Horror Aficionados discussion

Hi friends!

I notice a lot of our group reads pop up free to read on Kindle Unlimited so I'm considering investing in the subscription. Mostly I prefer paperbacks because I'm slack at reading e-books but also figure this may help, so just thought I would gather some feedback from people who have it!

So I'm curious what you like about it, what you don't like about it, how much you use it, etc. Any feedback much appreciated! :)

Hi Krystal!

I prefer physical books too. But, I love Kindle Unlimited because there are a lot of books I can read for my groups that are available there. Even some of my graphic novels. I read all genres and find tons to read and if I love them (depending on how much I love them) I can buy the physical or the kindle edition to add to my collection. Sometimes there are duds and it’s fine because I read it with ku first. So, for me it actually pays off. I’ve also found a lot of gems that way.

I hope that helps 😊
Mel

I just started my free trial earlier this evening, lol. Since I read so much, I figured I'd give it a try as it would save me money in the long run.💁🏼‍♀️ And I like what Mel said... if I like a book a lot, then I could always buy it to add to my collection. 😁

In terms of individual reading, I don't see KU worth the cost. There are just so many free books available. I currently have over 20,000 Kindle books in the Amazon Cloud. 99.9% of them were free.

Depending on the reading group, maybe you could have them focus on a free book when an appropriate one is available? I publish lists of them pretty much every day, rotating between various genres:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I usually only pay out actual money for books after a free book has found me a new favorite author. Then I either use my monthly prime lending option or purchase their other books to finish out a series.

There are a lot of bad free books out there, but since I have so many available, if I am not enjoying a book, I just move it to my DNF shelf and go on to the next one.

I'm not sure I could even go back to a physical book. I like the ability to increase the font size as I needed.

Vickie wrote: "I just started my free trial earlier this evening, lol. Since I read so much, I figured I'd give it a try as it would save me money in the long run.💁🏼‍♀️ And I like what Mel said... if I like a boo..."

That’s funny 😃

I’ve actually had KU for several years and still enjoy it and plan on using it for however long. As many books as I read yearly, this isn’t a problem for me. I love KU and it’s up to you if you actually use it a lot.

I prefer physical books but do to Soave I have to limit those. I do like using digital as you can get your almost perfect size for your eyes. I can save my glasses for physical 😉

Yes, I do prefer the physical copy too, there's no better feeling! However, I've found digital to be super convenient at times, especially when I'm on a cardio machine like an elliptical. 😉

I don’t do machines. I will hike the mountain and enjoy nature. I would like to get a treadmill but I would watch hiking videoes if I could afford to get one and listen to audio books. I could never walk a treadmill or exercise equipment while actually reading! I would be sick 😳

Thanks for the feedback so far!

Vickie what a coincidence that you just started your trial! I have definitely read e-books on my phone while at the gym in the past. Mostly when I'm doing my 'wind down' cardio and want it to pass as fast as possible lol Like Melissa, I'd much prefer to do my cardio in nature - not that I have a lot nearby to appreciate!

Randy I originally got the Kindle app and told myself I'd only use it for free e-books! But this group has already tempted me into paying a couple bucks here and there for a few books haha. So I'm trying to work out whether I invest or try and work on my susceptibility to temptation haha

Melissa I do like your idea of the whole 'try before you buy'! Do you use the audios as well?

I get three different emails with kindle sales. I get a lot of the books I love in sales. There are also a few free ones. I mean I don’t mind paying for kindle unlimited

I have Audible so I have books there and I do buy physical books from favorite authors etc. And I still borrow audio and e-books from the library 😉

Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ wrote: "I get three different emails with kindle sales. I get a lot of the books I love in sales. There are also a few free ones. I mean I don’t mind paying for kindle unlimited

I have Audible so I have ..."

I get the feeling you might read a LOT more than me lol I get through 10-15 books a month if I'm lucky, and less if I'm reading e-books!

Yes, I do read a lot 😂🤣

Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ wrote: "I don’t do machines. I will hike the mountain and enjoy nature. I would like to get a treadmill but I would watch hiking videoes if I could afford to get one and listen to audio books. I could neve..."

Yeah, motion and reading has never bothered me, probably because I would read in the car all the time as a kid.😊 I would go insane on a cardio machine if I didn't have reading to take my mind off the mundane part of it. Listening to music or watching tv isn't enough for me. I know, I'm a weirdo.😄

Yeah, I would rather watch uplifting nature stuff or listen to audio 😉

Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ wrote: "I get three different emails with kindle sales. I get a lot of the books I love in sales. There are also a few free ones. I mean I don’t mind paying for kindle unlimited

I have Audible so I have ..."

Yay for mentioning the library as a source of e-books! I've found a lot of great genre reads (SF & horror & fantasy) in our library's e-collection. Even though the physical facility is closed right now, I can still go online & borrow an e-book from them in a couple of minutes. And it's free.

Our libraries aren’t free 😕. Mom pays $50 a year for the tiny one and I pay $50 a year for our little bit bigger one. And we still don’t get that many available 😫

Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ wrote: "Our libraries aren’t free 😕. Mom pays $50 a year for the tiny one and I pay $50 a year for our little bit bigger one. And we still don’t get that many available 😫"

Your local public library isn't free to borrow from???? Yikes.

Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ wrote: "Our libraries aren’t free 😕. Mom pays $50 a year for the tiny one and I pay $50 a year for our little bit bigger one. And we still don’t get that many available 😫"

Wow! I thought most libraries were free these days! I must say, it's been a while since I set foot in one. I am a bit of a mood reader so its not unusual for books to languish on my shelf for months (or years) before being read. So I'd be constantly having to return books unread I think lol

I tried to suss out e-books through the local library website but it was a mess to navigate so I gave up. Kindle seems a much more efficient way to find titles I want.

Ann wrote: "Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ wrote: "Our libraries aren’t free 😕. Mom pays $50 a year for the tiny one and I pay $50 a year for our little bit bigger one. And we still don’t get that many available 😫..."

Nope! We’ve paid for years now 😕

Krystal wrote: "Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ wrote: "Our libraries aren’t free 😕. Mom pays $50 a year for the tiny one and I pay $50 a year for our little bit bigger one. And we still don’t get that many available 😫..."

They should be 😕

Zeejane -or- The Wandering Bunny wrote: "Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ wrote: "Our libraries aren’t free 😕. Mom pays $50 a year for the tiny one and I pay $50 a year for our little bit bigger one. And we still don’t get that many available 😫..."

I’ll look into it later. We are already paying $50 each to the two in our town. I looked at a bunch of them and don’t know if I looked at Brooklyn. I was looking at Houston as it is a big one but whichever one I called didn’t take credit cards. You had to send a check 😕

Zeejane -or- The Wandering Bunny wrote: "Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ wrote: "Zeejane -or- The Wandering Bunny wrote: "Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ wrote: "Our libraries aren’t free 😕. Mom pays $50 a year for the tiny one and I pay $50 a year..."

Well that’s awesome!! I might get that one next! Thank you 😃

Did you call them and get them to help?

Awesome!!! I use my library’s Libby and Hoopla so I hope they have that.

Zeejane -or- The Wandering Bunny wrote: "Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ wrote: "Awesome!!! I use my library’s Libby and Hoopla so I hope they have that."

I know for sure they use Libby, not sure about Hoopla though? I always forget about tha..."

That’s okay! I have that already 😃

I started the free trial yesterday. I'm not sure to go with it because I seem to cannot find the ebooks I want to read in KU. Is it juste me or did you have to adjust your book reads to fit with KU's collection? Or maybe is it because I'm using amazon.fr (though I never had that kind of trouble so far with Amazon)...

KU is primarily self-published Kindle books, so it's unlikely you'll find mainstream authors and mainstream publishers, if that's what you're looking for?

No, I'm looking for not so renown authors or books, mainly what I can read about and find here in HA discussions. Basically I searched for the last books I read and some of my TBR and most of them (80+%) are unavailable in KU but are available to buy.

Probably some type of contractual issue between regions...?

That's what I'm afraid, yes...

Seb wrote: "No, I'm looking for not so renown authors or books, mainly what I can read about and find here in HA discussions. Basically I searched for the last books I read and some of my TBR and most of them ..."

I've found a lot of the group reads (particularly guest author reads) have been available on KU - but maybe it's only a limited time thing? Or region?

For what it's worth, I put an end to the free trial and will not proceed any further with KU. The collection is clearly too poor for me who read in English and my spouse who reads in French. It's probably a question of regions and authorizations, I guess. Too bad though, I had high hopes at first :-(