This Amazon Prime perk gives you access to free Kindle books before they get published — here's how it works

February 22, 2019 at 08:27 AM EST

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Amazon First Reads gives you early VIP access to noteworthy books from Amazon Publishing.
You'll see a curation of six books chosen by editors, plus an "editor's note" on why you'll love it.
Prime members can choose one one of the books each month to download onto their Kindle, and can also shop the hardcovers at a discount.

Amazon First Reads (formerly known as Kindle First) gives you early access to editors’ picks in popular genres from Amazon Publishing before the general public. First Reads members can download a Kindle book from the editors' picks each month before their official publication date for $1.99, while Prime members receive it for free, along with the ability to shop the hardcovers at a discount.

You can become an Amazon First Reads member even if you don't have Prime by subscribing to the newsletter on the program's homepage. And, if you want, you can find all the details of First Reads here.

Below, for example, are the editors' picks for September 2018:

There's also a bonus offer of "White Rose, Black Forest" by Eoin Dempsey for September, a new Amazon Chart's bestseller.

If you like the editors' picks, Amazon First Reads is a pretty great value for no expense (you can check out previous Amazon First Reads titles here to get a sense of the selection). And if you don't, the discounts on other books is one more advantage for Prime power users looking to get the most out of their (admittedly already value-packed) annual Prime membership.

Aside from the slimmer, curated selection of books, there's also an "editors note" for each selection, telling you exactly why this book more than any other deserves its spot as the best-in-category. The service helps make continual reading accessible, affordable, and satisfying, and, hopefully, minimizes your research time — making it easier to pick up your device and start reading without any barrier to entry.

So far, Amazon First Reads is only available in the US and the UK. You can find the new monthly picks online — released on the first of every month — or sign up for the First Reads' newsletter.

If you're in need of an intensive or supplemental reading service with more options, you may want to look into Amazon's Prime Reading, Kindle Unlimited, Audible, or the competitor Scribd depending on your needs.

You can sign up for a 30-day free trial of Kindle Unlimited here if you're a new subscriber (typically the rate is $9.99 a month months). You can find more details here.

You can also get a 30-day free trial of Audible, which comes with two free audiobooks and two Audible originals to get you started. After that trial, each month costs $14.95, but you can cancel anytime.

Check out Amazon First Reads hereSign up for a free 30-day Prime membership trial here