Review of Kindle Unlimited

Since Kindle Unlimited began, I'd been keeping track of which titles in my want list were eligible.  When enough stacked up, I gave their 30 day free trial a go.

The good:

• I tore through probably a good $50 worth of books, so there's definitely good value for money (even if I had paid the $10).
• I took a lot more risks in my titles, reading or sampling some that I wouldn't have paid good money for.  For the most part, my instincts were right.
• Some free trials can be tricky.  You could get cut off when you cancel, or they could bill you for the next month way before the trial ends.  KU clearly states the billing date, and if you cancel beforehand you can continue using it up to that date.

The meh:

• I kept my list of titles in a Want list on the Amazon website.  If you access your Want list from the books tab on Kindle Fire, that version of the list does not give the option to borrow on KU.  You either have to do a separate search again from the books tab or borrow them though another device.
• It would take upwards of 20 minutes to get my titles loaded on my Kindle Fire.  This is because the Kindle app is horrible.  If you start getting DRM errors, unregister your device and sign back in.  Collections are cloud based now, so you shouldn't lose anything.
• I've got enough titles left over to justify another month, but just barely.  I can't see paying for this for a whole year.
• This won't matter to most folks, but you can't pay for KU with gift card funds.  You might be able to use gift card funds to buy a KU Gift Membership for yourself, but those are in six month chunks.

To see if KU is right for you you can do what I did.  Keep track of KU eligible books you want to read in a separate wish list.  You can filter searches on Amazon by clicking "Kindle Unlimited Eligible" on the left sidebar, or add the words "prime eligible" to your search term.  When you have a month's worth of books, sign up for the free trial, and cancel whenever you want.

If you are considering the free trial of KU, consider signing up through my affiliate link to help me save up for a spinner rack.