Lookee here, I’m blogging about something other than myself. Kinda. I was going to post something on Google+ about it, but then I realized that, hey, this would make a great blog post. So here goes:
Today Amazon announced that all Amazon Prime members would be able to borrow a book for free each month. FREE! What is this crazy-talk?
Amazon’s home page has a new message for Prime members from CEO Jeff Bezos, indicating that their membership plan has a new bonus: free books. The Kindle Owners Lending Library service offers up to one book per month from a selection of thousands of titles, including “over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers” with no due dates. That’s in addition to the free two-day shipping and access to TV shows and movies offered through Prime Instant Video as a part of the $79/year package.
Read rest of article and Amazon Press release here.
If you know me, you might know that not only do I have a Kindle, I have a close personal relationship with my Kindle. I sleep with it. I bring it everywhere. Everywhere. I have a dedicated charger at work and one in my to-go bag, just in case. So what do I think about this free book thing?
Meh. That is what I think. Everyone talks about how this is going to hurt libraries and publishers and I say Pshaw! First of all, one book a month?! I read more than one book a month; that’s with going to school full time and working part time. When I’m not going to school I can read over 4 books in a week. So one book a month is not that thrilling to me.
And Amazon Prime. Well, here is the thing, I love Amazon Prime. I use it at least once a month; for instance, we buy our wet cat food online. You can’t beat free two-day shipping. But really, that’s the only perk I get from Amazon Prime. Why? Because my in-laws are fantastic people and put us on their Prime account. The way Prime works is that the primary Prime member gets the perks: free streaming and now I suspect the same will be true for the free book per month. And that’s ok. I think that what Amazon is doing is making Prime attractive enough so that someone like me (who is currently being subsidized on Amazon Prime) would pony up the dough for my own account.
Does the idea of a free book a month make me want to pay for my own Amazon Prime account? Not necessarily. But the idea of free streaming onto my brand new Kindle Fire (hint hint), now that has possibilities.
My Kindle is like a pet, if I don’t feed it, it will sulk.
——–
Do you have a Kindle? Another e-reader? What do you think about “renting” e-books?
Recent Thoughts