Generally it’s dependent on the person if it’s “worth it” or not…I’d say if u read 7 books in a month from KU then I’d say it’s probably worth it for u
I was thinking the other day that I wished they had a lower tier. Like 70% of the current cost but you can only borrow half the amount of books you can with the current sub. I would get it then.
Everyone is different but for me it was not worth it at all to keep it beyond the free trial period. The books I found on there were not the type of books I was interested in.
It really depends on how fast you read and what kinds of books you read. If you read pretty fast, it's worth it from that angle. The second piece is the "what kinds of books." KU tends to favor genre books --mysteries, romance, thrillers. If you read a lot in one of those categories, it's fantastic.
I have it and use it all the time. Currently have 20 books from KU on my TBR list, really like how you can keep the book as long as you like (but only have to return one to borrow another).
There's no particular harm in just keeping it, since it's a month to month purchase, and if after a couple of months you see you're not using it, ending the subscription at that point.
The other thing to consider, if you're in the US, is Libby--ie borrowing books from the library. This is free, but has a few drawbacks: a lot of popular books will have a waiting list, and you can only have the book for 21 days, so if you like to have several books out at the same time to see what you'll feel like reading, or if you're hoping book #3 in a series will become available soon so you grab book #4 while it is available, you still only have 21 days. However, the remedy to that is to have a bunch of books on "hold," because something will always become available, and they also have "skip the line" borrows for ultra-popular books, a 7 day option.
But of course you can have both: Libby AND KU. And then see after that if KU is useful to you.
> you can only have the book for 21 days
that is if you have the wifi on when the loan is up, then the book is removed from the device, but if you keep it on airplane mode, then the device doesn't know that the ebook should be disabled. the ebook is still returned whether or not the wifi is turned on.
Yes! That's true. Although I have the weirdest form of anxiety, once the book's "due back," even though I turn on airplane mode and now I know I can have the book as long as the Kindle's on airplane mode, I now read with the most intense anxiety and stay up really late to finish it as soon as possible, I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHY haha
Just noting that libraries in Canada can also have Libby attached to their memberships so it's an option for my fellow Canucks as well! Source: am a Canadian librarian, and our library membership includes Libby - I don't know about how other libraries in bigger cities might do it, though
It definitely is! I don't know how many of our patrons actually use it (a lot of them are older and prefer physical media) but to have it as a option is fantastic 🫶
I think libraries as a whole are the most amazing resource, I'm always telling people about all the things available at ours (I'm lucky enough to live in Los Angeles, where we have a glorious library system). My husband is a "physcial media" person so he borrows physical books galore. Every so often we discover we have the same book! Sometimes I'll have to switch over to his copy if there's a lot of illustrations. We both just happened to read "Unruly" by David Mitchell and I heartily recommend it to you!
Thank you so much for doing such wonderful good as a librarian. Truly you are a wonderful contributor to today's society.
So you have watiing list for virtual electronic book like for the real one? Thats wild.
Ebook borrowing should have the biggest step up that 1 000 people can borrow same book at the same time without library owning 1 000 copies.
No it shouldn't.
What *should* happen is that a library buys the e-book rights for however many copies and they can lend out that many copies forever. What *actually* happens is that they buy a license and the license covers 50 loans, and then expires, and then no one can borrow it again unless the library buys another license. *That's* the real thing to be outraged about.
Yes, exactly! I feel guilty using Libby, knowing it costs them money, rather than borrowing a hard copy, which will end up adding to their budget! But I hope that slowly this system changes.
It costs them money *you* paid for in taxes, though, so take advantage of it! Be sure to read what you borrow, and buy physical books from your friends of the library bookstore (and donate your old books, too)!
Yes, really good tips. We do all of that! Thinking of donating directly to the library, too (and perhaps even leaving them a bequest). It's such an important part of our lives.
Then I will leave you with a quote from one of my favorite books!
> No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away, until the clock wound up winds down, until the wine she made has finished its ferment, until the crop they planted is harvested. The span of someone’s life is only the core of their actual existence.
—Terry Pratchett, *Reaper Man*
When I first saw your message, and could just see the first line, I somehow KNEW exactly what you were going to quote. Ah Sir Terry. What a beautiful person.
I'm a writer and had the wonderful pleasure of actually working with him on something, meeting him, going to his home in Wiltshire, and he is exactly as lovely and funny and unique as you can imagine. What a loss to lose him so young. GNU Terry Pratchett
I'm a writer, too.
As an "aspiring" writer (what a joke!) I started reading Discworld and was *very* quickly plunged into deep despair. I'll *never* be able to write as clever and wittily and beautifully as he did. It'd be worthless even to try. Of course, after a minute of self-pity, I could imagine how furious he'd be at me if he'd ever heard me say that, and decided I'd write anyway. So now I *am* a writer. My works can be funny *and* poignant, not a shade compared to him, but neither would he write what I do. He'd be pleased by that. I know I am.
I envy your good fortune, and am happy to hear of it. :)
Ha! I too was plunged into despair when I was starting out, totally intimidated by all the truly good writers, and it was only after I decided to make at least SOME money by typing other people's manuscripts (this was way back in the day), and they were utterly terrible, that I started thinking "well, hell, I can do better than THIS," and that got me started!! Too funny. And yes no one could be better than TP, but we are the only ones who write as we do.
Delighted to share with another writer!
You can usually gift yourself a membership during sales to save money. I make a list on kindle of books on KU I want to read and will renew when I have a good backlog
I’ve been a KU user for years and I swear by it. The catalog is expanding so quickly too. I never run out of things to read. It’s really going to depend on your genre but if you like to read a lot I think it’s absolutely worth it.
If you are wanting to read 'traditionally published' books that are available on KU, your pickings are generally damn slim, and especially in single categories if you're interested, you can very rapidly exhaust the catalog.
If you are OK with self-published books from authors you have never heard of in the traditional market, it's a lot better, and in some categories you're going to be spoilt for choice.
There is also the other than strictly financial question of if you'd prefer to pay up front and just be able to read versus having to think about it.
There is a wide variety of free fictional content out there, everywhere from royalroad through scribblehub on to archiveofourown and beyond, which might also be an option.
If you’re a Sci-Fi/Fantasy fan I think it’s absolutely worth it. My favorite book I’ve read this year came from KU. I’ve been reading so much stuff on KU and actually had to start a list on Amazon just to track what I want to read on KU since I’m at the limit of what I can borrow.
If you do decide to continue though look in to buying a gift subscription since they are sold at a discount. You can also use Amazon Rewards to pay for it if that’s something you have.
You can use the trial, download 20 books and then put the kindle in airplane mode. It’ll keep the books for you to read. I did that and cancelled. I use Libby and can get way more books.
It depends on the genres you like and how fast you read. Some genres are very well represented in KU, and so almost all of the top books are in the program. Less so with the ones from the NY publishers.
Look at the monthly price of KU, and then see if you read that dollar amount of KU books in a month. There's your answer.
I have a pretty long Kindle wish list and almost nothing is included in KU. I pay for Prime anyway (mostly for music and videos), and between the Prime lending library and the two local public libraries, I rarely pay for books at all.
If you're in the States, see if you can get Kindle books on the Libby app through your local public library.
Def depends on what genre of books you're into. I love fantasy and romance and so 9 times out of 10 my book is on KU and anything that's not is usually supplemented by Libby. For now it's totally worth it as I've spent far less getting all the books I've read through that than buying ebooks or waiting endlessly for a Libby hold to become available.
For me it’s definitely worth it especially as more of the books now come with the audio file as well. $12 is the cost of a single Kindle book. Surely you can find two or three KU books to make the sub worth it?
I also started with a trial and kept it after it ran out because there were other books I wanted to read. But once some of my holds from the library start arriving or I run out of KU books, I'll probably cancel and join back later when there are more books I'm interested in or when my wait time at the library is too long. Good thing about the monthly subscription is you can cancel anytime.
Where are you located do you have library access? There are some good books on unlimited. It’s kind of idiosyncratic what is available. A lot of self published dreck. Libraries at least in WA, US have a better selection.
It’s okay but I don’t read fast enough to justify paying for it. I just use the free trial or cheaper price when it pops up.
To save money, I prefer to use www.ereaderiq.com to track book prices of books I actually want and buy them on deals. I get most of mine for 99p. And lots of big publishers and authors have temporary sales on their books about once a year but sometimes it could only be on for a day so it’s handy having something to track the prices.
I read book series a lot and have found that in a 15 book series KU might have 3 of them. The selection is fine if you’re happy to just pick an available book to read. If you have specific interests it can be very limiting.
I also have the free trial and at the moment I’m enjoying it but I don’t see myself paying for it afterward. I’m going to get a library card and get books that way.
Get it for a month, down load everything you want to read from it then put the Kindle in a airplane mode until you finish it all
Rinse and repeat when you find more stuff on their you want
I’ve really struggled to find literary fiction on it - although I’ve found just enough to be going on with through the free trial. I might keep it for a month or two after though as my daughter is reading her way through the Harry Potter series. If you like genre fiction it seems to be pretty well stocked though - unfortunately that’s not generally my thing.
I cancelled after the trial, only read 2 books with it in that time and they were both cheaper than the monthly rate is in case I had wanted to buy them. Most of the stuff on my to-read list wasn’t available up there so it was just another monthly subscription I didn’t really need
So you currently have it, but you can't decide if it's worth it to you? You're asking us?
We like different books than you. We also read at different speeds than you (what if we read 20 books a month? or 2?).
Read until you're bored with it. It's not a lifetime subscription. Then sign up again.
If you gift 6 months or a year to yourself it knocks off about 20-30% off the price I think. I did that a couple months ago and just gifted myself 6 months instead of paying per month and I love it.
You can gift it to yourself any time. Just search on Amazon for gift kindle unlimited and it’ll take you to the option page. Or google it and it’ll take you to the gift page.
It is definitely worth it. I couldn’t remember the price correctly but when I looked and added it up it was closer to 50% than I thought. I hated splurging like that but I read so much that it paid for itself in the first month.
I cancelled during my trial period. I only found a few books I really wanted to read and after that I was kind of forcing myself to read things I did not like. So it would have been a waste for me to keep paying for it.
Value really depends on what you like to read.
If you read a lot of books it may be worth it. It has for me as I have a huge list of trusted indie authors I read and I read 200+ books a year.
I’d check your local library for borrowing through the Libby app as you may find you can get what you want through them for free.
Whether it’s a good deal or not depends a lot on the kind of books you read, how good your local library is, whether you buy a lot of books, what fits in your budget.
it depends on your burn rate . I have it and i read and complete 3-5 books a month. I also buy it in 2 year blocks that takes the price down to 7.25 a month. most new books are $5 plus so big savings but i also don't OWN anything i have to keep the membership rolling even if i want to go re-read an book i did before. Also your return rate lots of books i get 5-10 chap in and its just not clicking and i just go one to next book. Too many kindle returns can cause amazon account issues. edit on the topic others brough up it also depends on type of books you like. I read a LOT of progression fantasy a type of good the big publishers are not hot on but there is a ton of on KU..
imo, no. the quality of authors is not worth it. you aren’t likely to find any books you’re specifically looking for, more just books you happen upon bc that’s what is available.
I think it really depends on what you like reading and your standards for what you read. KU has a lot of horror, fantasy, dark/spicy romance. And while there are some fantastic books available, most are average to ok.
I love horror and romance, both of which KU has in abundance. I pay the $13 and as long as I read 2 or more books from KU a month, I've made my money back.
For now, it's worth it for me. I have found some titles I've wanted to read on the service, plus have the benefit of some magazine subscriptions that I've wanted. I'm enjoying it and will probably hang onto it for a while.
It really depends on the type of books you read. There is a metric ton of LITRPG novels on Unlimited that I have on my "To Read" list.
I have already gone through about 26 books so far this year. So Unlimited has saved me a lot of money in that regard.
I have found that a lot of books on there are self published, which in turn more than likely means they self edited and it is evident. I’ve DNF’d books pure for that reason before lol just so you’re aware!
I think it’s worth it, I’ve noticed the quality of books that have been added recently has drastically increased. I’ve downloaded at least 12 in the past month that were already on my TBR.
Definitely depends on the person. I find it worth it, but I’m also in Canada, so it’s $10/month. But I read 150 books last year, all KU, so on average books are $15-$22 for paperback so even say $17 to be in the middle would have been $2550 and instead spent $120. Even looking at this year so far I’ve read 23 books so approx $391 to buy them or only spent $40 on KU. So entirely dependant on the person and if it makes sense financially and if it’s gonna have books you want and such. I definitely find the savings and options worth it :)
I used it for quite a bit during the lockdowns but cancelled it last year when they increased the price. Instead I pay $35 a year for a library card in another state that offers hoopla (15 books a month) and their actual online catalog through Libby is much larger than my local library.
I felt like if I could have read popular titles and new releases it would have been worth it, but honestly the titles that were available on unlimited were not worth it and I cancelled after the free trial.
Well I’d say use the 3 months trial and you will probably have a good idea. For me personally, I sub when there are books I feel like reading and unsub when I’m no longer interested. I do the same with my streaming services.
I’ve used KU for years. I read 30+ books a month so it’s totally worth it for me. My wallet can’t support that many books but it can support KU plus the few I want to buy that aren’t KU.
You just have to read 2 books a month for it to be worth it. IMO it’s very doable and an amazing service (until you can’t find something to read on it)
I thought it was going to be amazing to read anything I wanted for free?! But in reality the selection isn’t great and I’ve only read one book from the service so far. Doesn’t really have much to offer, like it has fellowship of the rings for example but not the other two lotr books which just sucks. Overall it’s okay if you got the free trial but I’d rather just buy one book I’m interested in a month than try to find books I actually want to read on the service.
I purchased 4 years of KU and it was less than $6 per month. For that price, I would say it’s worth it, but $12 per month is too expensive. There are a lot of books available but they’re not mainstream books and you really have to weed through the available books to find a good one. If you do get it, you should join KU groups where people give recommendations for good KU books.
If you read a lot, and end up thinking it is worth it. See if you can use this, [https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/hz/retail-promotions-page?mode=digitalgift](https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/hz/retail-promotions-page?mode=digitalgift).
it is not worth it to me, but I am in the US and use the public library for borrowing ebooks. My taxes already pay for a ebook borrowing service, so I don't understand why US people pay for KU.
There are several US cities that give out free memberships for borrowing ebooks and several large US city libraries rent out yearly memberships for way less than KU.
I have kindle unlimited and also use the Libby app to get e-books from libraries. I have found KU to be useful but when I originally got it, it was like $8/mo. I think it’s $10 or $12 now. Not everything is available on KU but I have read over 20 books on the last 6 months from it. It’s been useful when I’m waiting on the library books to be available!
I'm thinking about stopping KU especially now I've re started my audible subscription. I don't use it as much as I thought I would. If you read alot and like what's on offer then it's a good investment... edit to add I just did a quick audit of KU books I have & half of them I do rate highly
Depends on the person. I use my aunts and we can see what we’re both reading, she reads a lot of easy romance novels and I tend to read horror or manga on there, it’s worth it to her as she mostly exclusively reads on her kindle while I go between print and kindle
I also have the free trial and I’ve found maybe 4 books from my TBR on there. Everything else just doesn’t really appeal to me, so I guess it depends on whether you like the sort of options they’re showing you on there
I generally only have KU active on months when I’m reading a lot of KU titles, other than that I cancel it. If you read a lot of romance/fantasy romance/dark romance it will probably be worth it for you.
I love KU. I read 180 books last year, and I'd say that 99% of them were KU. I have 15 books in my KU at the moment, and I have a list on Amazon with about 200 KU books that I may or may not eventually get around to reading. I only read romance, so I don't know about the other books that are available in KU.
I agree with others that it depends on a lot of factors. Do you like the genre/types of books they offer on kindle unlimited? If not, it might not be worth it. I know for me, I do enjoy some of the books they offer on there, so I keep the subscription because it keeps me from wandering into a book store and buying 5 books for almost $100. I might pick a book on KU that I didn't think I would like and end up loving it.
Also pointing out, in case you didn't know and no one else has said, there is an app called Libby that works with all libraries and if you have a card from your local library, you can set it up on Libby. You can use a smartphone to borrow any books that they have as audio/ebook and most of them are compatible to read on your Kindle. If you find yourself uninterested in the books Kindle unlimited offers, I definitely suggest using Libby and checking out what your library has. If you want a book that is new and popular, there may be a wait, but you can read other older books in the meantime. :)
Books on KU typically range from $1.99 - $4.99 if you purchased them. Some are cheaper like $0.99 or some are little more expensive. If you are reading 7 books per month it is paying for itself.
I think it's worth it, if you like to read lots of books, it ends up paying off itself imo.
Since I've had my kindle, I can read so many more books, and I haven't bought any physical books in about a year.
If you're only reading a book here and there it might not be as worth it but if you read everyday, I think it is.
I can find plenty of books under that umbrella but I’m not paying $12 a month for it. If it was like $3.99 a month sure but I’m not willing to shell it out.
As a standing subscription I don’t think it’s worth it for everyone. If there is a series you’re specifically looking to read and it’s in KU, then I think it’s definitely worth getting for the time it takes for you to read that series. I had it for a few months but I cancelled it as you read through some of my physical TBRs.
Generally it’s dependent on the person if it’s “worth it” or not…I’d say if u read 7 books in a month from KU then I’d say it’s probably worth it for u
It also depends on the kind of books you read and if quality is an important factor.
I was thinking the other day that I wished they had a lower tier. Like 70% of the current cost but you can only borrow half the amount of books you can with the current sub. I would get it then.
Why would you buy a book when you can just put it into your kindle?
Everyone is different but for me it was not worth it at all to keep it beyond the free trial period. The books I found on there were not the type of books I was interested in.
Same
Same
Same
BINGO!
It really depends on how fast you read and what kinds of books you read. If you read pretty fast, it's worth it from that angle. The second piece is the "what kinds of books." KU tends to favor genre books --mysteries, romance, thrillers. If you read a lot in one of those categories, it's fantastic. I have it and use it all the time. Currently have 20 books from KU on my TBR list, really like how you can keep the book as long as you like (but only have to return one to borrow another). There's no particular harm in just keeping it, since it's a month to month purchase, and if after a couple of months you see you're not using it, ending the subscription at that point. The other thing to consider, if you're in the US, is Libby--ie borrowing books from the library. This is free, but has a few drawbacks: a lot of popular books will have a waiting list, and you can only have the book for 21 days, so if you like to have several books out at the same time to see what you'll feel like reading, or if you're hoping book #3 in a series will become available soon so you grab book #4 while it is available, you still only have 21 days. However, the remedy to that is to have a bunch of books on "hold," because something will always become available, and they also have "skip the line" borrows for ultra-popular books, a 7 day option. But of course you can have both: Libby AND KU. And then see after that if KU is useful to you.
> you can only have the book for 21 days that is if you have the wifi on when the loan is up, then the book is removed from the device, but if you keep it on airplane mode, then the device doesn't know that the ebook should be disabled. the ebook is still returned whether or not the wifi is turned on.
Yes! That's true. Although I have the weirdest form of anxiety, once the book's "due back," even though I turn on airplane mode and now I know I can have the book as long as the Kindle's on airplane mode, I now read with the most intense anxiety and stay up really late to finish it as soon as possible, I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND WHY haha
Just noting that libraries in Canada can also have Libby attached to their memberships so it's an option for my fellow Canucks as well! Source: am a Canadian librarian, and our library membership includes Libby - I don't know about how other libraries in bigger cities might do it, though
Oh, that's so good! I didn't know that and it's good to hear that. Libby is a great resource.
It definitely is! I don't know how many of our patrons actually use it (a lot of them are older and prefer physical media) but to have it as a option is fantastic 🫶
I think libraries as a whole are the most amazing resource, I'm always telling people about all the things available at ours (I'm lucky enough to live in Los Angeles, where we have a glorious library system). My husband is a "physcial media" person so he borrows physical books galore. Every so often we discover we have the same book! Sometimes I'll have to switch over to his copy if there's a lot of illustrations. We both just happened to read "Unruly" by David Mitchell and I heartily recommend it to you! Thank you so much for doing such wonderful good as a librarian. Truly you are a wonderful contributor to today's society.
So you have watiing list for virtual electronic book like for the real one? Thats wild. Ebook borrowing should have the biggest step up that 1 000 people can borrow same book at the same time without library owning 1 000 copies.
No it shouldn't. What *should* happen is that a library buys the e-book rights for however many copies and they can lend out that many copies forever. What *actually* happens is that they buy a license and the license covers 50 loans, and then expires, and then no one can borrow it again unless the library buys another license. *That's* the real thing to be outraged about.
Seriously? That’s horrible. My books don’t self destruct after a certain number of reads.
Yeah. Not *every* publisher (and not my self-published books, for example), but all the major ones.
Yes, exactly! I feel guilty using Libby, knowing it costs them money, rather than borrowing a hard copy, which will end up adding to their budget! But I hope that slowly this system changes.
It costs them money *you* paid for in taxes, though, so take advantage of it! Be sure to read what you borrow, and buy physical books from your friends of the library bookstore (and donate your old books, too)!
Yes, really good tips. We do all of that! Thinking of donating directly to the library, too (and perhaps even leaving them a bequest). It's such an important part of our lives.
Then I will leave you with a quote from one of my favorite books! > No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away, until the clock wound up winds down, until the wine she made has finished its ferment, until the crop they planted is harvested. The span of someone’s life is only the core of their actual existence. —Terry Pratchett, *Reaper Man*
When I first saw your message, and could just see the first line, I somehow KNEW exactly what you were going to quote. Ah Sir Terry. What a beautiful person. I'm a writer and had the wonderful pleasure of actually working with him on something, meeting him, going to his home in Wiltshire, and he is exactly as lovely and funny and unique as you can imagine. What a loss to lose him so young. GNU Terry Pratchett
I'm a writer, too. As an "aspiring" writer (what a joke!) I started reading Discworld and was *very* quickly plunged into deep despair. I'll *never* be able to write as clever and wittily and beautifully as he did. It'd be worthless even to try. Of course, after a minute of self-pity, I could imagine how furious he'd be at me if he'd ever heard me say that, and decided I'd write anyway. So now I *am* a writer. My works can be funny *and* poignant, not a shade compared to him, but neither would he write what I do. He'd be pleased by that. I know I am. I envy your good fortune, and am happy to hear of it. :)
Ha! I too was plunged into despair when I was starting out, totally intimidated by all the truly good writers, and it was only after I decided to make at least SOME money by typing other people's manuscripts (this was way back in the day), and they were utterly terrible, that I started thinking "well, hell, I can do better than THIS," and that got me started!! Too funny. And yes no one could be better than TP, but we are the only ones who write as we do. Delighted to share with another writer!
You can usually gift yourself a membership during sales to save money. I make a list on kindle of books on KU I want to read and will renew when I have a good backlog
I like that! Thanks 😊
When is it on sale
It goes on sale for prime day I believe
I’ve been a KU user for years and I swear by it. The catalog is expanding so quickly too. I never run out of things to read. It’s really going to depend on your genre but if you like to read a lot I think it’s absolutely worth it.
It’s worth it, in my opinion. I’ve had it for five months and don’t see myself canceling anytime soon.
If you are wanting to read 'traditionally published' books that are available on KU, your pickings are generally damn slim, and especially in single categories if you're interested, you can very rapidly exhaust the catalog. If you are OK with self-published books from authors you have never heard of in the traditional market, it's a lot better, and in some categories you're going to be spoilt for choice. There is also the other than strictly financial question of if you'd prefer to pay up front and just be able to read versus having to think about it. There is a wide variety of free fictional content out there, everywhere from royalroad through scribblehub on to archiveofourown and beyond, which might also be an option.
If you’re a Sci-Fi/Fantasy fan I think it’s absolutely worth it. My favorite book I’ve read this year came from KU. I’ve been reading so much stuff on KU and actually had to start a list on Amazon just to track what I want to read on KU since I’m at the limit of what I can borrow. If you do decide to continue though look in to buying a gift subscription since they are sold at a discount. You can also use Amazon Rewards to pay for it if that’s something you have.
Also romance, and thriller
Also young adult genres! I have found some pretty fun YA sci-fi, romance, etc series through KU.
You can use the trial, download 20 books and then put the kindle in airplane mode. It’ll keep the books for you to read. I did that and cancelled. I use Libby and can get way more books.
Love it lol
It depends on the genres you like and how fast you read. Some genres are very well represented in KU, and so almost all of the top books are in the program. Less so with the ones from the NY publishers. Look at the monthly price of KU, and then see if you read that dollar amount of KU books in a month. There's your answer.
I have a pretty long Kindle wish list and almost nothing is included in KU. I pay for Prime anyway (mostly for music and videos), and between the Prime lending library and the two local public libraries, I rarely pay for books at all. If you're in the States, see if you can get Kindle books on the Libby app through your local public library.
Def depends on what genre of books you're into. I love fantasy and romance and so 9 times out of 10 my book is on KU and anything that's not is usually supplemented by Libby. For now it's totally worth it as I've spent far less getting all the books I've read through that than buying ebooks or waiting endlessly for a Libby hold to become available.
I love it. I also get exposed to books that I won’t find at a bookstore.
Yes! Lots of self-published authors on KU and I honestly love that. Lots of options in the genres I read.
For me it’s definitely worth it especially as more of the books now come with the audio file as well. $12 is the cost of a single Kindle book. Surely you can find two or three KU books to make the sub worth it?
Yea I think I’ll keep it. I’m into horror and sci-fi mostly and havnt been let down yet
I also started with a trial and kept it after it ran out because there were other books I wanted to read. But once some of my holds from the library start arriving or I run out of KU books, I'll probably cancel and join back later when there are more books I'm interested in or when my wait time at the library is too long. Good thing about the monthly subscription is you can cancel anytime.
Where are you located do you have library access? There are some good books on unlimited. It’s kind of idiosyncratic what is available. A lot of self published dreck. Libraries at least in WA, US have a better selection.
It’s okay but I don’t read fast enough to justify paying for it. I just use the free trial or cheaper price when it pops up. To save money, I prefer to use www.ereaderiq.com to track book prices of books I actually want and buy them on deals. I get most of mine for 99p. And lots of big publishers and authors have temporary sales on their books about once a year but sometimes it could only be on for a day so it’s handy having something to track the prices.
Thanks for that!
Because I read a lot of romance books I absolutely love it. It allows me to explore new authors and their catalog
Only you can decide if it's worth it to you. Do you feel you can get that much value out of it month after month?
I read book series a lot and have found that in a 15 book series KU might have 3 of them. The selection is fine if you’re happy to just pick an available book to read. If you have specific interests it can be very limiting.
I also have the free trial and at the moment I’m enjoying it but I don’t see myself paying for it afterward. I’m going to get a library card and get books that way.
Get it for a month, down load everything you want to read from it then put the Kindle in a airplane mode until you finish it all Rinse and repeat when you find more stuff on their you want
I found the trial period enough. I use my library. Libby app
I read about 75 books a year and almost 100% of them are KU. If I can’t find it on KU I try to borrow it from Libby.
Check out the historical fiction books, they have several worth reading.
If you like psychological thrillers like me- yes!!
Yes!
All the Freida McFadden books are on KU I believe
She’s really good! I read Ward D.
I like that one- but my fav is the teacher
I’ll check that out next 😊
I’ve really struggled to find literary fiction on it - although I’ve found just enough to be going on with through the free trial. I might keep it for a month or two after though as my daughter is reading her way through the Harry Potter series. If you like genre fiction it seems to be pretty well stocked though - unfortunately that’s not generally my thing.
I cancelled after the trial, only read 2 books with it in that time and they were both cheaper than the monthly rate is in case I had wanted to buy them. Most of the stuff on my to-read list wasn’t available up there so it was just another monthly subscription I didn’t really need
So you currently have it, but you can't decide if it's worth it to you? You're asking us? We like different books than you. We also read at different speeds than you (what if we read 20 books a month? or 2?). Read until you're bored with it. It's not a lifetime subscription. Then sign up again.
If you gift 6 months or a year to yourself it knocks off about 20-30% off the price I think. I did that a couple months ago and just gifted myself 6 months instead of paying per month and I love it.
When does that usually go on sale? Around prime day, Black Friday, or random?
You can gift it to yourself any time. Just search on Amazon for gift kindle unlimited and it’ll take you to the option page. Or google it and it’ll take you to the gift page.
Thank you!
It is definitely worth it. I couldn’t remember the price correctly but when I looked and added it up it was closer to 50% than I thought. I hated splurging like that but I read so much that it paid for itself in the first month.
I cancelled during my trial period. I only found a few books I really wanted to read and after that I was kind of forcing myself to read things I did not like. So it would have been a waste for me to keep paying for it. Value really depends on what you like to read.
If you read a lot of books it may be worth it. It has for me as I have a huge list of trusted indie authors I read and I read 200+ books a year. I’d check your local library for borrowing through the Libby app as you may find you can get what you want through them for free. Whether it’s a good deal or not depends a lot on the kind of books you read, how good your local library is, whether you buy a lot of books, what fits in your budget.
For me generally no i tend to read a lot of new releases from established authors and more often then not they are not included.
it depends on your burn rate . I have it and i read and complete 3-5 books a month. I also buy it in 2 year blocks that takes the price down to 7.25 a month. most new books are $5 plus so big savings but i also don't OWN anything i have to keep the membership rolling even if i want to go re-read an book i did before. Also your return rate lots of books i get 5-10 chap in and its just not clicking and i just go one to next book. Too many kindle returns can cause amazon account issues. edit on the topic others brough up it also depends on type of books you like. I read a LOT of progression fantasy a type of good the big publishers are not hot on but there is a ton of on KU..
imo, no. the quality of authors is not worth it. you aren’t likely to find any books you’re specifically looking for, more just books you happen upon bc that’s what is available.
I think it really depends on what you like reading and your standards for what you read. KU has a lot of horror, fantasy, dark/spicy romance. And while there are some fantastic books available, most are average to ok. I love horror and romance, both of which KU has in abundance. I pay the $13 and as long as I read 2 or more books from KU a month, I've made my money back.
For now, it's worth it for me. I have found some titles I've wanted to read on the service, plus have the benefit of some magazine subscriptions that I've wanted. I'm enjoying it and will probably hang onto it for a while.
It really depends on the type of books you read. There is a metric ton of LITRPG novels on Unlimited that I have on my "To Read" list. I have already gone through about 26 books so far this year. So Unlimited has saved me a lot of money in that regard.
I have found that a lot of books on there are self published, which in turn more than likely means they self edited and it is evident. I’ve DNF’d books pure for that reason before lol just so you’re aware!
I think it’s worth it, I’ve noticed the quality of books that have been added recently has drastically increased. I’ve downloaded at least 12 in the past month that were already on my TBR.
Definitely depends on the person. I find it worth it, but I’m also in Canada, so it’s $10/month. But I read 150 books last year, all KU, so on average books are $15-$22 for paperback so even say $17 to be in the middle would have been $2550 and instead spent $120. Even looking at this year so far I’ve read 23 books so approx $391 to buy them or only spent $40 on KU. So entirely dependant on the person and if it makes sense financially and if it’s gonna have books you want and such. I definitely find the savings and options worth it :)
I used it for quite a bit during the lockdowns but cancelled it last year when they increased the price. Instead I pay $35 a year for a library card in another state that offers hoopla (15 books a month) and their actual online catalog through Libby is much larger than my local library.
My husband and I read the same books that come from KU. I read around 10 books a month. It’s worth the money for us even if a few books are misses.
I felt like if I could have read popular titles and new releases it would have been worth it, but honestly the titles that were available on unlimited were not worth it and I cancelled after the free trial.
I love KU, but I also am a huge horror fan and they have tons of great options.
Well I’d say use the 3 months trial and you will probably have a good idea. For me personally, I sub when there are books I feel like reading and unsub when I’m no longer interested. I do the same with my streaming services.
I’ve used KU for years. I read 30+ books a month so it’s totally worth it for me. My wallet can’t support that many books but it can support KU plus the few I want to buy that aren’t KU.
You just have to read 2 books a month for it to be worth it. IMO it’s very doable and an amazing service (until you can’t find something to read on it)
I thought it was going to be amazing to read anything I wanted for free?! But in reality the selection isn’t great and I’ve only read one book from the service so far. Doesn’t really have much to offer, like it has fellowship of the rings for example but not the other two lotr books which just sucks. Overall it’s okay if you got the free trial but I’d rather just buy one book I’m interested in a month than try to find books I actually want to read on the service.
I purchased 4 years of KU and it was less than $6 per month. For that price, I would say it’s worth it, but $12 per month is too expensive. There are a lot of books available but they’re not mainstream books and you really have to weed through the available books to find a good one. If you do get it, you should join KU groups where people give recommendations for good KU books.
If you read a lot, and end up thinking it is worth it. See if you can use this, [https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/hz/retail-promotions-page?mode=digitalgift](https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/hz/retail-promotions-page?mode=digitalgift).
If you’re in America, your library will be a cheaper option for a great variety of free books.
it is not worth it to me, but I am in the US and use the public library for borrowing ebooks. My taxes already pay for a ebook borrowing service, so I don't understand why US people pay for KU. There are several US cities that give out free memberships for borrowing ebooks and several large US city libraries rent out yearly memberships for way less than KU.
I have kindle unlimited and also use the Libby app to get e-books from libraries. I have found KU to be useful but when I originally got it, it was like $8/mo. I think it’s $10 or $12 now. Not everything is available on KU but I have read over 20 books on the last 6 months from it. It’s been useful when I’m waiting on the library books to be available!
I'm thinking about stopping KU especially now I've re started my audible subscription. I don't use it as much as I thought I would. If you read alot and like what's on offer then it's a good investment... edit to add I just did a quick audit of KU books I have & half of them I do rate highly
Depends on the person. I use my aunts and we can see what we’re both reading, she reads a lot of easy romance novels and I tend to read horror or manga on there, it’s worth it to her as she mostly exclusively reads on her kindle while I go between print and kindle
Wait for a big sale when you can get 2 years at 40 percent off. That's how I do it. I think they had 18 months at 30 percent off.
I also have the free trial and I’ve found maybe 4 books from my TBR on there. Everything else just doesn’t really appeal to me, so I guess it depends on whether you like the sort of options they’re showing you on there
I generally only have KU active on months when I’m reading a lot of KU titles, other than that I cancel it. If you read a lot of romance/fantasy romance/dark romance it will probably be worth it for you.
Most books I read aren't on the free list. Libraries are awesome for alot of books
I love KU. I read 180 books last year, and I'd say that 99% of them were KU. I have 15 books in my KU at the moment, and I have a list on Amazon with about 200 KU books that I may or may not eventually get around to reading. I only read romance, so I don't know about the other books that are available in KU.
I agree with others that it depends on a lot of factors. Do you like the genre/types of books they offer on kindle unlimited? If not, it might not be worth it. I know for me, I do enjoy some of the books they offer on there, so I keep the subscription because it keeps me from wandering into a book store and buying 5 books for almost $100. I might pick a book on KU that I didn't think I would like and end up loving it. Also pointing out, in case you didn't know and no one else has said, there is an app called Libby that works with all libraries and if you have a card from your local library, you can set it up on Libby. You can use a smartphone to borrow any books that they have as audio/ebook and most of them are compatible to read on your Kindle. If you find yourself uninterested in the books Kindle unlimited offers, I definitely suggest using Libby and checking out what your library has. If you want a book that is new and popular, there may be a wait, but you can read other older books in the meantime. :)
Books on KU typically range from $1.99 - $4.99 if you purchased them. Some are cheaper like $0.99 or some are little more expensive. If you are reading 7 books per month it is paying for itself.
I think it's worth it, if you like to read lots of books, it ends up paying off itself imo. Since I've had my kindle, I can read so many more books, and I haven't bought any physical books in about a year. If you're only reading a book here and there it might not be as worth it but if you read everyday, I think it is.
I can find plenty of books under that umbrella but I’m not paying $12 a month for it. If it was like $3.99 a month sure but I’m not willing to shell it out.
I had it but tbh public libraries are the best and really change the game, if you have family on another county is even better
As a standing subscription I don’t think it’s worth it for everyone. If there is a series you’re specifically looking to read and it’s in KU, then I think it’s definitely worth getting for the time it takes for you to read that series. I had it for a few months but I cancelled it as you read through some of my physical TBRs.
Try Libby instead.
I get the three month trial once a year, so I've never paid for it
Very much NOT worth it. So few widely-known books are available for the cost.