Recipes for Success: What Makes A Good Review
Guest post: Cindy Minnich, Nerdy Book Club

Recipes for Success is back with more insight from bloggers you love! Did you know that Kristina will be moderating a panel at the BEA Bloggers Conference with some YA Book Blogging Pros? The panel will be on Wednesday May 29 at 11:15 am, but today I’m pleased to welcome one of the panelists, Cindy of Nerdy Book Club, as our guest blogger.

Continue reading for more insight about what makes a good review, as well as more information about how you can interact with NetGalley at and beyond BEA.

Recipes for Success aims to give new bloggers and reviewers helpful information, tools, and best practices to help facilitate your growth and effectiveness as reviewers. Check back often for tips and tricks from the insiders.

A quick overview of Nerdy Book Club:

The Nerdy Book Club blog began in December 2011 as a home for the Nerdy Book Club Awards – grassroots awards that grew from conversations on Twitter among teachers and librarians about titles they and their students love. It has become a site devoted to literature for children and young adults, and it is written by those invested in promoting a love of reading to children and teens. Guest bloggers have written about their reading lives, their promotion of reading, and reviewed everything from wordless picture books to mature YA titles. We anticipate future reads with Advance Reading Copies (often from our friends at NetGalley), find current titles in bookstores, libraries and generous friends, and dip into past reading with retro-reviews of books we have loved. Our bloggers embrace their role in leading young people to the joy of reading.

Continue reading “Recipes for Success: What Makes A Good Review” →

Pledge to take the NetGalley Wellness Challenge!

I am excited to invite you to join the NetGalley Wellness Challenge, which kicks off today!

The 9-week Wellness Challenge will help NetGalley members improve their “NetGalley health.” You can join the Challenge at any time by taking the pledge. We will advise you on how to: improve your profile, learn why feedback is important to publishers, learn how good reviews build blog traffic and exposure, and more.

For more information about how to participate please visit our NetGalley Wellness Challenge resource page!

Recipes for Success: Benefits and Struggles of Blogging
Guest post: Danielle Smith, There’s a Book

Recipes for Success is back with more insight from bloggers you love! Did you know that I (Kristina) will be moderating a panel at the BEA Bloggers Conference with some YA Book Blogging Pros? The panel will be on Wednesday May 29 at 11:15 am, but today I’m pleased to welcome one of the panelists, Danielle of There’s a Book, as our guest blogger.

Continue reading for more insight about the benefits and struggles of blogging, as well as more information about how you can interact with NetGalley at and beyond BEA.

A quick overview of There’s a Book:

I’ve been blogging about children’s literature from picture books to middle grade and young adult at There’s A Book since 2009. When I started it was solely for the purpose of reaching out to other parents and readers looking for good kidlit books to share with the kiddos they are around. My son at 18 months old could read and I found myself in a very small town with next to no resources. I started the blog with the hopes that I could share my experiences finding good books for my son and me to read even with little accessibility to books locally.

Since then my blog has changed some, but I still go back to my root cause for starting my blog. To help readers, no matter who they were, connect with books in a way that would be meaningful to them and the ones they shared them with. My audience now encompasses a broader group that includes parents, librarians, booksellers and readers from every age.
Continue reading “Recipes for Success: Benefits and Struggles of Blogging” →

Cover Love

I absolutely love browsing the NetGalley catalog for gorgeous new covers to share with you. Have you already read these? Don’t forget to share feedback with the publisher! What other titles have you requested after falling in love with the cover? Share the link in the comments below, or via Twitter #NGextras

Little, Brown and Company   Oxford University Press, USA Coach House Books   Penguin Books Australia   Vintage Publishing (UK)
Pub Date May 28 2013 Pub Date Jul 18 2013 Pub Date Apr 30 2013 Pub Date Jul 24 2013   Pub Date Jul 5 2013

NetGalley Devours: Eleven Days by Stav Sherez

Hot on the heels of London Book Fair last month, UK Community Manager Stuart Evers reviews a title available only for UK requests! Do you love Stav Sherez, too? Share your feedback via the Feedback section in NetGalley, or on Facebook and Twitter! (#NGdevours)

Eleven Days by Stav Sherez
Faber and Faber LTD; Pub Date: May 2, 2013

Recipe

Take four decades of secrets and deceptions, a house full of murdered nuns, and some nasty internal politics, mix in South American radical Liberation Theology and two complex cops – and chill to the bone.

Description

A fire rages through a sleepy West London square, engulfing a small convent hidden away among the residential houses. When DI Jack Carrigan and DS Geneva Miller arrive at the scene they discover eleven bodies, yet there were only supposed to be ten nuns in residence.
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NetGalley Devours: Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems by Billy Collins

Today we have a special poetry review, to celebrate the final day of National Poetry Month. If you’ve already read and reviewed this title, be sure to share your review via the Feedback section in NetGalley, or on Facebook and Twitter! (#NGdevours)

Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems by Billy Collins
Random House; Pub Date Oct 22 2013

Description from the publisher:

From the two-time Poet Laureate of the United States Billy Collins comes his first compilation of new and selected poems in a decade. Aimless Love combines fifty new poems with selections from four previous books—Nine Horses, The Trouble with Poetry, Ballistics, and Horoscopes for the Dead. Collins’s unmistakable voice, which combines plain speech with imaginative surprise, is clearly heard on every page, reminding us how he has managed to enrich the tapestry of contemporary poetry and greatly expand its audience. His work is featured in top literary magazines such as The New Yorker, Poetry, and The Atlantic, and he is a strong draw at reading venues across the country. Appearing regularly in The Best American Poetry series, his poems appeal to readers and live audiences far and wide and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. By turns playful, ironic, and serious, Collins’s poetry captures the nuances of everyday life while leading the reader into zones of inspired wonder. In the poet’s own words, he hopes that his poems “begin in Kansas and end in Oz.” Touching on the themes of love, loss, joy, and poetry itself, these poems showcase the best work of this “poet of plenitude, irony, and Augustan grace” (The New Yorker). [From the Publisher]

Review:

It’s the last day in April, which means National Poetry Month has come to a close. Like many of us, I’ve enjoyed this scheduled reminder to pay attention to “the best words in the best order” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s definition of poetry). Funny how life gets in the way, isn’t it? What else is poetry if not the very stuff of life, and yet all the important life-milestones (graduations, jobs, marriages, children, etc) so sneakily push books of verse further and further down the to-read list. Well, at least that’s my excuse. So I particularly relished in our Poetry Roundup this month, and best of all took time to read Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems by Billy Collins, which marked the two-time Poet Laureate’s first compilation in a decade. Continue reading “NetGalley Devours: Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems” →

NetGalley at the ECPA Leadership Summit

Conference season is upon us! This week I will be at the ECPA Leadership Summit* for Christian publishers, in Nashville. I’m very excited to be meeting with some of the NetGalley publishers during the ECPA Leadership Summit this week and attending the 2013 Christian Book Awards.

Are you already reading in this genre? Check out the NetGalley catalog for Christian romance, mystery, teen/YA, and non-fiction. And please let us know if you read any of these Christian Book Awards finalists on NetGalley in the comments below.

We’re pleased to have a partnership with the ECPA and work with many of their publishers, including Moody Publishers, Worthy Publishing, and Concordia Publishing House! Did you see these titles on our homepage this week? Click through for more information and to request.

Continue reading “NetGalley at the ECPA Leadership Summit” →

NetGalley Devours: Dragonflies: Shadow of Drones by Andy Straka

Today I’m excited to review a Sci-Fi/thriller title from one of our independent publishers. If you’ve already read and reviewed this book, be sure to share your review via the Feedback section in NetGalley, or on Facebook and Twitter! (#NGdevours)

Dragonflies: Shadow of Drones by Andy Straka
LLW Media; Pub Date May 14, 2013

Description:

Shamus-Award winning crime novelist Andy Straka breaks new ground with this near-future science fiction thriller.

Former Army helicopter pilot Raina Sanchez is plagued by nightmares. She can’t erase the memories of being shot down in Afghanistan, of losing her foot in the crash, and the death of her commanding officer. When asked by an ex-military contact to participate in a secret drone operation with ties to the war, she jumps at the chance to exorcise some of her demons.

She joins Tye Palmer, the decorated ex-infantryman who rescued her from the flaming wreckage of her Kiowa chopper. As civilian private investigators, together they embark on a sensitive, risky effort: using cutting-edge micro air vehicle drones in an attempt to expose the son of media mogul Nathan Kurn as a campus date rapist.

But as Raina and Tye come closer to the truth about Kurn and his powerful allies, Raina’s loyalties take a potential detour when she begins to understand a chilling reality. In a world where surveillance devices as small as tiny insects are being piloted into places most would never imagine, public and private forces both large and small are maneuvering to control them with inevitable consequences. For Raina and Tye the danger didn’t end when they finished their military careers−the threat has just begun. [From the Publisher]

Review:

I have to first applaud the author’s understanding that there will be those who read this book and may not understand a lot of military terms and slang, and he gracefully explains each acronym and term so that the reader is effortlessly educated without it feeling forced or awkward. Bravo! It made the story very accessible so that I could focus on what was happening, as opposed to trying to figure out the definition of key terms.
Continue reading “NetGalley Devours: Dragonflies: Shadow of Drones” →

London Book Fair – NetGalley Recap

The London International Book Fair is one of the key events in the literary world; the whole world converging on Earls Court in the South West of the capital to sell rights, seal reputations and look into the future of publishing and books. Naturally, NetGalley was there to meet members and clients both – as well as get the inside track on what’s new.

Stuart at LBF

The NetGalley stand was right at the heart of the Digital Zone – once a niche area within the vast aircraft hangar space of Earls Court, but now probably the most vibrant, diverse and popular destination at the fair. Situated next to the AuthorZone lecture theatre – co-sponsored by NetGalley publisher Troubador – we were lucky to hear a series of fascinating discussions and talks about how writers can thrive in the digital age. Many independent publishers and authors stopped off to speak with us on their way back from the stage – which was hugely interesting.

Among the personal highlights were catching up with new and old publishers and members of NetGalley. We especially enjoyed meeting Georgia and Samuel from www.readgig.com – and you can check out their blog about the fair here. Most excitingly of all was the news that several UK publishers confirmed at the fair that they will soon be joining NetGalley. We can’t tell you who they are yet, but we’ll be sure to announce it just as soon as we can!

Next month it’s the turn of New York to play host to the literary world at Book Expo America. Please do stop by Booth #DZ1774 and say hello to Kristina, Susan, Lindsey and Tarah!

If you’re a blogger attending BEA or the Book Bloggers Conference, don’t miss out out on the NetGalley Wellness Challenge!

World Book Night comes to a city near you – April 23^rd

One night a year book lovers around the world volunteer their time to hand out books to those who don’t see themselves as “readers” and/or don’t have access to books. I’m excited to be participating in World Book Night 2013! I’ve been aware of World Book Night for years but I didn’t realize how organized and widespread it was. Last fall a coworker suggested we sign up as volunteers, so I went to the World Book Night website and found a volunteer application that requires an explanation of why you would be a good volunteer ( i.e. why you love books) and what location in your city/town you think would be a great spot to hand out books.

Without hesitation I started filling out the application, thinking long and hard about why I love books and why I am qualified to be a literacy advocate. My love of books began with the supportive teachers who taught me how to read, and how to enjoy reading. I also had parents who encouraged my thirst for books by always borrowing, lending, or buying the books I might have been interested in. This led to my love of reading to escape my day-to-day surroundings— being absorbed by a story is a magical way to forget about all those rational, realistic obligations and responsibilities we’re required to consider and accomplish each day. Since I had these fantastic opportunities that most of us (myself included) take for granted sometimes, I figured it was time to share this with my neighborhood.

Luckily, I was selected as a Book Giver and started receiving email updates from World Book Night informing me of which book I will be handing out (Bossypants, by Tina Fey) and where I would pick them up (my local independent bookstore). When I was given the green light to pick up my books, I went to the bookstore and received 20 copies of Bossypants with a smile, a flower (this was something the bookstore did on their own, and it certainly made my day), and a “thank you” from the bookseller. With books and Book Giver instructions in hand, I (and thousands of volunteers across the world) will be handing out one of the 2013 World Book Night titles on April 23^rd in our neighborhoods to help encourage reading for pleasure and, in turn, literacy.

World Book Night box Continue reading “World Book Night comes to a city near you – April 23rd” →