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The Sunday Salon


It’s yet another quiet weekend here. In the past week, I’ve read:

The Ivy Tree, by Mary Stewart
The Princeling, by Cynthia Harrod Eagles
The Last Days of the Romanovs, by Helen Rappaport

I enjoyed all three of these books, so It’s been a good week, reading-wise. I've also been trying to write a review of Sarah Bower's The Book of Love, but I've gotten stuck with it (it dragged in the middle). I’m just about to start The Priory, by Dorothy Whipple, a Persephone classic that took about two weeks to get to me from Amazon.com.

I’ve been wondering about something recently: ARCs. I know a lot of you get them and review them; so do I. My question for you is about your reviews: do you post them as soon as you read the book and write the review? Or do you wait until the day of publication to post? I’ve been seeing a lot of reviews of to-be-published books, ages before the book comes out, so that’s what prompted the question. Thoughts?
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Comments

Anonymous said…
That's a good question about ARCs. Mt. TBR is usually piled so high that I organize it by release date, so when I get an ARC of a book that doesn't come out for several months, I just plan not to read it for a while. I try to read and review ARCs no more than 2 weeks before the release date, usually just a day or two beforehand when the buzz is already building.

I'm currently reading an ARC of a book that doesn't come out until June (just couldn't wait), so I'll probably discuss it a bit this week but save the full review for closer to the release. That's just me, though.

I'll be interested to follow comments here and see what others have to say.
March 22, 2009 at 11:24 AM
Meghan said…
I always post the review near the book's release date. I do have them organized by release and normally read more or less in order, but there are always those few special ones that sneak their way into my hands early. For those, I write the review shortly after reading the book, but schedule it ahead for whenever it comes out. I might discuss it in the Sunday salon or something similar, but the proper review will wait. I guess I want people who are interested in the book to be able to get it right away if they so choose. I feel like I've heard from more publicists that reviews closer to release are better as well.

- Meghan @ Medieval Bookworm
March 23, 2009 at 6:45 AM
Anonymous said…
I try to post reviews close to the publication date, although sometimes that doesn't quite happen. I'm much pickier about what books I receive, so I'm able to review in a more timely manner. - Stephanie
March 23, 2009 at 8:54 AM
Adele said…
I haven't had many ARC's. Most of the review copies I have had are already released. I tend to think though that they will send out the ARC's when they want the first wave of buzz about the book and since people can't all drop everything to read them there will probably be a steady trickle of reviews. I do think it's pretty effective when I see a book on the shelves and there was a huge buzz a few months ago, it triggers my "must have that" response.
March 23, 2009 at 1:06 PM
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