[jhowell]

Since you haven't said I am going to assume you are in the US.

I purchase (from Amazon) books from my favorite authors that I just can't wait to read. Otherwise I borrow from libraries. I don't feel a need to own copies of all of the books I read.

The book selection in the Kindle Owner's Lending Library is almost identical to Kindle Unlimited. If you only read one book a month there is no point in paying for KU. There is a large selection but it is almost all self published and small publisher books.

When you search for books on Amazon there is a checkbox in the left side panel to limit searches to Kindle Unlimited. The results will be pretty much the same as searching the Owner's Lending Library from your device. If you find a book you like then you can double check its availability in the Lending Library on your device. (There are also ways to search the Lending Library directly from a browser, but they are more complicated.)

I recommend checking if your local public library allows borrowing of ebooks and if so what selection they have. There are also libraries that you can join for a fee if you do not live in their service area. You can find several threads here on that.

Some more notes:

You can suspend holds at OverDrive while you are reading one book so that others do not become available until you are ready.

Also many libraries allow ebook lending via Freading and Hoopla. These don't have the latest best sellers, but they do not have wait lists and you can immediately borrow a book again if you need more time.