Pity that one of the other publishers with which I have had a good relationship - no names! - has started offering Netgalley ARCs only, instead of books you can handle and stroke and then put on the library shelves for the kids to enjoy. I have made it clear in the past that I don't review ebooks. I have my reasons, mainly that I do this to supplement my pitiful library budget - and it seems to me that publishers who want you to publicise their product owe you at least a physical option. I know a lot of reviewers don't mind, but they should at least ask, "Will you take it as ebook or would you prefer print?" and keep a few print copies for stubborn folk like me.
Ah, well, at least when I'm recovered, I can enjoy my lovely Neil Gaiman book for younger readers, review it and then offer it to our students. :-)
Ooh, I love Neil Gaiman's work! But I am getting used to ebooks. Last time I moved I had to get rid of a hundred or more books, and I promised the kids that I would only buy ebooks from then on because of the lack of space. A couple of them bought me a Kindle and I'm finding I love it. However, not everything is available as an ebook so I haven't kept my promise to the letter!
ReplyDeleteI love ebooks too. I have about 80 on my iPad. But I rarely keep my review books. I give them to the kids. And you can't do that with ebooks. And I think the publishers can afford to keep a few print review copies for holdouts like me. It's a very cheap form of publicity and I get about 1000-1200 hits a week on this web site. Bean counters!
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm finding book reviews bring hits to my site. It's very gratifying because it means folks are still reading books!
ReplyDeleteI usually pass review copies on to a library or charity shop. In all the years I've been reviewing I think I've only kept maybe a dozen for my own shelves. You are lucky to have students to pass them on to!