This is sure to shake things up.
Here's a story by David Pogue (NYT technology writer) Amazon Lights the Fire With Free Books - NYTimes.com
It looks like the library can only be accessed from the kindle device, not the online account. This is a pain because the kindle browsing capabilities are primitive. The lending library is organized by category, titles are presented in order of popularity and you cannot do a title search limited to the lending library. Still, for people that like to browse and read, this is a nice offering.Dear Customers,
Today we're announcing a new benefit for Kindle owners with an Amazon Prime membership: the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.
Kindle owners can now choose from thousands of books to borrow for free, including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers — as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. No other e-reader or ebook store offers such a service.
Here's a story by David Pogue (NYT technology writer) Amazon Lights the Fire With Free Books - NYTimes.com
“Titles in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library come from a range of publishers under a variety of terms,” Amazon says. “For the vast majority of titles, Amazon has reached agreement with publishers to include titles for a fixed fee. In some cases, Amazon is purchasing a title each time it is borrowed by a reader under standard wholesale terms as a no-risk trial to demonstrate to publishers the incremental growth and revenue opportunity that this new service presents.”
Wow. Amazon is actually buying e-books to give you for free.
./.
Crazy, no?
I’m not sure what free shipping has to do with free movies and now free books. I’m not sure why more people aren’t skeptical of a huge corporation giving stuff away; there’s a “too good to be true” aspect to it.
But I do know this: Amazon Prime is looking like a better deal every day. Darned near irresistible, in fact.
And I also know this: Amazon is thinking outside the business-school box. Way outside. And you gotta love anyone who comes along to shake things up.
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