Kindle Unlimited: Should You Sign Up?

Even if you’ve not heard of Kindle Unlimited yet, if you’re a book reader and like the sound of ‘Unlimited’ reading, you’re at the right place!

I gave this program a shot for a month, and here’s my analysis of both, the good and the not-so-good aspects of KU.

What is Kindle Unlimited?

For the newbies, it’s a cool, online library kind of system set up by Amazon, where you can borrow unlimited number of e-books for free while you’re subscribed. You could sign up for a month, six months or a year, if you’re really convinced. All you need is a Kindle or even a Kindle app on your phone, iPad or Tab and you’re good to go! And the app is available for free download on any device.

Yes, pay heed, you do not necessarily need to have a Kindle device to sign up for Kindle Unlimited.

How it Works?

Once you sign up and pay the requisite amount, the books available on the Kindle Unlimited catalogue are yours to ransack. At any given point of time, you can borrow up to 10 books from the KU library. Reading material ranges from fiction to non-fiction and encompasses a whole range of genres. After you have 10 books on your Kindle/Kindle app, you will have to return at least one to borrow another. You may read a handful of pages and decide to discard the book, it doesn’t matter.

On completion of your subscription period, your books will be forfeit to KU and will be wiped clean from your Kindle/Kindle App.

What Books Do They Have?

Will you find bestsellers from across the world here? Each Amazon market has its exclusive Kindle Unlimited store. So if you have an account with Amazon.in, you will primarily see books by Indian authors, as well as the international books that have been made available for worldwide use. Keep in mind that only select books are obtainable in KU, especially ones that are available on promotional basis. You will not find the latest JK Rowling or even a Dan Brown and Jeffrey Archer.

On the upside, Kindle Unlimited promises access to over 1 Million e-books, ranging from literature to business, biographies to historical fiction, comics to law, humour to travel, sports to health… The list is endless.

How Much Does it Cost?

In India, KU starts at a very reasonable cost. You can try the subscription for just Rs 199 per month, and if you like it, you could go ahead and sign up for a longer period. A six-month membership will cost you Rs 166.50 per month, amounting to a total payout of Rs 999. The year-long membership will set you back by Rs 1799, which is actually just Rs 149.92 per month.

Should I Go for It?

Whether Kindle Unlimited is for you or not, is a decision you should make before signing up. But how would you know? Spend some time browsing through the books in their catalogue. Do they interest you?

If you are someone who likes experimenting with new books, you would find a world of less-known works by latest indie authors, some of them quite good! Read the blurb and you can give them a shot. Or look for reviews on Goodreads and decide whether the book is your cup of tea.

In fact, go ahead and make a list of about ten books in the KU library that capture your interest. And look at it this way, if you read even 2 good books on KU in a month, each costing say, Rs 150 at an average, then you’ve got your money’s worth. Because you would end up reading books worth Rs 300 for Rs 199. Now just extrapolate that and imagine how much value-for-money you could squeeze out of this deal if you read 5 books? 10 books?

On the other hand, if you are a reader who chews slowly through her read, logging about one book a month, this deal may not be worth it for you.

Tips

• Spend time browsing through the KU catalogue in detail before signing up
• Keep in mind that books in the catalogue keep changing, so do your research shortly before you sign up
• Start with one-month membership and if it works for you, extend it for a longer period of time
• If you are halfway through a book when your subscription expires, don’t connect to Wi-fi until you finish the book

If you’ve decided to go for it, here’s what you need to do!

Here’s the link to my novel, In Search of Love, available for FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

Just click on ‘Read for Free’ on the right hand side and go on to sign up for the program.

If you’re looking for more good books, read my blog on Five Books to Get On Kindle Unlimited.

I hope you enjoy these books and the Kindle Unlimited Program!