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Have you heard of Amazon First Reads? If not, you’re missing out on a great benefit that is included in your Prime membership! Let’s right dive in!
What Is Amazon First Reads?
Each month, the editors pick 8 or 9 new releases in popular genres that Amazon then offers early access to. Each book includes an editor’s note on why you’ll love it. This program is called Amazon First Reads (previously known as Kindle First) and is available in the US, UK, and Australia.
Early access to great books? Count me in!
What Does Amazon First Reads Cost?
If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can download one of the six books each month for free! Neat, right? Now, if you want to grab more than one of the new releases, you can, but you only get the first one free. After that, each one is $1.99.
If you don’t have Prime, you can still take advantage of the program—you’ll just have to pay $1.99 for each of the Kindle books, which is still a great price for these popular books, which are usually at least $4.99 or more to buy regularly.
Whether or not you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’ll also get up to 50% off on select print books. Unfortunately, this benefit is not yet available in Australia.
You can browse the monthly picks here.
When Are the Monthly Picks Published?
These go up at the start of every month, so you’ve got the entire month to choose one. If you don’t want to have to check the Amazon First Reads page monthly, you can also sign up for the newsletter at the top of this page.
Do I Get to Keep the Book?
Yes! You’re still “buying” the book, even if you’re getting it for free, so the book is yours to keep. But make sure to grab it before the month is up and it goes back to full price!
Amazon First Reads Relationship to Kindle Unlimited
All of the Amazon First Reads books become Kindle Unlimited books once they are officially published. So if you have a Kindle Unlimited membership, you can still read the other picks without paying an extra penny. Of course, like with other books you borrow, you cannot keep them, so it’s still a good idea to grab one for free with your Prime membership.
Wondering what other ways you can read ebooks for free with your Amazon Prime membership? This post will give you some great tips!
Do you use Amazon First Reads? What great books have you gotten from the program? Let us know in the comments below!
Happy reading!
I really wish they offered some nonfiction choices for First Reads.
Amazon seems to know everything about me, especially all of the books I’ve already bought/read from their Kindle store. I’ve read a number of First Reads over the years. But it seems like the past year or so they are promoting books that have absolutely no interest to me. I would think that they could certainly allow for more fine-tuning of the list either by what they already know about me (or any customer) and with some simple selections in our profiles. Do you happen to know if there is a contact at Amazon First Reads who might be interested in ideas? We are all more likely to buy books from First Read authors if they are better matched with our interests.
I have been selecting free First Reads every month, but now I want to start reading them. Where are they on my iPad? They are not in my “Books” app. Do I need a Kindle app.?
Yep, you’ll need to download the Kindle app from the Apple Store and sign in to your Amazon account on the app. Then you’ll be able to see your books.
I enjoy checking out the titles every month. I’m a top-ranked reviewer at Amazon, so I sometimes get them even earlier so I can post an early review.
Love Prime First Reads, but I wish they had more genres available. The editors seem to love mysteries/thrillers and “literary” fiction… and give short shrift to romance and speculative fiction. Of course, the only nonfiction you see are memoirs… so nonfiction is under-served as well! Because the genres are so limited, I feel like some months I actuallyhave no or little choice!
Even though I’ve taken advantage of this for years, I can’t say that any particular one is a favorite read.
By the way, now they typically offer 9 books per month, not just six. (And I swear I haven’t seen subsequent ones for $1.99 after you get the first one free in a LONG time.) And one is always a children’s book. Two months out of the year (October and ???) they let you choose two books. The books usually stay at full price $4.99 for their first month and then enter Kindle Unlimited in their second month of publication.