Amazon’s Prime membership includes several little-known benefits including something called Prime Reading. Here’s what you need to know about Prime Reading, including how you can access it, what it offers, and all the fine-print details.
What is Amazon Prime Reading?
Amazon Prime Reading allows Prime members to access and read more than a thousand books or magazines at no extra cost. Amazon says you can think of it as a “private library that lets Prime members read free”. You can download and read up to 10 titles at a time, and dozens of Prime Reading books are available with Audible narration, too, so you can listen while you are commuting, cleaning, running, or whatever.
How does Amazon Prime Reading work?
Before you can take advantage of Prime Reading, make sure you are logged in to your Amazon account and your Prime membership is current.
How to access Prime Reading
You can use a Kindle or Fire tablet to access Prime Reading or you can download the Kindle app for use on your iOS or Android device. Either way, you can find and download up to 10 titles at a time. If you want more titles, you will be prompted to return a title to download a new choice.
How to find a book, comic, or magazine to read
- Go to the Kindle store on your Kindle and tap on Prime Reading.
- Start browsing the titles currently available in Prime Reading.
- When you find something, click “Read Now”.
- The item will be available for download.
- Or, click “Read and Listen for Free” for the titles that work with Audible.
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What kind of reading choices are available?
Amazon updates the selection frequently to include “recent and popular fiction and nonfiction titles, literary classics, children’s books, comic books, magazines, and Kindle Singles”. Amazon often uses Prime Reading to showcase authors, perhaps giving you access to the first book in a series, or the first couple of titles. There’s huge variety and it does change frequently enough to be genuinely useful. Opening up the home page on your Kindle will usually serve you a section called “new in Prime Reading” for you to select from. Often searching for a particular author will return options too.
How much does Amazon Prime Reading cost?
Prime Reading is a free benefit included with an Amazon Prime membership, which costs $14.99 a month (or $139 a year) in the US or £8.99 a month (or £95 a year) in the UK. Check out Pocket-lint’s in-depth guide on Amazon Prime to learn more about the other benefits on offer.
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What about First Reads and Kindle Unlimited?
Amazon First Reads is another Prime benefit that gives members a sneak peek at books before they are released. Prime members can download one free book each month from a selection of six editors’ picks. New titles are announced at the start of each month. If you need even more to read, there’s Amazon Kindle Unlimited. It costs $9.99 a month and provides access to more than 1 million books, magazines, and audiobooks.