Amazon has long been one of the biggest retailers in the country, but recently the site has been branching out. The daily deals site it has been expanding since the end of the summer is picking up steam but where the site has really gained a foothold is by adding different features to its “Prime” accounts. 

For the last year or so, Prime customers have been able to access 13,000 movies and television episodes as well as get free two day shipping for just $79 a year. Now Prime users will also be able to “borrow” one digital book a month as long as they own a Kindle or Kindle supported device.

Amazon has been looking into launching a Netflix of books for a couple of months now and it appears they are about to get that endeavor off the ground. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced the Kindle Lending Library with a posting on the company's home page. “Kindle owners can now choose from thousands of books to borrow for free, including over 100 current and former New York Times best sellers – as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates. No other e-reader or eBook store offers such a service.”

Amazon knows that a service like this is going to have some people nervous as to just how good it is. Bezos added that the company is offering up a free month of Amazon Prime as a test run, allowing customers to see everything they can get before putting up the $80. At the moment, there are over 5,000 books in the Lending Library. One book at a time can be borrowed and when a user selects a new book, the old one will disappear from their device.

Obviously, the launch of this new service is aimed at getting more people to buy a Kindle or the company's new tablet, the Kindle Fire. The Lending Library should also entice a few more customers to sign up for the Amazon Prime service. 

Amazon's launch this week also does a nice job of stealing the spotlight away from Barnes and Noble's impending “special announcement.” Rumors are swirling that Barnes and Noble will soon be launching their own tablet.