You better hope your Amazon Prime membership is current because you are in for a treat. Starting today, the entire Harry Potter series of eBooks are now available to be borrowed in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL).
Amazon, in order to offer these books for free to people wanting to borrow a book every month, made an exclusive licensing arrangement with Pottermore. You can borrow them now directly via Amazon with no need to visit the official Harry Potter website.
The Kindle Owners’ Lending Library now features over 145,000 books for US customers to borrow for free, including over 100 current and former New York Times Best Sellers. With the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, there are no due dates and books can be borrowed as frequently as once a month. Unlike traditional library lending, there are no limits on the number of copies available or how many people can simultaneously borrow the same title. Readers never have to wait in line for the book they want.
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SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jun. 19, 2012– (NASDAQ:AMZN) – Starting today, Amazon.com customers can now borrow all seven Harry Potter books in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL). The Kindle Owners’ Lending Library is a benefit of Amazon Prime membership where Kindle owners can choose from over 145,000 books to borrow for free as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. Prime members also enjoy free two-day shipping on millions of items and unlimited streaming of more than 18,000 movies and TV episodes.
“Nowhere else can customers borrow any of the seven Harry Potter books for free, with an unlimited supply of each title and no waiting list,” said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President, Kindle Content. “A $79 Prime membership was already the best deal in retail, and now it’s become even more valuable.”
Harry Potter is the all-time best-selling book series in history, and Amazon has purchased an exclusive license from J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore to make the addition of these titles possible. The Kindle Owners’ Lending Library now features over 145,000 books for US customers to borrow for free, including over 100 current and former New York Times Best Sellers. With the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, there are no due dates and books can be borrowed as frequently as once a month. Unlike traditional library lending, there are no limits on the number of copies available, and how many people can simultaneously borrow the same title. Readers never have to wait in line for the book they want.
Just as with any other Kindle book, customer notes, highlights and bookmarks in borrowed books will be saved, so they’ll have them later if customers purchase or re-borrow the book. Books are borrowed from a Kindle device, and customers can have one book out at a time. When customers want to borrow a new book, any borrowed book can easily be returned right from their device. To learn more about the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, visit www.amazon.com/kindleownerslendinglibrary. To learn about all the additional benefits included with Amazon Prime, or to start an Amazon Prime free trial, visit www.amazon.com/kindleprime.
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Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.