Prime Books

[joangolfing]

Any body finding the Prime lending library difficult to find and use.  I just returned a book and expected it to allow me to immediately get a new book.  It still thinks I have the book so won't let me choose a new one.

[KimberlyinMN]

Any body finding the Prime lending library difficult to find and use.  I just returned a book and expected it to allow me to immediately get a new book.  It still thinks I have the book so won't let me choose a new one.

You can only borrow one Prime book a month.

[Dragle]

When I borrowed a book (mid-December) it gave me a message that I would have to wait until Jan. 1st to borrow again, so it apparently goes by calendar month rather than amount of time since date of previous borrow.

[Betsy the Quilter]

Any body finding the Prime lending library difficult to find and use.  I just returned a book and expected it to allow me to immediately get a new book.  It still thinks I have the book so won't let me choose a new one.

It's not one book at a time, it's one book a month (and based on what others have posted here, it's based on the calendar month).  There are links one can use to browse only Prime eligible books using your web browser, and from one's Kindle, there's a menu choice in the Kindle store to browse only Prime eligible books.

It's pretty simple once you get used to it.

EDIT:  Here's a link to the Prime eligible books, now up to 62000+ choices.


Betsy

[kindlegrl81]

You are not having problems with Prime lending....your expectations were just wrong 

[jbcohen]

Since prime is one a month I can't really base a prime membership on books, I figure books are worth $4, will have to look at the other benefits.

[KimberlyinMN]

Since prime is one a month I can't really base a prime membership on books, I figure books are worth $4, will have to look at the other benefits.

Yeah, I don't think I'd sign up for Prime just to get one book a month. To me, that's sort of a little "bonus". I like the free 2-day shipping - or one-day for $3.99 per item.  I haven't even watched any of the movies yet. (I keep forgetting about that.)

[Atunah]

I think its easier for me to just do the returning as I am getting the new one. That is what I did for the December book. I just went to my Kindle to borrow and it told me then to return the old one first and then I had the new one.
I kind of like that it is by calender month, its easier to keep track off. I still haven't read the December book I got, but I technically have until the end of January to get it done so I can still get the January book without missing a month.

I have prime for everything else so its a bonus, but I'll make sure to get my 12 books a year out of it.  Between it, the library lending and the sales that have been going on in the Kindle store, I have been a very happy camper  .

I do think some people are a little confused when they only read the part about one book at a time.
Its really one book per calender month and one book at a time. For me since I read a lot, every little bit helps.

I think its quite generous.

But yeah, prime for me is way more than the book lending. It saved Christmas this year for hubby's daughter so I guess its priceless now 

[Beatriz]

Any body finding the Prime lending library difficult to find and use.  I just returned a book and expected it to allow me to immediately get a new book.  It still thinks I have the book so won't let me choose a new one.

You have to wait a month to get a new one.  The libraries give you only three books and you can renew them but I guess the Kindle doesn't.

[Jan Strnad]

It's hard to imagine Prime being worth it ONLY for the books, but I'll check into the movie streaming. If you buy a lot from Amazon and aren't happy with super-saver shipping, it could be worthwhile. It's a package of benefits, so you have to look at the whole package to see if it's worthwhile.

[Betsy the Quilter]

You have to wait a month to get a new one.  The libraries give you only three books and you can renew them but I guess the Kindle doesn't.

Note that the number of books that can be checked out of libraries varies by the library system.  Mine is 8 or 10 at a time or something like that.  (EDIT:  It's 10 at a time, I just checked.)

Betsy

[Atunah]

At my local library I can have 15 out at the same time and the long distance one its 10. I have to pace myself with putting stuff on hold as Murphy's law states they will all come available at the same time anyway 

But I do read a lot so its handy.

[tubemonkey]

It definitely varies. At my three primary libraries, I'm allowed to check out 20, 25, and 30 books at a time for up to three weeks each.

[joangolfing]

A think that borrowing from my library will be my choice for getting free books to read.  The Prime Book selection is quite limited and with the use of calendar month rotation it isn't always easy to start a book at the beginning of each month. This is a good discussion and explains that issue.

[Ann in Arlington]

A think that borrowing from my library will be my choice for getting free books to read.  The Prime Book selection is quite limited and with the use of calendar month rotation it isn't always easy to start a book at the beginning of each month. This is a good discussion and explains that issue.

Well, you don't have to start at the beginning of a month.  I could borrow one now. . . Of course, if I finish it tomorrow and return it, I still can't borrow again until January.  And I can borrow anytime in January; I just have to return this one before they'll let me. OTOH, most public libraries will allow more than one check out at a time. 

However, they also probably have a limited lending period. . .one advantage with books in the Prime Lending program is that you don't have to return it within 3 weeks -- or whatever set time your library requires.  You can take 2 or 3 months to finish it. So it might be a really good option for longer books as you wouldn't have to keep renewing which, if there's a wait list, might be hard to do.

[Matthew W. Grant]

That'sgood to know that it's based on the calendar month, not a month from the date of the borrow.

I think there is going to be a lot of confusion/disappointment for a while with the borrowing aspect of Prime membership. 

[joangolfing]

I learned from these comments that the best reason for getting Prime Books for me is the length of the lending period.  I need some help in using the Prime Eligible section to search for specific books that I want.  I can get it to show me all the categories and lists but I can't seem to just put in a title and check if that is on the Prime free list.

Help me with the search process in the Prime Eligible section.

[Betsy the Quilter]

If the book is available for Prime lending, it should say "Prime members read for free" under the price on the book's page.  If that is not there, it's not available through Prime.  Bear in mind that only about 92,000 out of Amazon's gazillion books are available for Prime lending, though that is a huge uptick from what it was when the program was first announced.

What particular book are you looking for, we can check to make sure it's not available.

Betsy

[Ann in Arlington]

Also, perhaps it bears mentioning:  even if you find the book on your computer, you can't borrow it by sending like you can when you BUY it.  To borrow you have to get to it via the Kindle store on the Kindle.  But once you've done that on one device, it shows up under Books on MYK just like anything else and you can send it to any device (not apps) like any other book.

[Vicki G.]

My local library (Houston) allows 5 books to be checked out at a time for a 14 day period.  However, they don't allow renewals.  If you want to renew, you have to check the book out again, depending of course, on whether it is available.

Just wondering if anyone's public library allows renewals. 

And whoever said Murphy's Law makes certain that all your 'holds' come in at one time was absolutely correct!!   

[Serena Fairfax]

Westminster Public Library (several branches) allows renewals (up to 5 renewals unless the book is wanted by someone else). Books can be borrowed for 3 weeks in the first  instance. Books designated by the library as "Quick reads" can be borrowed for 2 weeks. I reserve books online (modest reservation fee) and the library emails me when they're ready for collection at a local branch. The library also emails me when the book is due back (handy -in order to avoid payment of a fine!) When I go to the library to collect/return books, it's an electronic process. I swipe my library card, place the books in a hatch, the titles appear on a screen above the hatch and I either take the books  (if collecting) or drop them through a slot alongside the screen (if returning ). To pay a fine or reservation fee, one just presses a button and feeds the correct amount of money into the mouth of the machine. The joy of it is that even if there's a fine or reservation fee outstanding, it doesn't mean one can't keep on borrowing! (athough I suspect that when one hits a certain (unknown) number one will probably have to settle up).

[Betsy the Quilter]

Westminster Public Library (several branches) allows renewals (up to 5 renewals unless the book is wanted by someone else). Books can be borrowed for 3 weeks in the first  instance. Books designated by the library as "Quick reads" can be borrowed for 2 weeks. I reserve books online (modest reservation fee) and the library emails me when they're ready for collection at a local branch. The library also emails me when the book is due back (handy -in order to avoid payment of a fine!) When I go to the library to collect/return books, it's an electronic process. I swipe my library card, place the books in a hatch, the titles appear on a screen above the hatch and I either take the books  (if collecting) or drop them through a slot alongside the screen (if returning ). To pay a fine or reservation fee, one just presses a button and feeds the correct amount of money into the mouth of the machine. The joy of it is that even if there's a fine or reservation fee outstanding, it doesn't mean one can't keep on borrowing! (athough I suspect that when one hits a certain (unknown) number one will probably have to settle up).

That's not e-books, though, Serena?

Betsy

[CaitLondon]

I noticed today that the Free 100 had many Gutenberg.org public domain books, and earlier they were regular books. So wondering if the Prime membership, cost 0.00 has affected the regular free books list.

[ak rain]

I keep finding free books and realizing that its free for prime and buy for this much. I would like a different list for the books. I dont plan to get prime.
sylvia

[BTackitt]

The only problem with that is, many of those Free for Prime, also go Free for all for a few days at a time. Some only one, two, or three days before going back to normal pricing.