Amazon’s been very busy over the past month or so, having launched its new Kindle Fire HDX tablets at the end of September in the US, then in the UK a few weeks later, while still finding time to introduce the AmazonSmile charity program and its cloud player for Mac OS X. It’s not done yet either. Say hello to Kindle First.
First is a new program to help readers discover the latest titles a little earlier than other people. Subscribers get early access to selected new ebooks, allowing them to read them well before the official release date. Titles are chosen by Amazon’s publishing team, and they’ll be taken from whichever Kindle categories have been most popular. Each book will then be given a recommendation by the team, and a short behind-the-scenes look at the story and author.
The program begins today, and Amazon has announced the first wave of titles, all of which will be officially published in December, but available through Kindle First now. You can choose from Things We Set on Fire by Deborah Reed, No Place for a Dame by Connie Brockway, Silent Echo by J.R. Rain, and We Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor.
It’s free to sign-up for Kindle First, and you don’t have to buy a ebook every month. When you do select one, it will cost $2, but if you’re an Amazon Prime member, it’ll be free. However, it doesn’t look like you will be able to buy all the ebooks each month, and will be restricted to buying only one.
You can get started with Kindle First by signing up here.