Amazon officially reveals 'Netflix for books' service

[Bob Juch]

Amazon's Kindle Unlimited has been officially announced following leaks that documented the ebook subscription service.

The new service, dubbed a "Netflix for books," was leaked through the Amazon US website briefly several days ago before being removed. However, the online retail giant has now officially announced the service, which gives users access to over 600,000 Kindle books and thousands of Audible audiobooks for $9.99 a month.

Popular titles including The Life of Pi, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid are available to read, and if you prefer listening to audiobooks, you can access stories including The Handmaid’s Tale and Water for Elephants.

There are no "due dates" on titles, and if users sign up for Kindle Unlimited, Amazon is currently offering a complementary three-month Audible membership. Thirty-day trials, in the same manner as Amazon Prime, are also available.

"With Kindle Unlimited, you won’t have to think twice before you try a new author or genre — you can just start reading and listening," said Russ Grandinetti, Senior Vice President of Amazon's Kindle unit. "In addition to offering over 600,000 eBooks, Kindle Unlimited is also by far the most cost-effective way to enjoy audiobooks and eBooks together. With thousands of Whispersync for Voice-enabled audiobooks to choose from, you can easily switch between reading and listening to a book, allowing the story to continue even when your eyes are busy."

Kindle Unlimited is compatible with Kindle devices and the Kindle app for iPhone, iPad, Android tablets, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, PC, Mac and Windows 8.

The subscription service expands upon Amazon's Prime Lending Library, which allows users to loan one book a month from hundreds of thousands of titles in the US and United Kingdom.

[christie1111]

Harry Potter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid

I thought this was the next book in the series!

[silverscreenselect]

There are a number of catches to this service. It's $9.99 a month after an initial 30-day trial period. Only certain books are available (supposedly 600,000), a relatively small number of best sellers, current and past, and a lot of lower priced books from lesser known authors that usually retail on Amazon in Kindle versions for under $5. Members download books the same as they currently buy Kindle versions, but they can only have 10 books at a time on their devices. Of course, they can return a book at any time and replace it with another. If they discontinue their membership, access to any Kindle Unlimited books on their devices is terminated.

Amazon Prime members can currently borrow books for free, but they are limited to one book at a time. The list of available books on Amazon Prime and Kindle Unlimited seems to be largely the same. In addition, Amazon Prime lending books can only be read on Kindle devices; Kindle Unlimited books can be read on any device that has the Kindle App installed.

[gsabc]

I'd been planning to look into this. For much less than ten bucks a month, I can drive to my local library and get whatever books or audiobooks I want. If my library doesn't have it, I can reserve it from two dozen other libraries in the regional consortium and have it delivered to the local library for pickup. They, too, have downloadable audiobooks and even e-books available. I'll pass on the Amazon thing.

The more things change, etc. Didn't the first libraries in the U.S. charge for lending out books?

[Jeemie]

For having 600k books, the selection sucks.

My wife and I looked into this- we are not getting it.

[Jeemie]

The more things change, etc. Didn't the first libraries in the U.S. charge for lending out books?

Well- once you have digital books, you run the risk of people being able to copy them fairly easily (not saying I know how to do this, but I'm sure tech-savvy people do).

[silverscreenselect]

For having 600k books, the selection sucks.

My wife and I looked into this- we are not getting it.

I've had my Kindle for a little over a year, and I've spent a little over $50 total on books and apps, a fair amount of that on books where I know the author and am trying to help him or her out.

For the types of books they offer, you can get plenty of them for free or a dollar and spend well under $10 a month.

[Bob Juch]

For having 600k books, the selection sucks.

My wife and I looked into this- we are not getting it.

It's more like Netflix's online service than their DVD rental service. Just a few good books and a lot of crap.

I love my Kindle but I'm reading online all day so don't feel like reading on my Kindle more than half an hour per day at most.

[silverscreenselect]

For having 600k books, the selection sucks.

You may be right. I just checked, and the acclaimed novel by our resident author is not on Kindle Unlimited, and my hunch is that Haney Field won't be on there either.