Why I Am Boycotting Amazon but NOT Kindle Unlimited
And as usual, You do You
Real quick, I need to set some early expectations for this post. It’s 6 AM on a Monday morning and I had surgery less than a week ago on Wednesday so I’m not operating at my full capacity. This isn’t going to be an essay—more like just sharing some thoughts that I feel are valuable to the ongoing, current conversation surrounding the book industry.
Due to »EVERYTHING« that has happened since January 21st under the worst administration America has ever seen, we (my husband and myself) have been more intentional about how we spend our money, specifically which companies we support with our dollars. One of the companies we immediately focused on was Amazon for a plethora of reasons but primarily for oligarchical reasons. We canceled our Prime membership and we will not be buying anything on Amazon that we can buy elsewhere. I also canceled my Audible membership and went with Libro FM instead. This is what I would call a personal boycott with the understanding that it isn’t super impactful (maybe if enough people do it but our reasons do not rely on others joining us). Amazon doesn’t make the bulk of its money through the marketplace. I think if people really wanted to punch Bezos in the dick it would be an organized effort to boycott companies that use Amazon Web Services, which is a huge list. Here are the big spenders:
So like I said, our efforts to boycott Amazon need to be rooted in personal shopping integrity for our peace of mind and control over where we spend our money vs. expectations on real impact. Amazon/Bezos has fingers in a lot of income pies—much tougher to defund than say Elon & Tesla, for example. Anyhoo! Now to my point about Kindle Unlimited.
The book ecosystem on Amazon is beneficial for self-published authors, LBGTQIA+, disabled authors, and BIPOC authors who are all underrepresented in traditional publishing outlets and platforms. Authors who have chosen to publish books through Kindle Unlimited, KDP, and Ingram typically agree to exclusivity so they can take advantage of certain programs offered by Amazon to boost sales, so those books cannot be listed elsewhere for readers to access as an alternative to Amazon/Kindle.
I read a lot of Kindle Unlimited books.
I read a lot of Amazon Originals.
I read a lot of Amazon imprints like Thomas & Mercer, Lake Union, and 47North.
Example of a Kindle Unlimited book I love: RESIDENTS OF HONEYSUCKLE COTTAGE by Elizabeth Davidson. Such a good folk horror book! Super short and delivers the goods. You can’t read it anywhere else. Every time a reader turns a page of this book, Elizabeth Davidson makes a little money. And I want to support that.
Here is an example of Amazon Originals that I get excited about! I just got access to these on NetGalley but they will be published for Kindle Unlimited on April 15th, 2025
THE SHIVERS
A Thomas & Mercer book I’m excited about that you can read on Kindle Unlimited. You can read a lot of Cynthia Pelayo’s work on Kindle Unlimited. Ania Ahlborn too!
So, boycotting Amazon is nuanced and personalized, and we’re not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater or guilt/shame people for navigating hard times in their way. I don’t think authors need to bear the punitive damage of these boycotts—they are standing directly in the crosshairs for an indirect hit on Bezos that the billionaire won’t even feel. There are other ways to defund billionaires that will cost the consumer some modern conveniences and require doing research and letting go of some beloved indulgences…Kindle Unlimited isn’t it. Canceling your KU membership ultimately hurts the wrong people. That’s just my .02
I will continue reading good books on Kindle Unlimited. Your mileage may vary.
-Mother Horror
I recently discovered LibroFM for the same reason and also have a hard time ditching Kindle/KU. :/
Amazon is so gross. That rat fucker ruined the Washington Post. The best thing about Bezos has been his ex-wife.