BookBub

BookBub is a free service that aggregates great deals on ebooks. It also helps publishers and authors find new fans. It is not a seller, rather it alerts you to limited-time offers that become available on retailers like Amazon's Kindle store, Barnes & Noble's Nook store, Apple's iBookstore, and others. I like BookBub both for the deals it provides and the interface of the site.

When you first register for the site, you are provided with all of the types of books they have. You place check marks next to the genres you like and the email(s) that are sent to you are tailored based on that information. I found two books that I wanted to read immediately after registering. Personally, I don't like emails so I turned them off and instead visit the site when I'm ready to start a new book (or just download a bunch of new books for my reading queue).

As I explored their site, I wondered how BookBub made any money and how they found all these deeply discounted books. The answer is in their "Partners Overview" under the "Publishers & Authors" section in the footer: it explains how to get a book on the site and the associated cost of that advertising. Therefore, the books are only offered for a limited time based on the submitter's choice. Also, they do not feature the same book more than once every 6 months or feature the same author more than once every 30 days.

While BookBub has requirements for submission (e.g. being error free and a full length book) it does not provide ratings (i.e. you can rate books you've read to get recommendations but there aren't average ratings from other BookBub users for each book). I hope in the future, BookBub considers that an enhancement for their site. For now, consumers should check out ratings wherever they can find them (e.g. retailer website, book review blogs, Good Reads) before purchasing the book.

I think it is a great service great for finding a book to read without a specific title (or even genre) in mind.

Ebates

Ebates is a company that gives you cash back if you click through the links of the affiliate online stores listed on their site. My older sister invited me with a glowing review (and admitting she'd get cash back for it) so I joined. I did not immediately start using the service because getting cash for clicking a link in that site seemed too good to be true, but I thought it was silly to not at least try. I made a small purchase and later I got $3 deposited into my PayPal account!

I saw later that Ebates has met accreditation standards with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) since 2000. And if you search the internet, there are plenty of reviews that validate it isn't a scam. In my opinion, it's worth the extra step!

Click the following image to join:

Kindle Unlimited

Have you heard about Amazon's new service: kindleunlimited? Of course you have. It currently offers access to 700,000 books (500 of which are public domain) and 2,000 audiobooks for $9.99/month. It also provides a complimentary 3-month Audible membership (existing members get 3 credits).

Reviews of this service generally don't talk about if it's a good idea and instead ask: is it worth the cost? Jeff Jones wrote this great review that, in my opinion, answers that question. He discusses the three factors to determine if "Netflix for books" is right for you. Per month, (1) how many books do you read? (2) how much do you spend on books? and (3) are books you want included?

All of the reviews I have posted to this blog, with the exception of Double Life, I read with the 30-day free trial Amazon is offering. That gives us 6 books (two 1-stars, three 3-stars, and one 4-star). For the moment, as I shift my reviewing focus, I am not going to continue my subscription. In the future if I continue to read 6 or more books a month, I think $9.99 will be money well-spent. But for the average consumer, as Jeff Jones indicates in his review, it is not yet worth it.