindle Unlimited program for free for 30-days and see for yourself what they offer. You can also search Kindle books, and then click in the margin that you only want books to show up that are part of the KU program – it’s a great way to see what you might want to try. Enjoy!
(I am not an affiliate, so I do not make any money off your subscription or your purchases)