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Amazon Piles On the Prime Benefits With New 'Prime Reading' Perk (geekwire.com)

Posted by msmash on from the more-books-for-you dept.

Amazon today unveiled the latest perk for Prime members in the United States: Prime Reading. With this, the company is offering access to "over a thousand" Kindle books, comics, magazines and more. The selection will rotate, the company says, suggesting that you should be able to read titles that aren't available today. GeekWire adds: The new perk, Prime Reading, lets Amazon Prime members access more than 1,000 e-books from best-selling authors at no extra charge, read a rotating selection of popular magazines, and read content from the company's Kindle Singles library, including classic short stories and essays. Prime reading is available on the Kindle app for iOS and Android, and on the company's Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets. The new perk comes in addition to the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, which lets Prime members who own Amazon devices borrow one e-book a month from a larger selection of titles. Separate from a Prime membership, Amazon offers the $10/month Kindle Unlimited e-book subscription service.Amazon Prime program costs $99 per year.

54 comments

  1. Interesting by 110010001000 · · Score: 0

    This is a big benefit for me as a Prime user. It also is a throwback to their roots as an online bookstore!

  2. Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by Waveevaw · · Score: 2

    We don't get video either

    1. Re:Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      you get free health care

    2. Re:Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by vikingpower · · Score: 1, Troll

      There is nothing fucking cool about Giant Corp. "offering" you around 1.000 eBooks in order to vendor-lock you in. Rather, you be glad to be in Canada. I'm in Austria and visit physical book stores, getting to hold physical books and helping physical people to make a living. Which is way closer to my definition of "cool".

      --
      Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
    3. Re:Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by ADRA · · Score: 2

      Dang, beat me to it. Yeah, Amazon Prime is mostly useless in Canada. $80 for significantly fewer features? Pass. If anything, I'm using Amazon less year after year. It's just not offering the savings that it did previously.

      --
      Bye!
    4. Re:Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by chipschap · · Score: 2

      Try living in Hawai`i, where Amazon Prime gets you free shipping that usually takes about two WEEKS. And still costs $99.

    5. Re:Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by Anonymous+CowWord · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I don't know why people keep repeating this bullshit. Wait times depend on severity, which makes sense, otherwise more people would die. Have you been to an emerg in a Canadian hospital? Idiots come there for minor cuts and scrapes and then whine about the 4 hour wait time. When my dad had a bypass, he saw his doc one week, the cardiologist the same week, and had the surgery within 2 weeks (and that was by choice, they we willing to operate on him within days). Conversely, when we went to have non-urgent knee surgery, it took 3 months which was fine by him. One saved his life, the other made it more comfortable, all for $0.

      --


      Disclaimer: My opinions are my own and do not, in any way, reflect the opinions of my employer or university.
    6. Re:Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

      Yes, but the threshold for free shipping is lower here. They just raised it to $35 in the last week or two. It was $25 before that.

    7. Re:Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      "There is nothing fucking cool about Giant Corp. "offering" you around 1.000 eBooks in order to vendor-lock you in. "

      I buy all my books in Kindle form now (readability everywhere, zero weight, being able to have all the reading I want available at all times) anyway, so this is a pure win for me. And what exactly is "vendor locked in" about having free access to all the Project Gutenberg content, as well as everything new and almost everything in between? And besides, because I run the Kindle app on an iPad, I also have available all the iBook content and all the open-source Epub content, just by running different apps.

    8. Re:Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      What's with your prejudice against a company that became big by providing what its customers want?

    9. Re:Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by Shados · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It depends a lot on the province/city vs state/city for sure, but having lived most of my life in Canada and now being a US permanent resident, the difference is night and day.

      When I was a kid, I was -terrified- of the ER, because I knew I'd be there all fucking days. I had a friend who had a major motorcycle accident, was bleeding everywhere, and beyond stopping the blood, made him wait for hours.

      And then there's the huge percentage of population that can't get a family doctor, and even if you have one, getting any kind of appointment can take months.

      Since i moved I started having some health issues (probably related to american food, heh), and the first time I walked in an hospital (after I walked straight passed it thinking it was a condo building), I couldn't find the ER because I could not find the crowd/line.

      I was seen immediately, and the service was 100x more respectful, and problems were found significantly faster.

      Of course, its because of the $$$ involved and I have great insurance. Thats unfair to the poor, and I'd still take the Canadian system over that if only so people don't have to be terrified about going bankrupt because they get sick. But in term of care quality, its literally incomparable. Night and day.

    10. Re:Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just out of curiosity, is there any private/non-subsidized option in Canada?

      Here in HK, our public health care system is similar to what you describe - if you need to go to ER for something relatively minor (but the general practice isn't open since it's a holiday or something), it can be a 5 hour+ wait, and regular checkup appointment have to be made months in advance. Ours is not completely free, but heavily subsidized, so a general practice visit costs ~US$7 vs and ER visit costs ~US$15.

      However, if you are willing to pay, or have an insurance that covers it, you can go to a private clinic/hospital to get great service with minimal wait time - not unlike the US system you described.
      Most people I know use the private system for minor things (flu, small injuries etc) that are relatively cheap to use, and use the public system for major things when needed (major surgery, physiotherapy that requires long term commitment etc.)

      The way you and a lot of other people worded it made it seems like if you are in Canada, you have no choice but to wait, which sounds a bit strange.

    11. Re:Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff? by drunken_boxer777 · · Score: 1

      Yes, there are private clinics in Canada, but it might be dependent upon the province. Typically it is something the wealthier people use, as they might also have private insurance to defray costs (and can by definition afford to pay more for treatment). So if you can afford it, and don't want to wait, you go to a private clinic or doctor. Otherwise you try to find the one with the shortest wait time.

  3. Re:Er.. by ashshy · · Score: 2

    The Census Bureau says that there are about 116 million households in America. From that perspective, and assuming that the vast majority of Amazon customers don't have multiple Prime accounts per household, "half" sounds about right.

    --
    #o#
    O Moo.
  4. Re:Er.. by 110010001000 · · Score: 0

    There was a nuclear attack this morning. Did you not get the memo?

  5. Re:Er.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The Big One happened and Calfornia and parts of Oregon/Washington fell off. We'll hear about it here on slashdot in the next couple of days.

  6. May be cool... we'll see by The-Ixian · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I am guessing that new releases will not be included in this.

    I currently buy all my e-books from B&N and read them on my Nook e-ink. I got locked in to that because, at the time, the Kindle didn't have a backlight and the Nook did.

    Turns out, I like the Nook's size and weight and I also like not living 100% in Amazon's ecosystem.

    Still... they may still hook me into another year of Prime if the selection of sci-fi is decent. I will just have to read them on a tablet (heavy and bright and battery hungry)

    I don't order enough stuff on Amazon to make the 2 day deliver worthwhile and the only reason I kept it for another year was for the Prime video... but it seems like all the good stuff is going paid anyway so I don't see much point in that service anymore.

    --
    My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    1. Re:May be cool... we'll see by PCM2 · · Score: 1

      I currently buy all my e-books from B&N and read them on my Nook e-ink. I got locked in to that because, at the time, the Kindle didn't have a backlight and the Nook did.

      Come on, dude, this is /. Do better.

      You bought the Nook because it used the open Epub file format and you didn't want to get "locked in."

      Or else turn in your card.

      --
      Breakfast served all day!
    2. Re:May be cool... we'll see by pinkfalcon · · Score: 1

      I bought the Kobo because of the backlight, and I still like the Kobo better than my Nook, or my Kindle, but I end up on my Kindle most of the time because that's where the free books are.

      I use calibre to convert non-DRM'd books from epub to mobi and back - do I still need to turn in my geek cred card?

      --
      Real SUV's don't have cupholders
      It's 5:42 A.M., do you know where your stack pointer is?
    3. Re:May be cool... we'll see by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      I am guessing that new releases will not be included in this.

      I was looking at the current offerings for Prime Reading. Most of them are book 1 of a multi-book series. What do you think the odds are that later books in the series never get added to Prime Reading? To be fair though, I did download The Man in the High Castle(which is on Prime Reading), as I enjoyed the show and alternate history can be a fun read.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    4. Re:May be cool... we'll see by dogvomit · · Score: 2

      Purchasing books from Barnes and Noble or Amazon absolutely does NOT lock you in to their ecosystem. All either does is provide a convenient storefront. I buy most of my books from Amazon because they make it convenient and easy to shop, and because I like my Kindle's hardware. But the first thing I do when I buy any book is load it into Calibre, convert it to epub, and archive on my backed up filesystem. No lock in. Some people may point to the DRM, but both B&N and Amazon's DRM have the same effect as that on DVDs. It is so trivially removed that it is simply ignorable.

      It's a bit pricey, but I love the Kindle Voyage. It's lighter than your Nook and the haptic feedback rocks. I do covet the Nook's water resistance, though.

      Sometimes I buy from Barnes and Noble too, and I've often bought directly from Baen and even Google. The only reason to prefer one over the other is convenience. Thinking that you have to stick with one because of "lock in" is just wrong (for now, at least).

      --
      Happy Happy Oh My Friend

    5. Re:May be cool... we'll see by MrNiceguy_KS · · Score: 1

      With the right plug-ins, Calibre can also convert DRM'd books.

      --
      Redundancy is good And also good.
    6. Re:May be cool... we'll see by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      Nice, thanks for the suggestions.

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  7. Why not fix your worsening service first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Talking about Amazon Canada here. Lately their shipping and delivery has been progressively shittier. Items can sit for a week before getting shipped, often just one day before promised delivery, and still pretend they can make it. They also started using a carrier that offers no tracking information, returns package for no reason, not to mention nearly always late. They also removed the 10 day price drop protection. Amazon used to be my exclusive online shopping destination. But now I have serious hesitation ordering from them. Recently started shopping from Bestbuy and found their shipping to be a lot better.

    1. Re:Why not fix your worsening service first by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      Talking about Amazon Canada here. Lately their shipping and delivery has been progressively shittier. Items can sit for a week before getting shipped, often just one day before promised delivery, and still pretend they can make it. They also started using a carrier that offers no tracking information, returns package for no reason, not to mention nearly always late. They also removed the 10 day price drop protection. Amazon used to be my exclusive online shopping destination. But now I have serious hesitation ordering from them. Recently started shopping from Bestbuy and found their shipping to be a lot better.

      Amazon has always held packages back, usually 3 days to a week if you used free shipping. I don't care - I have Prime, because I hated spending hours looking for an item costing $1-5 to get free shipping, and the fact that with Prime, I just make individual orders (I don't know if Amazon does their "Combined" or "Individually Ship" question anymore).

      But Amazon.ca prices are quite similar to retail B&M store pricing I've found. Best Buy often has the same item cheaper in-store (at least on release day). The only reasons I shop at Amazon is because they have the item (even at full retail price), or it's a book or more obscure DVD or something that Best Buy doesn't have. It pays to comparison shop, and I'm not surprised when I walk into Best Buy and purchase something cheaper there at the store than online. I've had to convince a few people of that fact too - Amazon isn't always cheaper. IN fact, it's almost always the same price. (Except maybe books, those usually get a across the board 20% discount).

  8. And I still won't pay for it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    These perks are shit. How about some god damn price stability? I have seen a product I routinely buy vary in price from $8 to $16.

    1. Re:And I still won't pay for it by PixelPusher1532 · · Score: 1

      These perks are shit. How about some god damn price stability? I have seen a product I routinely buy vary in price from $8 to $16.

      I will be happy to stabilize that price for you at $20 if you always buy through me.

  9. Great! by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 2

    Another benefit I won't use from Amazon. Amazon Video has some good content, but they don't separate the free stuff from the pay stuff, which makes it a lot more difficult to browse through, so I just use Netflix.

    I got Prime for the free 2-day shipping, and that only seems to happen once in a blue moon. I ordered some camping gear a week in advance of my trip, and only part of order was shipped. I received a notification the day before my trip that my other part of the order hadn't shipped yet, and wouldn't arrive until after my camping trip. They offer incentives for you to use slower shipping methods, they should give you credits toward your prime membership if you select 2-day shipping and the package arrives late.

    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
    1. Re:Great! by Gilgaron · · Score: 1

      They do but you have to whine about it... they'll tack on a few months onto your prime membership each time.

    2. Re:Great! by astrokid · · Score: 1

      If your package arrives outside of the 2 day window talk to Customer Service and they'll typically give you some sort of credit; either an additional month or so of Prime or a monetary credit for your purchase.

      --

      Chewie does not get a medal. Come on, George. Can a Wookie get a medal?
    3. Re:Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh, on my Roku I just go to the Amazon Prime category and everything's free in there.

    4. Re:Great! by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

      I got Prime for the free 2-day shipping, and that only seems to happen once in a blue moon. I ordered some camping gear a week in advance of my trip, and only part of order was shipped. I received a notification the day before my trip that my other part of the order hadn't shipped yet, and wouldn't arrive until after my camping trip. They offer incentives for you to use slower shipping methods, they should give you credits toward your prime membership if you select 2-day shipping and the package arrives late.

      They do. Just call 'em up and complain.

      In fact, if your entire order was in stock and they still didn't ship it all, you can call them and they WILL credit you.

      So far, I've gotten extra months of Amazon Prime, as well as $30 off. It's there for your asking.

      I have prime in Canada because of the free 2 day, but primarily because of the unlimited nature - a lot of stuff I buy is under the free shipping limit and I find I spend hours trying to find something to bring it over. Prime lets me just order it - doesn't matter that it's $24.99 or less - free shipping. I do enough of them that I can justify it as not having to by craploads of crap.

    5. Re:Great! by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 1

      I've just cancelled Amazon Video and the main reason was because of the mixing of free and prime stuff. Too many times I've been searching for something good, stumbled across something only to discover its not actually part of prime. Also the fact that even when you find something in Prime, chances are not all seasons will be free.

      Netflix has its own flaws, but its a million miles above the annoyances of prime video.

    6. Re:Great! by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      Another benefit I won't use from Amazon. Amazon Video has some good content, but they don't separate the free stuff from the pay stuff, which makes it a lot more difficult to browse through, so I just use Netflix.

      You are aware that on both the full site and the Amazon Video app you can sort by "Included with Prime", right?

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    7. Re:Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh, on my Roku I just go to the Amazon Prime category and everything's free in there.

      This. Same with Fire TV/Stick.

    8. Re:Great! by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

      They just raised the limit to $35 for free shipping in Canada in the past couple of weeks.

    9. Re:Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I got Prime for the free 2-day shipping, and that only seems to happen once in a blue moon. I ordered some camping gear a week in advance of my trip, and only part of order was shipped. I received a notification the day before my trip that my other part of the order hadn't shipped yet, and wouldn't arrive until after my camping trip.

      This has been happening to me a lot recently. Things often don't ship until after the promised delivery date. Other say I can get a free credit (a month of Prime which is ~$2). I want to be able to order stuff and have it come on time.

    10. Re: Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "they don't separate the free stuff from the pay stuff"

      Huh? Just click the "Prime" filter checkbox. Even the Amazon app on my PS3 sorts by prime.

    11. Re:Great! by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 1

      No, I didn't. I haven't used it in a long time, so this may be a newer feature. Thanks for the tip, I'll have to check it out!

      --
      Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
  10. And in Canada by Macdude · · Score: 1

    And Amazon Prime in Canada still sucks donkey balls...

    --
    "Grab them by the pussy" -- President of the United States of America
  11. Re:Er.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you're a dipwad.

  12. Re:Er.. by wbr1 · · Score: 1
    50,000,000 = 500,000,000 * ~.5

    It's the new math.

    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
  13. Is this only in the US? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Like the Amazon Video stuff? Amazon Prime is increasingly a ripoff outside the US, no benefits whatsoever, shitty selection for free shipping...

  14. Prime Benefits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Prime's benefit is the shipping. Everything else is crap. The video and music is all crap. Want something current or decent, then you'll have to pay extra. I expect this to be more of the same crap.

    "Ooh, look! We just threw a bunch more bargain bin crap into Prime. You Prime subscribers are so lucky that we are so awesome."

  15. Finally by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

    THIS is what I call news for nerds.

  16. How about not charging $5.99 to ship Prime Pantry? by ayesnymous · · Score: 1

    Amazon Prime, where you have to pay an extra $5.99 for a box of any "pantry" items.

  17. Re: Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's nothing cool about killing trees so you can feel smug and self-righteous about owning print books.

  18. Canada is a Country by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Give us the perks too, you jerks!

  19. Re: Why don't Canadians get any of this cool stuff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Healthcare is NOT free in Canada. Each Province has a mandatory monthly premium based on income and other factor. If you employer pays for it (not likely if you are under 25 and part time), it's still a taxable benefit at regular income tax rate. Don't get me started on our tax rates or costs associated with internet and cellular service. Oh ya, we don't get to claim the interest on our primary residence home loans on our taxes either.... all that, and it's still a better place to live than that nightmare you call the United States.

  20. Search "Prime Video" - duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Search "Prime Video" - duh.

    Stupid people need to pay more.

    You know, people pay less for Netflix than you pay too, right?
    And that airplane ride? Half the people paid less than you.

    Bet I pay less for cell phone than you too.

    Stupid people need to pay more.