Pardon me gentlefolk...Kindle Unlimited

So, I know there are umpteen zillion "what book" threads on GRM, but this is a twist. I have just started (like, minutes ago) a 30 day kindle unlimited trial, where I can read as many KU (i.e. free) books as I want. I started the trial because I will be travelling in the near future, and thought some reading would be nice.

I got an email about KU from Amazon, and it had Man in the High Tower advertised, whose premise I've been intrigued by (and also I've been told the book is better than the series), so I took the plunge.

I'm not an avid reader, but if a book gets its talons in me, I will read it voraciously until finished. The issue is, I almost always have to be told a book is good to pick it up. I'm not bound to an author (book pun intended), and don't really know how to pick good books. I'll read si-fi, fantasy, conspiracy thrillers, I'm not opposed to teen-targeted stuff so long as it's not too cutesy (I unashamedly rather enjoyed the Hunger games stuff).

What other titles on Kindle Unlimited should I add to my queue? What says the hive?

Harry Potter sounds like it'd be right up your alley if you haven't wandered down that road yet.

Lonesome Dove is my favorite book of all time, and I always have to recommend it. A Western that is very historically accurate. Slow start, but just get through the first 100 pages. Won a Pulitzer prize.

Oh--I have no clue if those are on KU. I've never heard of KU. I doubt HP is, but Lonesome Dove might be.

Old Man's War by John Scalzi, The Control of Nature by Andrew McPhee, Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds

Good luck on finding things on KU. My wife has it, but ever time I looked for something that was recommended, it wasn't available.

However, along the lines of HP. I just started reading "The Dresden Files" series and am hooked into it. I know I'll be finishing the series before the year is out. It's about a modern day, crime fighting wizard.

-Rob

I had the KU for a while and didn't realize it. I unknowingly used it a few times, but didn't take full advantage of it. I cancelled it when I noticed the extra $9.99 monthly charge.

You still get a lot of "free" downloads and free "borrowing" with just the Prime membership anyway. I would see if any authors/books you're are interested in are already free to you before signing up for the extra charge of KU.

I don't mind paying $5-$8 for an occasional book if it's not on the free Prime list anyway.

you can get kindle mostly unlimited from your local library.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote: you can get kindle mostly unlimited from your local library.

Via Kindle or lending from the library? I signed up at my local library to download books to my iPad and it's really cool, but seems like a normal library, so if something's checked out, you have to wait. Or, if you didn't finish a book in time and someone else reserved it, you have to wait again to check it out.

-Rob

Javelin wrote: *Pushing Ice* by Alastair Reynolds

Need more info on this. I've got ~ 6 audio books by him. I threw in the towel after 3 of them for several reasons. I still have hope though.

Mrs 4CF has been using a real kindle for years. I had been piggy backing off her account (until about a year ago when single-sign-in ruined that). We just paid for books as we decided to read them. Shes in a book club, so shes always got a few books on the horizon.

Like I said, I usually just read a book here and there when I get one as a gift, or when i hear a lot about a title from ppl I know. KU is totally new to me. I dont have Prime, I dont buy enough from Amazon to warrant it. This is a free 30-day trial of KU, Im really on the fence about keeping it up after that. I'm not sure I would read enough, even with unlimited books, for it to pay for itself versus buying individual books.

That said, if I had several good book suggestions, it might sway me to crack open the pocketbook for a few months to see if it worth it to me.

I found the Kindle Fire to be a platform I pay for that shoves ads down my throat under the guise of providing me with access to books I pay for.

I wiped it clean, installed CyanogenMod Android and just added the kindle app and now it does whatever I want it to do... plus gives me access to all my books without Amazon anal probing me all day long.

lol...agreed - but, the kindle paperwhite units of old rarely had ads of any kind, so she actually prefers it. I use the Kindle app on my phone, and find it adequate.

As soon as the warranty on my Fire is up, its getting a custom ROM. It may or may not become a dedicated automotive unit...

ProDarwin wrote:

Javelin wrote: *Pushing Ice* by Alastair Reynolds

Need more info on this. I've got ~ 6 audio books by him. I threw in the towel after 3 of them for several reasons. I still have hope though.

I find his stuff hit or miss, too. The stuff that's all in the same "universe" (Revelation Space) isn't that great, it's the stand-alone books that are good. I enjoyed House of Suns and Terminal World as well. Pushing Ice is about a comet-retrieval ship that happens to be perfectly placed for a chase/intercept when an alien ship is mysteriously awakened and shoots out of the system, but the catch is they'd never make it home. Really cool story.

Javelin wrote:

ProDarwin wrote:

Javelin wrote: *Pushing Ice* by Alastair Reynolds

Need more info on this. I've got ~ 6 audio books by him. I threw in the towel after 3 of them for several reasons. I still have hope though.

I find his stuff hit or miss, too. The stuff that's all in the same "universe" (Revelation Space) isn't that great, it's the stand-alone books that are good. I enjoyed *House of Suns* and *Terminal World* as well. *Pushing Ice* is about a comet-retrieval ship that happens to be perfectly placed for a chase/intercept when an alien ship is mysteriously awakened and shoots out of the system, but the catch is they'd never make it home. Really cool story.

Interesting.

I listened to Terminal World. Some really cool concepts there, but I thought it kinda fizzled toward the end.

Chasm City was a bit better. Actually the back story was cooler than the main plot. Again I thought the main plot ending was kinda weak.

Century Rain was the first one I listened to, I enjoyed it the most.

I think ultimately I got tired of listening to a book 30 Hours long only to have it just end. I'm expecting a more climactic ending or some big reveal or something. I'm really hesitant to try Revelation Space after a similar experience in a big sci-fi future universe - Pandora's Star by Peter F Hamilton. 30+ hours long, many parallel plot lines, and not one of them has any sort of closure at the end. I guess you have to read the second or third book to get that

I have a Kindle paper white, and I enjoy ready Harry Turtledove who writes alternate history books and Ryk Brown has The Frontier Saga which is sci fi that resembles Star Trek.