... because I've ended up on some publishers' offer lists of advance copies. Sometimes it's a drawing, sometimes the first x people to respond get one, etc. There's never any required quid pro quo, but I assume the obvious reason is to generate buzz with advance reviews.
Why am I thinking about this? Because I just got an email from HarperCollins with the subject "Read Neal Stephenson's forthcoming novel Termination Shock [not an affiliate link] before anyone else ..." and of course I jumped right on that. They're giving away 200 copies and I got my name in within a couple of minutes of receiving the email. I think I also threw in for a copy of John Grisham's latest the other day.
A few months ago I received a freebie of Lola On Fire [not an affiliate link] by Rio Youers from the publisher (William Morrow, a HarperCollins imprint). I think I reviewed it on Amazon, or possibly GoodReads.
My quickie review here, because hey, they gave me a free book and deserve a little love:
A fun thriller featuring a "retired" mob assassin forced out of retirement to protect her children. I wasn't able to work up much suspension of disbelief on the action side, but that's OK (as a kid, I enjoyed Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan / Executioner novels without having to believe the plot details could actually happen, and this is more realistic and a bit less pulpy than those). On the character development / motivation side, I was able to identify / empathize with several of the characters. It's not a book I would likely have paid full hardback price for at the store, but then I seldom do that. If it's your kind of thing, it's a good read. Just don't go into it expecting Philip Roth (thank God).
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