Amazon has introduced a new benefit to Prime, and it is one that all of us who love to read will definitely enjoy ! It is called Prime Reading, and when you open Kindle on Amazon, you will see it right across the top of the page. Actually, I think that it has its own page, because when I was looking at it, it shows a selection of books, similar to how the Amazon Prime Movies works for movies. I haven't had time to really explore this yet, but it looks like there are a lot of popular books available this way. I didn't see anything that said there are limits, like the Kindle Lending library has, nor did it say that you have to have an actual Kindle to access this, which the lending library also requires. So, it looks like you can read as many books as you want from the Prime Reading Library. For people who go through a lot of books, just reading for enjoyment, this should be an awesome benefit. It also includes the current issue of many magazines as well, so you can now read those online free, too. Since you are only reading the books, you still do have to purchase it if you want to own and keep the book. https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/f...ha-20&linkId=4f876dba6478d2ffd15ab592c42fce76
Thanks for posting, made me actually open my Kindle app on my iPad. So many brooks to choose from. I was one of the first to jump on the ebook craze years ago and just don't like reading from a device, like to hold a book, turn the pages, etc.
After posting this last night, I did some more browsing on the Prime Reading page, and there are a lot of books available. I wish that it would show up when we search for a book, but they don't have a search associated with the Prime Library that I could find. I tried typing in a search for Thomas Perry (one of my favorite authors), and none of his books showed as being available on Prime at all unless it was the regular paper book. It would be nice if we were able to just search books on the kindle store, and it would show if they were free on Prime, but I am not seeing that, and the only way to find books seems to be to look under the right catagory and browse, at least at this point. The information said that you can have up to 10 books at a time, and as you return them, then you can add more. I think that this will be a great new feature for Prime. I checked out one book; but I am usually so busy that I don't have much time for just recreational reading, so it will take me a while to get even that one read.
So, is this an additional benefit within the same old Prime, for the same old price, or is it an additional subscription and fee? I mainly read the free books I find through Bookbub, but I also borrow a few now and then from my library. I don't mind not keeping the books I read, but will occasionally purchase one if I really enjoy it.
This is just a new benefit that Prime has added on, so if you already have Prime, then you now also have the Prime Reading available to you. We are still talking about getting one of the Amazon Fire Sticks to replace the way outdated Apple TV that we have. None of the movies on Apple TV are free, and we no longer can have Youtube with it unless we use Airplay from one of the iPads. If we get the Fire Stick, then we could watch the amazon Prime Movies on the television if we wanted to do that. Usually, Bobby just watches whatever movies he wants to watch with his iPad and uses headphones. I think that if Amazon would let people pay monthly for Prime, a lot more people would do it because it actually costs less per year than Netflix does.
Yes, I've never understood why they required that it all be paid up front. Hulu and Netflix both accept monthly payments. By the way, Hulu is having a special right now, I think it's something like $5.99/month for one year for new subscribers. I think they might be adding on new higher level services and add on a higher cost option for those, but that's all supposition for now. If I had the money and they added Kindle Unlimited into the package, even at a slightly higher price, I would probably consider it. I just don't have the money for that right now. @Yvonne Smith I watch 'free' new movies now on Google Play via the Roku, and I pay for them via credits I've earned by doing quick surveys with Google Opinion Rewards. I don't earn a ton that way, so I haven't checked out their books or music, but if my balance goes up significantly, I might look into those as well.
Roku offers you both Amazon and Netflix, also have Apple TV but use Roku mostly since it seems there are more choices.
I have various ways of watching Netflix, including my usual ways, which are via the blu ray player, my old smart TV that's not so smart anymore, and also the Roku. The difference between the other two methods and the Roku is that when I'm watching a series on Netflix via the Roku and one episode ends, the next begins automatically. I really like that, because I tend to watch TV in the dark or at least in a fairly dark room, and that way I don't have to fumble with remotes.
I watch Netflix on my kindle every night. I really enjoy it. It is kind of like my own escape from reality. Yes, the fact that Netflix has the series that keep playing is good. Of course it sometimes can lead to binge watching, but if I am enjoying a show I don't worry about it. There are so many free books on Kindle that I just read those. I don't have that much time to read anyway. I guess when I get a chance to chill I would rather watch something than read.
I am really enjoying the new Prime Reading function from Amazon. I have found several good books to read for entertainment, and they also have some interesting non-fiction books as well. Some are for making projects, like woodworking, or handicrafts, like knitting or crocheting, and I think that there are also recipe books. Since you can keep the book as long as you want, it would be handy for getting ideas for projects for hobbies, or things you wanted to do around the house. I still would like it better if you were blue to search for authors or books that you wanted to read, but right now, about all you can do is browse the catalog of books once you narrow down the search to what type of book you want to read.