I have a slightly dangerous relationship with #KindleUnlimited.
I subscribe.
I download far too many books.
I look at my bank statement and wonder whether I really need another monthly subscription.
I contemplate cancelling it.
Then I find three books I want to read and decide I'll keep it for another month.
Repeat indefinitely.
But if you've never tried #KindleUnlimited, what actually is it? And more importantly, is it worth £9.49 a month?
So, What Is #KindleUnlimited?
The easiest way to describe #KindleUnlimited is as a subscription library for ebooks.
You pay a monthly fee and can borrow books from Amazon's #KindleUnlimited catalogue rather than buying each book individually. In the UK, it currently costs £9.49 per month. Despite the name, you don't actually need a #Kindle either; you can read through the free #Kindle app on a phone, tablet or computer.
You can have up to 20 titles borrowed at once, and there are no due dates. Once you've reached twenty, you simply return something before borrowing another.
And no, you don't get to keep the books forever.
Think library rather than Netflix download.
If you cancel your membership, you can carry on reading your borrowed books until the end of the current billing period. After that, you lose access to them.
But Are ALL #Kindle Books Included?
No.
And I think this is probably the biggest misunderstanding about #KindleUnlimited.
The word Unlimited makes it sound as though you can wander into the #Kindle Store, point at anything you fancy and say, "I'll have that."
You can't.
Only books included in the #KindleUnlimited catalogue are available as part of your subscription, and titles can enter and leave that catalogue.
This means you might search for the latest bestseller everybody is talking about and discover that it isn't included.
Which is mildly irritating when you're already paying £9.49 a month.
On the other hand, there are millions of titles available, and this is where Kindle Unlimited becomes interesting.
It's Brilliant for Discovering Authors
This might actually be the best thing about it.
When I'm buying an ebook outright, even if it's only £3.99 or £4.99, I'll usually look at the reviews and think about whether I really want it.
With #KindleUnlimited?
"That looks interesting."
Click.
And suddenly I'm reading it.
If I don't like it, I return it.
No money wasted.
That makes me much more adventurous with my reading. I'll try an author I've never heard of, pick up something with only a handful of reviews or wander into a genre I wouldn't normally spend money on.
Sometimes they're terrible.
Sometimes I find an author and immediately read their entire backlist.
That's half the fun.
When Does It Become Good Value?
This is where I think you have to look at how much you actually read.
At £9.49 per month, you're paying £113.88 a year if you keep the subscription continuously.
If you normally read one £3.99 ebook every month, #KindleUnlimited probably isn't saving you anything.
Two £4.99 books?
You're roughly breaking even.
Three, four, five or more books every month?
Now it starts looking considerably more attractive.
And if you're the sort of person who can disappear into a ten-book series and emerge three weeks later looking slightly bewildered, #KindleUnlimited can be excellent value.
What About Audiobooks?
This is a nice extra.
Some #KindleUnlimited books include audio narration, although certainly not every book does. Amazon says thousands of audiobooks are available through the service; you need to look for the narration/headphones indicator on eligible titles.
So I wouldn't subscribe purely as an alternative to #Audible.
But if you already want #KindleUnlimited for ebooks, the included audiobooks are a lovely bonus.
#KindleUnlimited or BorrowBox?
This is where things get interesting.
Because after my enthusiastic ramble about BorrowBox, there is an obvious question:
Why pay Amazon £9.49 every month when the library lets you borrow ebooks for free?
And the answer is... you might not need to.
If BorrowBox has the books you want and you're happy waiting for popular titles, use your library. Seriously. Free wins.
But the two services feel quite different.
BorrowBox is a proper library system. A digital copy can be unavailable because somebody else has borrowed it, so you reserve it and wait.
#KindleUnlimited doesn't have waiting lists for titles currently in its catalogue. If a #KU book is available, you can borrow it straight away.
For impatient readers — hello — that's rather appealing.
So, Is #KindleUnlimited Worth It?
For some readers, absolutely.
I'd say it's worth considering if you read several books every month, enjoy discovering new or independent authors, devour long series, or regularly find books you want in the #KU catalogue.
If you only read one or two books a month, mostly want the big new releases, or already get everything you need through your library, I'd save the £9.49.
There's also nothing stopping you from dipping in and out. Amazon allows you to cancel at any time, and currently even offers the option of pausing a monthly membership for one month in eligible circumstances.
And that's probably the sensible approach.
Subscribe when you've spotted a pile of books you want.
Read them.
Cancel.
Walk away feeling financially responsible.
Then accidentally resubscribe three months later because you've found a twelve-book series and the first one has a dragon on the cover.
You know how it goes.
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