Amazon Prime Reading is the best-kept secret for bookworms

With thousands of titles available to download, you can enjoy this extensive library on almost any device

Louise Whitbread
Thursday 11 January 2024 06:24 EST
Prime Reading is just one of many perks you can get with Prime membership
Prime Reading is just one of many perks you can get with Prime membership (The Independent)

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Amazon is the top retailer to go to if you want fast delivery on pretty much any item you can think of, from TVs to toothpaste. But besides the usual shopping pages, the retailer also has a number of hidden sections, where you can find even better deals and discounts – think Amazon Warehouse, where you can shop returned items such as Fitbits and Shark vacuums, and Amazon Outlet, the retailer's clearance section, where you can find products with as much as 70 per cent off their original RRPs.

If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’ll know the £8.99 per month fee, or £95 annual one-off payment, grants you access to unlimited next-day delivery, along with the use of Prime Video and Prime Music for all your entertainment needs.

However, there’s also Amazon Reading: a lesser-known section to which Prime members have exclusive access. Whether you’re an avid reader looking to build your book pile for 2024 or want to get stuck into a new tome during the dreariest month of the year (sorry, January), this could present a goldmine of content to enjoy.

Hosting a collection of books, magazines and comic books, it’s a well-kept secret that we think needs to be on your radar.

What is Amazon Prime Reading?

Prime Reading is a library of fiction and non-fiction books, popular magazines such as Cosmopolitan and New Scientist, and comic books such as Avengers vs Thanos, that Prime members can access.

There are thousands of titles in every genre, from mystery thrillers and children's books to romance and science fiction, and the selection ranges from new and notable reads to classic titles, from Jane Austen’s novels to Shakespeare’s plays, and books from the Harry Potter series.

Within the collection, there’s also a series dedicated to Amazon original stories, which are reads from authors that Amazon has commissioned.

Subscribe to Amazon Prime

Do you need a Kindle to enjoy Amazon Prime Reading?

You don’t necessarily need to have a Kindle to read the books – simply download the Kindle app, which is available for iOS and Android phones and tablets, and you can access all the titles for free. The app works in a similar way to Kindle devices.

The Kindle cloud reader also means you can read your selected books on your computer, by simply clicking on the “Read now in the Kindle cloud reader” button.

Before you go wild and try to download the entire library to peruse at your leisure, Amazon only allows 10 Prime Reading books to be downloaded at once, which is a good way to stay on top of your reading material.

It’s also easily accessible via your Kindle or Fire tablet, and books can be read on your device directly from the Prime Reading pages.

If you don’t already have a Kindle but are considering adding one to your basket next time you visit the site, the Amazon Kindle paperwhite earned the top spot in our guide to the best eReaders to fuel your inner bookworm.

Amazon Kindle paperwhite: £84.99, Amazon.co.uk

(Amazon)

“The design is elegant, with the screen flush to the frame” said our reviewer. “The front light has also been improved recently to make it subtler and adjustable in terms of warmth as well as brightness. Like the oasis, the paperwhite is waterproof, and able to withstand submersion in 2m of water for up to an hour.”

Additional features include physical page-turn buttons and automatic brightness that adjusts according to the light in the room you’re in. Our reviewer also loved that you can navigate pages without losing your place, and you can listen to Audible audiobooks with Bluetooth headphones too. “The paperwhite is the best balance of advanced features and reasonable price of any Kindle, or any other ebook reader,” our reviewer concluded.

Buy now

Voucher codes

For the latest discounts on audiobooks, try the link below:

Looking for more reading inspiration? Amazon’s Kindle book store sale has reduced titles to just 99p

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