You are definitely paying for convenience. I've never found the process of reserving a library book online and then picking it up on the way home (takes about 5 extra minutes) worth paying monthly for, but to each their own.
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Amazon Officially Announces 'Kindle Unlimited' E-book and Audiobook Subscription Service
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You are definitely paying for convenience. I've never found the process of reserving a library book online and then picking it up on the way home (takes about 5 extra minutes) worth paying monthly for, but to each their own.
Based on your notoriety here, we all know that you are completely serious when you say that.
Some of us would say that access to a lot of books is worth a lot more than movies and TV shows...
I won't be using this because I don't want to support Amazon (and it's probably limited to the US, anyway) but $9.99 is hardly ripping people off.
What's your word for deadbeats that don't pay what they owe?
Can I fill in my own word for that?
I've literally never found a book my library didn't have either locally or through the metro area system (transfers are free).
But then I live in a metro area and this is one of the advantages. There's probably 6 libraries along my commute alone.
My library wont let me
Apparently I still owe them money from when I was a teen and returned a book late, that with interest has gone over $100.
I must pay or i can't use the library. and since my entire region(county) is linked, I have no available access to a public library.
You could just pay the $100 and then I'm sure you'll get access to the library.
The best way to get a feel for the selection is to just go to Amazon's page and just search for some titles you have read or would like to read, and just popular books and authors in general.
I did just that and KU had barely any of the books that I have read or have on my wish list at my library's ebooks site. They are promoting Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, but beyond that those 600k titles are pretty slim pickings when it comes to anything reasonably popular.
Obviously they intend to improve it a lot as time goes on but that depends on authors agreeing to a royalty plan that sounds pretty weak. Dare I say it (and compare apples and oranges), their selection is way worse than the selection on Netflix streaming. In contrast, my library has had an ebook version of the vast majority of books I've been interested in reading.
True, though I was responding to a comment about using up data downloading library ebooks on vacation.
I did just that and KU had barely any of the books that I have read or have on my wish list at my library's ebooks site. They are promoting Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, but beyond that those 600k titles are pretty slim pickings when it comes to anything reasonably popular.
Obviously they intend to improve it a lot as time goes on but that depends on authors agreeing to a royalty plan that sounds pretty weak. Dare I say it (and compare apples and oranges), their selection is way worse than the selection on Netflix streaming. In contrast, my library has had an ebook version of the vast majority of books I've been interested in reading.
True, though I was responding to a comment about using up data downloading library ebooks on vacation.
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There are A LOT of students that do just this, it's called textbooks on reserve and a large number of students rely on this.
There's no FREE library. Look at your property tax break-up and you'll see just how expensive the library actually is! So since most of us are already paying for it, you're right, we might as well make use of the service.
This could really work for either side of the discussion since Amazon may have a really terrible selection for this particular service, depending on your needs.
I'm aware of that; several people I know during college did that.
I'm also going to mark my original post as rhetorical since it isn't clear.
Amazon is taking a stab at drawing indie writers - their books may not necessarily see the light of day otherwise. For both them and the consumers this program would be a fantastic solution; writers can better expose their work, and consumers (that read a lot) will save a lot of money over buying these indie books individually.
Selection, I think. My library uses a third party to distribute ebook loans. I suspect most libraries use this same service or one like it. The list of books they offer is limited and they only have a fixed number of copies they can loan out at the same time.
That said if this is like the free loaner books that Amazon offers its Prime subscriber then Amazon's list is way to short. I checked and there are few if any titles I'd want. Certainly they have the classics (copyright expired) and some current fiction. I suspect that for $10 you only get a VERY limited set of books to choose from.
If they opened up their entire catalog, then they could justify the term "unlimited" But even then, b=many books don't come in ebook form, paper only.
Tried it. The books they had were very *very* limited. I didn't find a simple book that was current. And of the few that were available in the genre I wanted, most were either uninteresting or were books I'd read years before.
I did that last semester. There were only 12 students in the class and only one section. The library had two copies. So even in this best case only two of use got free books.
The BEST deals in books are Amazon's older edition text books. I needed some basic science reference books. I bought a half dozen one or two editions back texts on Biochemistry and Physics for as little as one cent (yes a penny) and none over $10.
I read everyday, but no
I read everyday but really not so keen on a subscription service. I allocate money every month for eBooks, sometimes I use them sometimes I roll them over to the next one to buy a bigger book. My worry is that I will end up reading more quantity but less quality.
Similarily, I cancelled Netflix. I sometimes subscribe to do some bing watching, but I realized that renting movies that I want to see, once a week, makes more sense, whether it's a $4.99 Vudu or a $1.70 Bluray from the Redbox 4 blocks from where I live.
I read everyday but really not so keen on a subscription service. I allocate money every month for eBooks, sometimes I use them sometimes I roll them over to the next one to buy a bigger book. My worry is that I will end up reading more quantity but less quality.
Similarily, I cancelled Netflix. I sometimes subscribe to do some bing watching, but I realized that renting movies that I want to see, once a week, makes more sense, whether it's a $4.99 Vudu or a $1.70 Bluray from the Redbox 4 blocks from where I live.
$10 is less than the cost of a single ebook in many cases. For avid readers, $10 a month is a real bargain. The problem is that Amazon will only offer a portion of their total inventory at this price. New releases and current best-sellers may not be included.
Because it's a Kindle library; I have a Paperwhite--is there a way to get MP3s from a library onto a Kindle Paperwhite? I think there *may* be a way with the Fire, but...
Regardless, the Unlimited library is not unlimited; after a quick search of a few of my favorite authors, I saw that most (or all) of their works weren't in this library. I quickly canceled my 30-day trial.
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They're not. I just did a search and didn't turn up any of the books I was looking for. Not a single one.
For example, do a search for Stephen King; everything in his catalog is available for normal purchase, but not in the "Unlimited" library. Doesn't work for me.
Why?.. Would the Apple reader app be someone better than the kindle app on an iPad.. Or are you suggesting that the market needs a "done right" e reader and subscription service cos the ones already out there are pants.. I await your answer..
talking to a co-worked who just informed me that not all public libraries are free, he has to pay $120 a year for his public library card where he lives.
I actually never knew some towns charge for a library card.
Curious as to why you don't want to support Amazon; I get great service from them, and with Amazon Prime I get most of my orders with 2-day shipping. Great deals to be had.
I love my Kindle too; I'm an avid reader and never thought I'd enjoy an e-reader like I do; I have a library full of books, but the Kindle's my go-to device for reading these days.
Well said. This service is clearly geared toward heavier readers. According to various reports, a typical American reader reads about 12 books per year (median is paltry 5 books per year). And if you read roughly 1 book per month, this plan is clearly not for you.
I bought 3 books last month, came out to be $118.72. Granted these are physical copies. The Kindle alternative would've probably saved me $30-40 bucks but I rather hold a book.
I'd gladly pay $10/mo for this service.