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Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon, demonstrates a Kindle paperwhite tablet in 2012. / Reed Saxon, AP

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that all titles self-published on Amazon.com would automatically be included in Kindle Unlimited. The titles automatically included in Kindle Unlimited are those published using Kindle Direct Publishing Select, which publishes books exclusively on Amazon Kindle.

It's official: Amazon has launched a Netflix-style subscription service for e-books.

The new Kindle Unlimited service -- details of which leaked earlier in the week -- will allow customers to "freely read as much as they want from over 600,000 Kindle books, and listen as much as they want to thousands of Audible audiobooks, all for only $9.99 a month," Amazon said in a press release.

All Kindle Unlimited subscribers will have to do is find books that are eligible and then click a "Read for Free" button. But what books are actually being offered?

The release did not give specific details about which publishers are involved in the service, although it does list a number of blockbuster books and series as being available. The Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games books, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series are all mentioned specifically. A quick browse of the Kindle Unlimited page on the Amazon website shows that Water for Elephants, Life of Pi and The Giver are all available. It's worth noting that Amazon has been making waves in the press over its fight with the publisher Hachette, which revolves around e-book pricing.

But in addition to some well-known titles, self-published books will likely make up much of the Unlimited library. The publishing industry newsletter Publisher's Lunch reported that the terms of service for Amazon's self-publishing service Kindle Direct Publishing Select have changed in light of the Kindle Unlimited announcement: All titles self-published using KDP Select are "automatically" included in Kindle Unlimited.

As the newsletter notes, the majority of the "over 600,000" available Kindle Unlimited books are likely 500,000 self-published titles. Also included are several classics, like Robinson Crusoe, that are available as free e-books outside of Kindle Unlimited.

Users will be able to download up to 10 books at a time through Kindle Unlimited. The service is compatible with all Kindle devices as well as Apple iOS and Google Android devices that have the Kindle app installed. It is only available to U.S. customers.

If you're interested in trying the service, Amazon is offering a free 30-day trial for Kindle Unlimited.



Copyright 2014USAToday

Read the original story: What does Kindle Unlimited mean for readers?

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