If you buy books on Amazon, you’ve probably come across ads for Kindle Unlimited (or KU) at some point, but if you haven’t paid much attention until now, it might not be particularly clear what it is or how it works.
So, what is Kindle Unlimited and how does it work?
What is it?
In a nutshell, Kindle Unlimited (or KU for short) is an Amazon subscription service that lets you use your Kindle to read as many books as you want, for one flat monthly fee.
Think of it like Netflix for books. Instead of renting movies one at a time, Netflix lets you pay one flat fee to gain access to their library of movies. Kindle Unlimited is the exact same thing, but for books.
How does it work?
You sign up for the service, then use your Kindle (or Amazon itself) to search for books that are available for download. When you find an available book you want to read, you select it, download it, and start reading! It’s really that easy. The hardest part of using Kindle Unlimited is deciding which book to read.
What do you need to know?
First things, first, to use KU you need a Kindle or the Kindle App. Unfortunately, the service doesn’t work with any other e-reader. The Kindle app will allow you to read books from Kindle Unlimited on your phone or laptop, but it won’t work with other e-readers.
Second, the books available change. Again, just like Netflix, the Kindle Unlimited library is constantly in flux. Authors choose whether or not to include their books in the service, which means they can remove books when they want to (Amazon makes authors commit to minimum time periods, but authors can remove their books once that commitment is up).
Third, you can only have ten books downloaded at a time. If you want to download an 11th, you need to swap out one of your ten books already downloaded. This doesn’t tend to be a problem for most people (and you can always go back and re-download books later), but it is one of the limitations of the system. If you’re going to be going somewhere without internet access, you can only pre-download ten books.
Who’s it for?
The obvious answer here is “avid reader”. Anyone who gets through enough ebooks in a month that it would cost more than price of a Kindle Unlimited subscription is the obvious choice. Romance readers, for example, are renowned for the ability to read multiple books a week, which is why Kindle Unlimited is very popular with that crowd.
But KU is also great for people looking to find new authors or genres. People who use a lot of “industry” or craft books (you know, the types of books you may want to try before you buy). And now, with magazines and audiobooks available, Kindle Unlimited is quickly becoming a good option for anyone who reads.
Should you try Kindle Unlimited?
In our opinion? Absolutely, yes. It comes with a free trial for new users, so the risk is absolutely zero (as long as you remember to cancel if you don’t like it).
With millions of books, in every imaginable category, plus magazines and audiobooks, Kindle Unlimited is really becoming a go-to for book lovers everywhere.
Also…it has all the Harry Potter books.