Looking for a way to cut expenses? Well, depending on how many books you read in a month, you might enjoy a subscription to Kindle Unlimited. Kindle Unlimited has been a hit in our home and a fun way to sample, borrow, and read an unlimited number of eBooks. But before you sign up, there are a few things you need to understand.

7 Things to Know About Kindle Unlimited

1. Kindle Unlimited costs $9.99 per month. You can cancel your subscription at any time. If you do not cancel before the next month your membership will automatically renew.
2. If you cancel your subscription early, you will still pay the entire $9.99 for the current month you have been using.
3. You are borrowing the books — you do not own them. Therefore, when your subscription ends you will lose your books (and notes).
4. You can borrow as many books during the month as you like up to 10 at a time.
5. Audio versions are available for some books.
6. Books regularly come and go from the program.
7. If you don’t have a Kindle reading device you can download one of the Kindle apps and still use the service on your device.

 

How I Use Kindle Unlimited

First, I pull a subset of books from the list of titles that I would like to read that are available in the Kindle Unlimited program. I typically find these as I go or see which titles on my current reading list are available through Kindle Unlimited. To make the most of the service, it is a good idea to have a good, long list before subscribing. I also check with others in the family to see if there are any titles they might like to read and add those to my list (they need to have Kindles registered under your account to do this).

If you want to browse the Kindle Unlimited titles, you can visit the Kindle store, select your category from the menu on the left, and click the “Kindle Unlimited Eligible” box.

One caveat here: be aware that many of the titles come and go from the Kindle Unlimited selection. Depending on the publisher, what is available on Kindle Unlimited today may only be available for a limited time. Unfortunately, I have seen some books I really wanted to read come and go before I got to them.

Once I have a good list to work from, I start my subscription. It usually only takes me about a month to work through my books, so I cancel near the end of the month. We usually end up browsing through and reading at least ten titles during our subscription month, which makes our cost less than $1 per book.

Typically, the better books will have already been published in hardcover or paperback. There are several great homeschool titles that have been available through Kindle Unlimited in the past that meet this criteria, for example:

• Climbing Parnassus by Tracy Lee Simmons
• The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric by Sister Miriam Joseph
• Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater

Or titles that are currently available:

• I Saw the Angel in the Marble by Chris and Ellyn Davis
  Eclectic homeschooling.
• I Carved the Angel from the Marble by Ellyn Davis
  Eclectic homeschooling.
• How Your Child Learns Best: Learning Styles and Preferences by Ellyn Davis
  Learning styles.
• No Regrets: How Homeschooling Earned me a Master’s Degree at Age 16 by Alexandra Swann
  Accelerated learning.
• A Twaddle-Free Education: An Introduction to Charlotte Mason’s Timeless Educational Ideas by Deborah Taylor-Hough
  Charlotte Mason
• Westward Ho!: An Activity Guide to the Wild West (Hands-On History) by Laurie Carlson
  A hand-on activity book for the young ones.

Kindle Unlimited will work best for voracious readers. If you only read one book a month, you’ll probably not be able to get your dollar’s worth.

If you haven’t tried Kindle Unlimited before, you may be eligible for their 30-day free trial. That will give you a chance to see if it is for you.

Happy reading!

 

Additional Resources

Kindle Unlimited Terms of Use
Check these out before you sign up.

Kindle Unlimited FAQs
You’ll also want to read this to learn more.