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Books/book club

Kindle Unlimited - worthwhile?

(42 Posts)
Orangebottom Mon 24-Aug-26 16:18:56

Hi all, am a novice kindler and assumed it would be cost effective to subscribed to Amazon's Kindle Unlimited. Only I can't see anything in there I would like to read. Before I assume I just need to get a he books I actually want, rather than because they are in offer on unlimited, thought I'd see how others have got one. I tried searching by author eg Ann Patchett and genre, neither seemed to either be available or flat my boat. Thoughts,?

Witzend Mon 24-Aug-26 16:31:16

There’s the odd one that’s good, or by an author I already know and like, but TBH I’ve discarded many of the offerings halfway through, or even before. I don’t know whether they’re mostly self published, but I can’t imagine quite a few of them ever having been bought by mainstream publishers.

A lot of my reads come from the regular Amazon 99p offerings, though. There are often good ones there.

Tizliz Mon 24-Aug-26 17:06:57

I read a lot, mainly murder mysteries, and for me kindle unlimited is worthwhile. You can pay monthly so if you don't like it you can cancel easily. It hasn't cost you anything if you don't like a book, you just return it.

I see that a site called Book Bub has a newsletter with the new releases on kindle unlimited which is helpful. Also Amazon send you loads of emails with suggestions.

Orangebottom Mon 24-Aug-26 17:08:41

So I'm not going mad - thank you!

Orangebottom Mon 24-Aug-26 17:09:17

Will look out for book bub - thank you

Humbertbear Mon 24-Aug-26 20:31:40

It all depends what you want to read. DD and I share an account and sign up for Kindle Unlimited when we discover a series we want to read. Be warned - you don’t keep the book. they do take it back so you need to keep a list of what you have read.

Floradora9 Mon 24-Aug-26 21:35:01

Google to see if you can get a free trial or reduced subscription. I pay for it monthly as both my husband and I read books from them . Like biographies and he likes police procedure ones.

Patsy70 Mon 24-Aug-26 21:54:04

We subscribe to Amazon Prime, so can borrow Kindle books, but don’t have Kindle Unlimited.

Mollygo Mon 24-Aug-26 22:08:40

We have kindle unlimited and it’s worthwhile for us. I’m also a fan of Bookbub.

jusnoneed Mon 24-Aug-26 22:21:09

I use Bookbub too. Rarely pay for a book and can usually find something in the free books list.

4xGranny Mon 24-Aug-26 22:49:32

I like crime fiction and psychological thrillers and have read hundreds with Kindle Unlimited. I also pay up to £2.99 for a book occasionally.

Orangebottom Tue 25-Aug-26 11:00:57

Am also Amazon Prime - had no idea this meant I could borrow kindle books. Who knew! Glad I asked.

Knitter43 Tue 25-Aug-26 12:03:32

Thanks for telling me about Bookbub, I 'd never heard of it before. I tend to dip in and out of Kindle Unlimited. At the moment I'm not a member. The quality of the new books is often poor I find. Some of the books have very weak plots, are badly written and are poorly edited. On the other hand you can sometimes find older books there which are worth reading. It depends but it works for me joining for a few.months then having a break. I agree that some o f the Amazon 99p deals are good and also the Prime reads, if you have a Prime account.

twinnytwin Tue 25-Aug-26 12:28:16

I had a Kindle Unlimited account for a while but found I didn't read enough to warrant the monthly cost. I now buy occasional special deals from authors I like (I love a good murder!) which enable me to read them at my own pace - much cheaper than the subscription.

sandye Tue 25-Aug-26 13:54:33

Sign up for bookbub, you get one e-mail a day of cheap books, you set your preferences . I have had it for years, lots are free as they are series starts or new authors, the rest are 99p to about 3.99. you get no hassle and I like it

Toddleo Tue 25-Aug-26 14:26:56

In Herts we have access to Hertfordshire Libraries borrow box app. It's fabulous, all the audiobooks and ebooks are free!

Narnia Tue 25-Aug-26 14:36:03

There are a few Kristin Hannah books on unlimited, all are great

WelshPoppy Tue 25-Aug-26 14:37:25

Downloaded a couple of Kindle books when I was in hospital for cancer surgery but much prefer a physical book so Unlimited would be a waste for me

CV2020 Tue 25-Aug-26 15:48:49

Sign up to Bookbub online. You get a daily email with free, 99p etc books. I’m on my third Kindle. I’ve worn out the buttons on previous two as I read 7/8 books per week!

bellameasures Tue 25-Aug-26 15:49:39

Also www.thefussylibrarian.com/ send a regular email of books available

fancyflowers Tue 25-Aug-26 15:57:46

I enjoy Kindle Unlimited. Sometimes posters here will recommend a book and I get it, if it's free. If it's something I really want to read then I will pay up to £4.99 but otherwise I can't justify it.

Sometimes I will do a search for a certain author, and again, their books are often free or £0.99, in which case I will buy.

I hadn't heard of Bookbub, so thank you, I will look it up.

Yvettehartland1 Tue 25-Aug-26 17:14:34

Amazon daily deals and BookBub for 99p amd free books every day

Hithere Tue 25-Aug-26 17:25:12

KU is a huge library you pay for, basically.

The issue with KU is that some authors are exclusive to Amazon - that's the key if KU is worth it to you and if you are going to read enough books a month to make it worth the price.

If you decide to buy the ebooks, some of those authors also have their own stores independently - which has the additional advantage of not having DRM attached to those files, meaning they are yours forever, vs just a temporal license.

Amazon offers a month for free if you want to try.

Also, on prime days, sometimes they offer 3 months free, if you cancel and not renew, they offer 3 more months for $9.99 vs $13.99/month.

Notagranny44 Tue 25-Aug-26 22:32:42

I like Bookbub and have read many great books from there.
If you like the classics, I recommend the Gutenberg Project, where the books are completely free and they genuinely want you to share them.
It's a bit "America heavy" as that's where it's based, but if you are looking for anything that is out of copyright, it's always worth a look there first.
When you find what you want, you can use the "Send to Kindle" app to send them to your Kindle library.

janetsp Wed 26-Aug-26 08:31:22

Our local library offers Borrow Box. Free app that gives access to wide range of online books. All free. Worth a look?