Amazon is offering more than 5,000 titles, including New York Times bestsellers, that Prime members can borrow. The offer, however, requires you own a Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Keyboard or Kindle Fire -- you can't borrow books if you use a Kindle app on another mobile device.
The book and online retail giant seems to be stretching the definition of "borrow" for the new feature since there are no due dates. What you're getting in effect from Amazon is a free ebook per month. You can, however, only borrow one book at a time.
The Kindle Owners' Lending Library is the latest enticement for Prime. Prime members already get "free" shipping and streaming video via Prime Instant Video. Amazon introduced Prime in 2005 and continues to add perks like expanded streaming content from Fox and others.
The move shows how much Amazon values Prime. Since the company reportedly loses money on the actual sale of Kindles, it's gambling that it will make up the deficit as consumers buy ebooks. Amazon's penchant for forgoing short-term gains in favor of a long-term strategy was also in evidence in its third-quarter earnings, where net income fell 73% as the company built fulfillment centers and expanded its Kindle offerings to pave the way for future growth.