I've been subscribed to this $9 reading app for 3 years - here's why it just hit 1 million subscribers

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• Scribd is a reading app that gives subscribers access to hundreds of thousands of audiobooks, ebooks, magazines, sheet music, and more for $8.99 per month. You can start a 30-day trial here.
• The service just hit 1 million subscribers. I've personally been subscribed for three years.
• Unlike many reading subscriptions, Scribd is genuinely unlimited for 99% of its subscribers. Though you might expect compromises for the low fee, you won't find many. The app houses most popular books, including current New York Times bestsellers, and allows you to download them for offline reading and annotate.
• The app also offers a joint New York Times and Scribd membership for $12.99, which saves you an estimated $143.88 annually.

Way back in 2007, Scribd became the first ebook subscription service in the US and the world's first open publishing platform. Now, in January 2019, it's surpassed 1 million subscribers.

Despite the fact that our society seems somewhat inhospitable to Amazon competitors and, to an extent, the idea of reading itself (listen closely, you can hear a faint "no one reads anymore" refrain in the air) - Scribd has succeeded.

It's not hard to understand why. As a subscriber for the past three years, I can say that from experience.

Scribd is overall the best and most convenient deal for online reading. For $8.99 every month, members get unlimited access to hundreds of thousands of great audiobooks, ebooks, magazines, sheet music, and more. The titles aren't second-rate to compensate for the low fee, either; you'll find New York Times best sellers, buzzy debuts, and books with long waitlists at the local library readily available. And you can read as many of them as you want.

The app also lets you download your titles for offline reading, annotate, bookmark, highlight, and set sleep timers so you don't lose your place. Altogether, the app has gotten me through countless road trips, plane rides, and commutes in a better mood than nature intended. In college, I even found the occasional syllabus book included.

If the book you want isn't available, the team seems very receptive to feedback and encourages you to send any ideas or titles their way at feedback@scribd.com.

The company also offers a joint subscription to both Scribd and The New York Times for $12.99 monthly. In comparison to having both - as I did - you'd save about $143.88 annually.

If you can get over not having a paperback, Scribd is a pretty great deal. It helps that there are no library lines, no $20 per hardcover costs, and no storage space required beside that of your smartphone or tablet.

But before committing, you can try a free 30-day trial for both the NYT x Scribd membership here and the regular subscription here.

Try Scribd for 30 days free here