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[Updated: January 4th, 2016] I was dying to read Harry Potter books but I was not exactly thrilled about creating a separate account on Pottermore to be able to purchase them. So, I was very happy and relieved to learn that Amazon Prime members can borrow prime eligible Harry Potter Kindle books for free, directly from a Kindle device.

After a very brief agonizing about whether or not to join Amazon Prime, I decided to start my 30-Day Free Trial. Long story short, I am in the 3rd month of my Prime membership and I have been reading the 3rd book of the Harry Potter Kindle books: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban absolutely for free on my Kindle Paperwhite.

Please note that Harry Potter Kindle books has been excluded from Amazon Prime membership (Kindle Owners’ Lending Library) and are now included with Kindle Unlimited subscription. The audible narrations for Harry Potter Kindle books are available for free with 30-Day Trial Audible Gold membership.

I have also been very pleased with my next month’s new releases that I’ve received for free with Kindle First. These next month’s new releases are absolutely free to keep and to read on any Kindle device or free Kindle app reading. In addition, I have had a full access to Prime Instant Video to fulfill my nostalgic feelings watching The Wonder Years, other TV shows and movies.

The Amazon Prime’s benefits

And of course, there are other Amazon Prime’s benefits that you get during the 30-Day Free Trial and when you continue your Amazon Prime membership. The following are the full benefits that you get as a Prime member:

1. FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of items on Amazon.com.
2. No minimum order size.
3. Unlimited Photo Storage with Prime Photos.
4. Unlimited instant streaming of thousands of Prime Eligible Movies and Prime Eligible TV shows plus the HBO Collection with Prime Instant Video.
5. Unlimited, ad-free streaming of over a million songs & hundred of playlists of Prime Music.
6. Borrow a Kindle book each month for free with Kindle Owner Lending Library.
7. 30-minute early access to select deals on Amazon, and new events on MyHabit.com with Prime Early Access.
8. Receive monthly Whispersync for Voice (Read and Listen) for free.
9. Receive next month’s new releases for free with Kindle First.
10. Share your free Two-Day Shipping benefit with up to 4 household members.
11. You can earn $5 by referring a friend to Amazon Prime with Refer and Earn program.
12. Join Amazon Mom for free: It means 20% off diapers and wipes, and 20% off other family essentials on top of your Amazon Prime’s benefits.

The memberships and the costs

Perhaps you have been considering to become a Prime member yourself but you are not sure yet about which membership is the right one for you, what the cost is and whether it’s really worth your money. First of, there are 3 memberships that you can choose from, depending on whether you are an individual, a mom or a student:

• Amazon Prime: A prime membership for everyone (individual in general) with the mentioned above benefits that costs $79.00 a year plus 30-day free trial.
• Amazon Mom: A prime membership for moms with baby or infant, with these benefits that costs $79.00 a year plus 3-months free trial. Note: Expecting members receive a 15% baby registry completion discount in addition to the Amazon Mom’s benefits.
• Amazon Student: A prime member for students with these benefits that costs $39.50 a year plus 6-months free trial.

The reasons to join Amazon Prime (Price updated as of March 13th, 2014)

The next question is: Is Amazon Prime membership really worth joining? For me, it definitely is. Let’s do some simple math: the Prime membership costs you $79 $99 a year or $6,60 $8,25 a month. The next month’s new release Kindle ebook that you receive each month (for free) is already worth $4.99 or let’s round up to $5.00. It means that you pay only $1.60 $3,25 a month for the remaining Amazon Prime’s benefits.

In other words, you won’t get a better deal elsewhere. But why should you take my words for it when you can start your 30-Day Free Trial of Amazon Prime US, Amazon Prime UK or Amazon Prime DE today and try those benefits out for yourself?

Did you know that you can also purchase Amazon Prime as a gift? Click Give the gift of Prime to purchase one as a gift for your loved ones.

Bonus tips:

• Click here to start your Amazon Prime US 30-Day Free Trial.
• Click here to join Amazon Student FREE Two-Day Shipping for College Students.
• Click here to start your Amazon Prime UK 30-Day Free Trial.
• Click here to start your Amazon Prime DE 30-Day Free Trial