How I get free or cheap Kindle books
Hey It’s Bookworm Tuesday! One of my favorite past times is reading. Over the past 3 years I have been very intentional about making time to read. Which means that I now rarely watch TV. I know that there are still many bookworms out there that love reading actual books and flipping through the pages, but once I realized I could store thousand of books in my Kindle I was sold. As a mom of 4, we accumulate tons of stuff and being able to reduce the clutter of books everywhere was a plus in my opinion. Years later it was definitely a good decision because I currently have 2407 books inside of my Kindle. I know, ridiculous. What is wild is that this doesn’t include the hundreds of books that I have read/borrowed on Kindle Unlimited. I am at peace knowing that I will always have a book to read.
It’s important to note that you don’t actually need a Kindle to read Kindle books. The cool thing about Amazon is that you can download the Kindle app on most devices like Ipads, Iphones, android phones, android tablets and even your laptop. Read.amazon.com takes you to a cloud reader that allows you to read on a computer or laptop. Trust, I’m that reader that will read until my Kindle dies then switch to my phone and use my Kindle for Android app and then switch back. Yep clearly I love to read.
All of the tips are things I actively use, and all opinions are my own. Let’s get into how I have amassed this large collection of books, mostly for free.
I am a Prime Member-Mmm hmm many of you are not using your prime membership to it’s full potential. There are actually a few ways that you can get free books being a prime member.
Prime members are automatically included in “Amazon First Reads,” which gives you early access to editor’s picks at the beginning of each month before they are released to the general public. It’s cool because they give you a list of 6 books that have been rated highly and you are able to choose one to purchase for free, which means it is forever apart of your Kindle library. I know what you are thinking, what if I forget to download them at the beginning of the month? Well, they send you a reminder email and you are able to download them anytime throughout the month. Sometimes, they even have promotions where you can get more than one free book. For instance for the month of October in celebration of Prime Day, prime members were able to choose 2 books for free. I like this perk because books that I would otherwise not be looking for are made accessible to me and allows me to have a diverse library.
Prime Reading is an additional benefit given to prime members. It is a rotating catalog of over 1000 ebooks, audio books, magazines, articles and comic books that you are able to read for free. I mean its like a kid in a candy store. I love it! For those of you just starting your book collection this is a perfect introduction into kindle reading.
Choose slower shipping and earn digital credits-This tip is one of my cheat codes. It’s an option available to every prime member. One of the biggest perks about prime is the 2 day shipping and in some cases one day or same day shipping on certain items. However, I don’t always need the items right away. I went ham on prime day and bought presents for my family early. Since the gifts would be sitting around, I chose the slowest shipping and in return I received several digital credits. I will use the credits to purchase books that are not apart of prime reading or Kindle unlimited. You can use the credits to purchase any digital items like movies or music as well.
I subscribe to Kindle Unlimited-It is a subscription service for $9.99 a month. It’s like Prime reading on crack, because it goes from having access to 1k free books to 1 million. Of course all the books on prime reading are included in this service. Many people ask if it is worth it and it is only worth it if you are an avid reader. If you read one book a month, this is not for you. Stick to Kindle prime reading as that should give you enough variety based on your reading habits. I have read 110 books this year which is about 11 books a month or 2-3 books a week. If you read that much it is definitely worth the money. I like to read series and Kindle Unlimited comes in handy for those. I love Kindle unlimited because it has allowed me to be more open minded with the authors and genres I read. One key call out is that you can only hold 10 Kindle unlimited books at a time. Also once you read them and replace them with other books they are removed from your library and it’s hard to remember what you have read, however anytime you open a book it will take you to the last page read.
I subscribe to BookBub-This is the ULTIMATE cheat code. It is a free book discovery service that helps readers find new books and authors based on parameters that you choose and can update at anytime. You are able to choose certain genres, authors, and even price points that you are comfortable with. Everyday I receive an email from BookBub with a list of books that fit the parameters I have chosen. Yes I said everyday, which is why I have so many books in my library. I always download the free books they send me and I don’t feel the least bit pressured to buy any of the books that aren’t free. It connects me to books on Amazon, so should I want to use my digital credits to purchase books I have that option. You can sign up here.
Now that you have all these tips to read books for free, there is no excuse to read more. Happy Reading my friends! Let me know if you have an other tips to get free books or feel free to share with me what you are currently reading.
