NetGalley and Other Bookish Things

So, this week's been a bit busy on the bookish side of things. I've read two books this week, three if you count yet another reading of Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. Besides that, I prepped The Freeze for print publishing and waded through the submission forms on Copyright.gov.  Also, I signed up for NetGalley as a reviewer.

NetGalley
That's where the "professional reader" badge on my blog came from. Don't let that term confuse you though, that's simply the category of reader I best fit into on the site, because I have a book blog and write for another book blog, Pure Textuality. Basically, as someone who reads and recommends books, I can go there and do that for books that haven't hit the shelves yet.

Typically, reviewers, librarians, and others request the opportunity to review these books. As a newbie on the site, I probably won't be handed every book I request. The site says that a good approval rating, something like 80% or better, will encourage publishers to select you to provide reviews. It's likely that at first I'll only be approved to review books submitted to Pure Textuality by the publisher.

That's another interesting thing about the site. It is totally up to the publisher or author who receives a review copy. Sure, that's usually the case, but I like how that decision is formalized, and how the reviewers make the requests instead of the other way around.

When I filled out my profile, it was almost like filling out a profile on LinkedIn. I had to write who I was, but also how I would promote books I read. I posted links to my blog and Pure Textuality. I added my Facebook page and my Twitter profile. I think I even added my Goodreads page, since that's where I post most of my reviews in a place people who enjoy reading will likely read them.

Books I read this week
So, back to those books I read this week. I plan to submit both reviews to Pure Textuality, but I must say, both are great reads.

The first was Continuum, by Shana Lauffey.  This is another in her ten book series of time and space shifting drifters. Recommended for folks who like a more modern historical fiction. I love the pictures and the history the best.

The second was Bones & All by Camille DeAngelis, a modern thriller featuring a young girl wih an appetite. I was blown away by this one. Highly recommended for folks who love thrillers with paranormal and romantic undertones.

I'll share links to my full reviews once they are posted on Pure Textuality.

Reviews in Progress
Next on my reading queue is one I'm reading and reviewing for here. Keep an eye out for my review of Oathtaker by Patricia Reding.  I'm about 15% done with it. It's a fantasy adventure, quite long, but well-written from what I've seen so far. The author requested the review back in July. Yikes, I'm so late getting back, but she was great about it just the same.

The Freeze
Great news is also up for The Freeze. It's now available for pre-order on Amazon and I'm on track for having the paperback released at nearly the same time. Release day is set for February 14, 2015. I'm so excited about this one. I'll post a proper feature for this a bit closer to release date.