NetGalley Plug

I truly can not recommend NetGalley enough! I have used Goodreads for about three years and I love it. But as I was reading reviews from other users, time and again I would see that they were reviewing a 'free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review'. I didn't know what ARC meant or what NetGalley was, but eventually figured out ARC = Advanced Reader Copy...I think. The letters fit, anyway. Prior to this, my only means of receiving ARCs was through the Goodreads Giveaway Program, where authors or publishers will give away so many copies. Basically you request the book you're interested in, they draw names, and that's that. I have been lucky enough to win two ARCs since I discovered this part of the site within the last year. I love it because they send you a hard copy of the book. NetGalley is similar, but not with sending out hard copies - quite costly I imagine. Basically, you fill out a profile - are you an educator, a librarian, a blogger, professional reviewer, etc You select one, fill out the remainder of he profile highlighting your interested, then start requesting away. The publishers review your profile and decide whether or not to give you access to the title. Some are only downloadable to your computer (particularly children's books), but the majority of able to be sent to a reading device (Hellooooo Kindle). I have had access to so many interesting titles lately, and some publishers have even auto-approved me to have immediate access to anything from their catalog once I was accepted for the first one. I have found awesome titles for myself, for Eleanor, and for my classroom. I absolutely love it.


I know, I know, as I need MORE books, ones that are not even published yet, when I have a Goodreads 'to read' list of over 2,500 books. But seriously, what else am I going to do when Eleanor is away every other weekend? READ and WRITE, of course!