Tuesday, March 25th, 2014

Interview with Keith Goddard at Books Matter

LT members who’ve been around for a year or so may remember our partnership with Books Matter, an organization dedicated to providing books to needy schools in Ghana. I caught up with Keith Goddard—founder of Books Matter—this week, who was kind enough to update me on their latest projects!

Interested in donating to Books Matter? Drop me a line at loranne@librarything.com to donate books, or visit their website for monetary donations.

Can you tell us a bit about how Books Matter got started?

Basically, three things happened. First, my wife was sending some items to Ghana (that’s where she’s from) and she suggested we send some books and other things that my kids no longer used. The second thing is that she had always told me that many school in Ghana have no books. That really shocked and amazed me. The third thing is that I am a teacher in the Toronto public school system and I noticed that a lot of books are lying around in schools and not being used. So, I gathered up about 800 books and that was the start.

What is the process involved in getting a shipment of books sent? How many books can you send to Ghana at once?

We don’t have a lot of room at our house, which is where we store the books. Once we get to about 2,000 books our sunroom becomes unusable, so we are encourged to clear them out. Then we have to scan them, pack them, and raise enough money to send them. There’s no limit on how many we can send at a time, but due to the storage issue, we think around 2,000 is a good number.

In its first year, Books Matter sent 6,000 books to Ghana. That’s great! Did you anticipate that you’d have this much success?

I didn’t really know what to expect. Sometimes I think 6,000 is great and other days I feel that it’s nothing. I wish we could help meore people, but that being said, I know that the people we have helped are appreciative.

How many schools/libraries have received books from Books Matter now, and where are they? (Click map to enlarge)

So far, five institutions have received books from us: Bright Future School, in Keta; a library in Keta; a college in Ho; an elementary/junior high near Ho; and, an orphanage near Kumasi.

You recently ran an Indiegogo campaign, and set out to get another 2,000 books sent. Have those reached their destination(s)? Will you be running another Indiegogo campaign any time soon?

We ran an Indiegogo campaign just before the New Year, and with that money we shipped 1,700 books to five schools, two of which have separate buildings for the junior high and elementary schools, but on the same land. So, those books were cataloged into separate libraries. So, it’s five schools, but seven libraries. I hope that makes sense. Those books should arrive in late April. Since then we’ve received more books and would like to send about 1,500 in April. We’ve packed about 1,000 and scanned about 700. We scan the books we send to most of our recipients, but not all. Probably over 80%.

What are some of your and/or the students’ favorite books that Books Matter has sent?

We’ve sent some great books so far, but I hope we can get more book donations, from publishers, once we are an official charity. One thing that is difficult to do, but that I want to do, is get more feedback from the students about the books and their reading
habits, and how those habits are (hopefully) changing. I’d probably have to check some of the catalogs on LT to remember what we’ve sent! Good thing I cataloged them. We’ve sent a lot of great science and non-fiction picture books, fact books, and there are very few books like that in most Ghana schools. I think those will have a big impact on a lot of younger kids, even if they are reluctant readers, because the topics are so diverse and often relevant. We also sent a first edition And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street… lots of Dr. Seuss. It would be wonderful if any LT members thought there were certain must-have books for youngsters, that they wanted to donate, and maybe write a litte note in the front; they would just have to ship it to us in Toronto.(1)

What’s your personal library like? What sorts of books can be found on your shelves?

My personal library is really nothing to talk about… a fair number of biographies/memoirs about people in developing countries overcoming extreme adversity. Lots of non-fiction.

What have you read and enjoyed lately?

I like having about five books on the go at once, partly because I have trouble sticking with things sometimes! Also, because I enjoy such a wide variety and that’s the big reason I think kids should have a lot of books at their disposal to check out and become interested by. Having an e-reader is great, but that’s different than browsing through shelves of books, and touching them and flipping through them. That’s how kids catch the reading spark. That, and being read to. I just finished 12 Years a Slave and am now reading a modern day slavery account, called Slave by Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis. I’m also reading a book on how to use YouTube for marketing.

What’s next for Books Matter? Do you have the next milestone, upcoming projects/shipments, etc. in mind?

We’ve always got shipments in mind. We’d like to hear from some of the schools where we’ve donated and make subsequent donations based on their likes and needs. I would love to go back to Ghana sometime in the future and oberve the kids, talk to them about reading, read with them, and talk to the teachers about reading/teaching strategies. It would be great to give more support than just putting the books in front of people. That’s not always enough, especially if they haven’t already developed the reading bug. That’s why sending the picture books and easy readers for the very young children is so important.

I’d like to thank Keith for taking the time to chat with me! Books Matter is doing excellent work, and it’s a joy to work with them!

—interview by Loranne Nasir


1. As mentioned above, if you have books you’d like to send to Books Matter, be sure to send Loranne an email (loranne@librarything.com).

Labels: books for ghana, gifts, member projects

Friday, April 26th, 2013

Books for Ghana: LibraryThing teams up with Books Matter!

Between November and April, LibraryThing members raised nearly $2,600 for needy readers by adding events to LibraryThing Local!

When we announced this initiative we asked for your help in coming up with the best way to use this money to put books directly into the hands of readers who would benefit the most from them. We wanted to find a project where our contributions can really make an immediate, tangible difference, and one with which LibraryThing and its members can build an active and ongoing relationship.

We’re very pleased to announce that we’ve found just such a project!

Books to Ghana

In February we donated donated $600 of the funds raised to Keith Goddard’s Books4Ghana campaign on IndieGogo, enough to put that effort over the top. Keith, who’s been a public school teacher in Toronto for the past fifteen years and has family connections in Ghana, began collecting books last summer for the Bright Future School in Keta, Ghana, a K-9 school with 600 students and thirty faculty members.

The first batch of 200 math textbooks and 500 children’s books were sent in August 2012, and arrived in October. Another 3,100 books Keith collected from schools around Toronto (and stored in his house!) were shipped this February after the successful IndieGoGo campaign, and arrived just a couple weeks ago. They will be delivered to the school later this month. You can browse the catalog of these books at http://www.librarything.com/profile/booksmatter. As the project expands and books arrive at additional libraries, we’ll be separating these out into separate LT catalogs for each library, so that they can be optimized to fit the specific needs of each school (and so that they can be updated as needed, of course).

Keith has now launched a new website for the Books Matter project at http://www.booksmatter.org, and is in the process of registering as an official charity. He’s currently rounding up the next batch of books to ship over to Ghana, and identifying the schools there that will benefit most from books we send.

Phase One: How to help now

Right now the major need is funding for shipping already-donated books to Ghana: payment for a shipping container, sea transport to Accra, Ghana, and then transportation from Accra to the schools in the Volta region). It costs approximately $1 per book to pay for shipping (as Keith says, “$10 sends 10 books, $50 sends 50 books: the math is simple, but the effect is profound”).

We’re going to be giving more of the money members raised by adding events to LT Local for this, and we invite you, should you feel so inclined, to head over to Books Matter and donate directly to the cause as well. If you donate, make sure to mention you’re a LibraryThing member!

Phase Two: Collection Development

This is about more than money. Books Matter is cataloging everything they send to Ghana.

Having everything cataloged allows us to do more than send random books. We can get involved in collection development—sending the right books to the right schools to fill gaps or to focus on areas of interest. We can do this site-wide or in groups. So, for example, wouldn’t it be cool if the “Green Dragon” and “Science!” groups could collaborate to make sure they’ve got a good collection in their area? And teachers and children at the schools can also participate, telling us what they need and how we can help!

That’s our idea. We’ll support it with some money and with features. But members will have to drive it. Let’s see what we can all do for readers in another country.

Come talk about phase two here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/153515

Why we’re doing this.

We’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time. We feel it’s important to give back when we can, and we want to give our members an easy way to contribute to a worthy project that puts books in the hands of readers who need them. By working with Keith and Books Matter, we’re in on the ground floor of a new, exciting project with lots of growth potential, and will be able to work with him to make sure that our contributions get where they need to go.

We’re really delighted about this, and we hope you all will be too!

Labels: events, fun, gifts, librarything local

Friday, September 11th, 2015

Edit and reorder sources in Add Books

Good news: We’ve improved the sources system within Add Books a lot.

Bad news: We had to transition to an entirely new sources system. Most members kept their sources, but some members and some sources couldn’t go into the new system easily. If you lost sources, you may need to choose them again. Fortunately, the new system’s a lot better at that.

You can find the new options on Add Books:
searchwhere

Everything now happens in a light box. The “Your Sources” tab allows you to reorder and delete sources.
yoursources

You can browse and choose sources, divided into “Featured” and “All Sources” on the other two tabs.
featured

As you’ll notice, a fair number of our sources are currently down. We’re working to get as many up again as possible, and add new ones. If you’d like to help and know something about Z39.50 connections, you’ll find we give our current connection details when you click the yellow warning marker.

You’ll also see other, very significant new stuff. But that’s a matter for another blog post!

Three cheers to our developer Ammar for the add-books changes!

Labels: cataloging, new features

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

Books received in Ghana!

We are very happy to report that nearly 3,000 books for the Bright Future School in Keta, Ghana have been successfully delivered and were happily received by the students there earlier this month!

Keith Goddard at Books Matter posted a short video on Facebook of the students saying “thank you,” so check that out if you can (it’s almost guaranteed to make you smile!). Keith reports that the school was actually on break when the books arrived, so there will be more pictures of the students with the books soon.

Earlier this month, another hundred books were presented to the library of the University of Health and Allied Sciences: Ghana TV was even on hand for the arrival of the books!

All of the books sent to Ghana this spring are cataloged on LibraryThing in the Books Matter account, and members have been helping out by adding tags to the library.

Keith is planning on sending the next batch of already-donated books to an orphanage in Kumasi, located in northern Ghana. The orphanage houses some two hundred residents ranging in age from six months to 20 years. The books will be cataloged and tagged on LibraryThing prior to shipment.

If you can help out by making a donation to help ship the books, it would be greatly appreciated! A gift of $1 basically funds the shipment of one book to Ghana, so every little bit helps! Head over to the Books Matter site and you can make a donation today. LibraryThing will be giving a $800 donation as well, from the funds raised by members adding events to LibraryThing Local over the winter.

For more on our Books to Ghana project and our partner Books Matter, see our announcement blog post. To help out with tagging the books or to discuss the project generally, chime in on the Talk thread.

Labels: books for ghana, gifts

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Apple highlights Local Books

Apple’s iTunes store has LibraryThing’s Local Books app. (see blog post, direct link) given us a rare honor—a spot among their featured apps.(1)

The exposure has shot us up in the books category, such that we are now—unbelievably—running third in the free section.(2) No matter how long it lasts—and we have no idea of that—it’s great news. The more people grab it, the more become invested in its success. We’re already seeing a pick up in entries to LibraryThing Local. And it puts pressure on us to improve Local and the app too.

Most of all, we hope the success of Local Books can inspire physical bookstores and libraries to embrace the digital world more fully—to put their basic information, events and holdings data out there for us and others to use. Their customers and patrons are eager for it. Only by embracing what the digital world can do for the physical can they compete against the continual advance of ecommerce and ebooks.

So, thanks to Apple for highlighting us, to Chris and John for making the app.(3), and thanks to all the members who entered the data to make it possible.


1. To see it, go to iTunes and click “App Store.” We’re in the third row of apps., next to “Puppy Park” and “Roadside America.” We only appear if the screen is wide enough to hold six icons. We go away if you’re only showing five or fewer apps.
2. The only downside has been that wider exposure has put the app in the hands of people who were, I think, expecting something different. Our ratings have shot down. Fortunately, they’re very much on par with other top apps. It seems iTunes reviewers are a finicky bunch!
3. They will be getting every dime the free app makes us!

PS: If you have an Android phone, check out our Layar app.

Labels: iphone, itunes, local book search, local books

Friday, June 29th, 2007

Find LibraryThing an employee, get $1,000 worth of books.

We need to find two excellent employees, a PHP hacker and a systems/database guy or gal, so we’re offering $1,000 worth of books to each of the people who find them. Think of it. $1,000 in books. What would you buy? Everything.

Rules! You get a $1,000 gift certificate to Abebooks, Amazon, Booksense or the independent bookseller of your choice. You can split it between them. You don’t need to buy books with it (but why do that?).

To qualify, you need to connect us to someone. Either you introduce them to us—and they follow up with a resume and etc.—or they mention your name in their email (“So-and-so told me about LibraryThing”). You can recommend yourself, but if you found out about it on someone’s blog, we hope you’ll do the right thing and make them the beneficiary.

Small print: Our decision is final, incontestable, irreversible and completely dictatorial. It only applies when an employee is hired full-time, not part-time, contract or for a trial period. If we don’t hire someone for the job, we don’t pay. The contact must happen in the next month. If we’ve already been in touch with the candidate, it doesn’t count. Void where prohibited. You pay taxes, and the insidious hidden tax of shelving. Tim Spalding and his family (all his family, Oakes) are not eligible, but if Abby wants to work Simmons or Altay his startup connections, fine. Abebooks employees are not eligible for this (but the internal offer still stands).

Needless to say, we’ll throw in a free lifetime membership, so you can catalog your loot. And you’ll get the satisfaction you helped LibraryThing become everything it could be.


Here are the job announcements:

UPDATE: We’ll take a look at people not in New England, especially for the DBA position.

Two jobs—dream jobs for the right people. We may hire one person or two, depending on what we get. (We’re happy to look at resumes with a mix of talents, or other talents.) Both jobs are located in the New England area, with some potential for telecommuting.

Syadmin/DBA

LibraryThing, the web’s largest and most innovative site for book lovers, is looking for a smart and experienced systems and database administrator. We value brains and talent above everything, but demonstrated experience with complex, high-traffic LAMP websites is essential to this position.

  • MySQL. Query optimization, replication, tuning, maintenance, recovery.
  • Systems administration. Linux administration, security, maintenance and recovery. Installation of new hardware.
  • Programming. You don’t need to start out a PHP guru, but you’ll have to support this part of the site.
  • Personal qualities. Speed, intelligence, reliability, high availability, good communication skills and sang-froid.

Hacker/Developer

We’re also looking for a crackerjack PHP/MySQL developer. To qualify you must be passionate, creative, flexible–and fast.

  • PHP. We write terse, losely modular non-OO code.
  • HTML, CSS, Javascript.
  • MySQL. Knowledge of query optimization, replication and MySQL internals a plus.
  • Design or UI talents a plus.
  • Knowledge of social networking, math, statistics, collaborative filtering, bibliographic data or library systems a plus.
  • You must learn quickly and communicate effectively. Skills and attitude matter; experience per se does not.

How We Work

LibraryThing has a somewhat unusual development culture. It is not for everyone.

  • We develop quickly, knocking out features in hours or days, not weeks. We value results, not process.
  • We develop incrementally and opportunistically, assuming that member feedback will sometimes overturn our plans in mid-course, and that some projects will fail.
  • Everyone who works for LibraryThing interacts directly with members.
  • We value initiative and intellectual engagement. You must be able to work alone or in a small team.
  • We are only accepting applications from people within driving distance of Portland, ME or Cambridge, MA. We are currently headquartered in Portland, ME–the second floor of a gorgeous three-family along the Eastern Prom.–but may relocate to the Boston/Cambridge, MA area.
  • LibraryThing is more than a job for us. We work long, hard and usually sober, but not necessarily during “regular” hours. We love what we do. We want someone who will feel the same way.

About LibraryThing

LibraryThing is a social cataloging and social networking site for book lovers. Started in August 2005 as a hobby project, LibraryThing has grown to a handful of employees and some 215,000 members in a dozen countries. Members have cataloged 15 million books and applied almost 20 million tags. We are well known in the library world, and rapidly winning over booksellers, authors and publishers.

Contact Tim Spalding (tim@librarything.com) for more information, or to send a resume.

Labels: jobs

Sunday, June 17th, 2007

Fifteen million books!

Going down, like the Titanic.

LibraryThing has hit fifteen million books.

Number 15,000,000 was a 1963 edition of The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton, added by dukedom_enough at 8:57am on June 15. For his luck, Dukedom earns a free gift membership.

Now begins the countdown to a major milestone: becoming the second largest “library” in the US, and with or soon after that, the second largest in the world, gulp.

LibraryThing is not of course a “real” library. You can’t take the books out, they do a lot more with them, and we have a lot more duplicates. We have only about 2.5 million distinct “titles.” But the comparison gives a sense of relative scale to the enterprise.*

Anyway, the tally is now as follows**:

  1. Library of Congress — 30,011,748
  2. Harvard University — 15,555,533
  3. Boston Public Library — 15,458,022
  4. LibraryThing — 15,081,543
  5. Yale University — 12,025,695

With luck, we’ll settle in behind the Library of Congress in 10-15 days. At 30 million, they’re going to take a while to beat.

When will we hit second in the world? Unfortunately, I can’t find a good list of world libraries by volumes. Everyone concedes that the Library of Congress is the largest library. The rest is foggy. Wikipedia has the British Library at 150 million items, and 22 million volumes. The Bibliothèque nationale and the Berlin State Library are at ten million volumes. (The German National Library is said to have 22 million items, but items aren’t volumes.) The stubby entry for the National Library of China speaks of it as:

“… the largest library of Asia and with a collection of over 22 million volumes (including individually counted periodicals, without these around 10 million), it is the fifth largest in the world.”

Which raises the question, does the ALA Factsheet also count periodical volumes separately?

Tim is dead. (Credit)

Surpassing the BPL in any way feels blasphemous; I love the place so much that comparing LibraryThing to the BPL—well, the lions should eat me for thinking it. But Harvard will be sweet. I lived most of my life in Cambridge, MA, but the bastards rejected me twice—undergrad and grad! So, in that spirit, and with Yalies protecting my back, let’s beat that little pile of books over at Widener.


*There are all sorts of problems with these numbers. In fact, libraries don’t really know how many books they have. LibraryThing has a small percentage of items that aren’t books, and a larger number that are “wished for” other otherwise ephemeral. At the same time, many of LibraryThing’s “books” are composed of multiple volumes. So, we’re in the neighborhood of 15 million anyway.

LibraryThing demonstrates something we always knew—that regular people have a lot of books—probably many times what all the world’s libraries hold. I’ve never seen the relative numbers discussed. It never mattered before, but now that regular people can put their catalogs online and engage in tasks, like tagging and work disambiguation, that bear on age-old issues of library science, it’s not entirely pointless to compare the two.

I want to underscore that, in making the comparison, we mean no disrespect to libraries. I think I’ve got some proof that LibraryThing has always been on libraries’ side. Our first hire, Abby, was a librarian. We have always favored library data, where our many recent competitors only care about Amazon’s data. We link to libraries extensively, something no competitor does. And we are grateful that our work has been of interest to the library world—Abby and I have become minor fixtures on the library speaking circuit.***

**Source: ALA Factsheet: The Nation’s Largest Libraries.

***My Library of Congress talk will be online soon, as will my recent keynote at the Innovative Users Group meeting in Sligo, Ireland.

Labels: 1

Wednesday, February 1st, 2023

February 2023 Early Reviewers Batch Is Live!

Win free books from the February 2023 batch of Early Reviewer titles! We’ve got 156 books this month, and a grand total of 2,970 copies to give out. Which books are you hoping to snag this month? Come tell us on Talk.

If you haven’t already, sign up for Early Reviewers. If you’ve already signed up, please check your mailing/email address and make sure they’re correct.

» Request books here!

The deadline to request a copy is Friday, February 24th at 6PM EST.

Eligibility: Publishers do things country-by-country. This month we have publishers who can send books to Canada, the US, Australia, Greece, Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, the UK, Sweden, Germany and more. Make sure to check the message on each book to see if it can be sent to your country.

He Said He Would Be LateKünstlers in ParadiseIron WidowWindswept WaySTFU: The Power of Keeping Your Mouth Shut in an Endlessly Noisy WorldCounter AttackThe Last Saxon KingBlind TrustThere's a Monster in the Kitchen!Wandering SoulsDisplay: Appearance, Posture and Behaviour in the Animal KingdomThe Vanishing at Castle MoreauHector Fox and the Map of MysteryBenjamin Banneker and Us: Eleven Generations of an American FamilyDream Big, My Precious OneThe Pearl: A Book of Facetiae and Voluptuous ReadingThe Big StingIndigo IsleRemember MeThe Metropolitan AffairNo No, Baby!The Syndicate SpyThe Lost GalumpusThe Ocean GirlWhen I Was Your AgeThe Rail SplitterTry Not to Hold It Against MeFields of BountyA Brighter DawnSomething: One Small Thing Can Make a DifferenceWill Litigate for CupcakesHauntWhy Sinéad O'Connor MattersTrue Crime Solved: 27 Solved Cold Cases That Bring Closure To Disturbing CrimesHow to High Tea with a Hyena (and Not Get Eaten)The Master's CourtThe Mis-Education of the NegroFor the Love of BrigidWhat Remains of UsThe Island SistersHole in My Heart: Love and Loss in the Fault Lines of AdoptionDawn: A Proton's Tale of All That Came to BePebbles and the Biggest NumberWrong Side of the CourtYou Are Us: How to Build Bridges in a Polarized WorldBlack EmpireAll Else Failed: The Unlikely Volunteers at the Heart of the Migrant Aid CrisisRooted and WingedBlood from a Stone: A Memoir of How Wine Brought Me Back from the DeadHow I Followed In The Devil's Footsteps: Part OneNever Really GoneAnother ElizabethBehaving As US: The Art of CooperationDawn: A Complete Account of the Most Important Day in Human History, Nisan 18, AD30Indigo and IdaThe Merry DredgersA Hint of Hitchcock: Stories Inspired by the Master of SuspenseIt's Me, Jaxon! Can You See Me?Seasons Unceasing: A Worldsmyths AnthologyBlood BornWhy Tammy Wynette MattersExistential Smut 1: Youthful IndiscretionsVoices Behind the CurtainRaising ElleMurder In GeminiLondon SecretsYesterday's PlansThe Vesper BellThe Name of the ShadowThe DiseasedSquid SeasonThe Serpent and the FireflyGuide to Norse PaganismRight Time Wrong PlaceAn Introduction to Complexity Pedagogy: Using Critical Theory, Critical Pedagogy and Complexity in Performance and LiteratureDark and Lonely WaterI Think I'm Falling ApartThe Fear of WinterFerryl Shayde - Book 8 - Apprentices, Adepts, and AscensionA Hundred VeilsYou Are Us: How to Build Bridges in a Polarized WorldThe Kevin Powell Reader: Essential Writings and ConversationsPhoenix PrecinctTemperedMaking the Low Notes: A Life in MusicEast of EvilThe One PercentHut-Yo Cull: The Hunt BeginsUnboundHow To Enhance Your Productivity Through Time Management: Time Management Hacks For Great AchieversA Series of Unfortunate ProposalsCulinary Travels: Memories Made at the TableNudi Gill: Poison Powerhouse of the SeaLove Will Turn You AroundScience, Matter and the Baseball ParkBlood on Her NameThralls of a Tyrant GodQuantum RegressionThe Historian Project: A Time Travel CatastropheThe Ripper: The First Next Life PrequelChess Games IV: Early and UncollectedWorld of SilverThe Love That Binds UsIsrael 201: Your Next Level Guide to the Magic and Mystery and Chaos of Life in the Holy LandSlavery in Zion: A Documentary and Genealogical History of Black Lives and Black Servitude in Utah Territory, 1847-1862Open Canon: Scriptures of the Latter Day Saint TraditionA Rival Most Vial: Potioneering for Love and ProfitMommy, There's a Dinosaur in the Cornfield!Summary of Summary of GRE Master Wordlist: 1535 Words for Verbal Mastery (Seventh Edition)GMAT Analytical Writing: Solutions to the Real Argument Topics (Sixth Edition)Practice Tests for the Digital SATPush Pin Art Projects: Worksheets Promoting Fine Motor Skills: ReligiousShadow BeastsDawning of Darkness: The Fall of Gods and KingsIn the Serpent's WakeBlood from a Stone: A Memoir of How Wine Brought Me Back from the DeadThe Third EmissaryThe Ocean GirlA Chinese OdysseyThe Practitioner of Boca MuerteThe Master's CourtSlipA Strange BunchTwo Hearts on the BackspinBreath and StarshineGive My Regards to Nowhere: A Director's TaleThe Nine Lives of Felix the TomcatThe Molecule ThiefRepublic Under Siege: Threat from WithinTattletales From School: A Novel of Bullying in the 60sOn the Evolution from the Primitive Egoic Mind by Means of Pure Consciousness: Through Living Exclusively in the Present MomentOutfoxedJusticeHondoVaporBobishRock Icon ReadyWhy Does My Horse Act Like This: Understanding Equine Behavior in your New HorseAngie and MeThere's a New Vampire in TownSasha & JakeEverything you always wanted to know about the Spanish* (*but were afraid to ask)'Curse' DrakkoTime Traveling to 1983: Celebrating a Special YearTime Traveling to 1963: Celebrating a Special YearRebels in PisaOctave of StarsHauntBooks for BenjaminBiblical Food for Kids: 91 Daily Nutritious Wholesome Meal for Raising Healthy and Spirit-Filled Children to Giants, Ages 7-12Biblical Food for Kids: 91 Daily Nutritious Wholesome Meal for Raising Healthy and Spirit-Filled Children to Giants, Ages 7-1221st Century Balance: Unconventional Wisdom to Enlighten Yourself and Inspire OthersGrok Your Life: Minutes to MyselfMarketing Study Cases for People Who Want to Improve Their English Language Skills. Volume III

Thanks to all the publishers participating this month!

5 Prince Publishing Akashic Books Arabelle Publishing
Beaufort Books Bellevue Literary Press Bethany House
BHC Press Black Beacon Books Book Summary Publishing
Brick Mantel Books Cinnabar Moth Publishing LLC Crystal Lake Publishing
Entrada Publishing eSpec Books Gefen Publishing House
Gnome Road Publishing Grand Canyon Press Greenleaf Book Group
Henry Holt and Company Imbrifex Books Islandport Press
IVP Academic Lerner Publishing Group Meerkat Press
Mint Editions Open Books Press PublishNation
The Quarto Group Real Nice Books Revell
Ripe Mango Take Two Press Tapioca Stories
True Crime Seven Tundra Books Tyndale House Publishers
University of Texas Press The University of Utah Press Vibrant Publishers
Wise Media Group Worldsmyths Publishing WorthyKids

Labels: early reviewers, LTER

Thursday, September 1st, 2022

September 2022 Early Reviewers Batch Is Live!

Win free books from the September 2022 batch of Early Reviewer titles! We’ve got 188 books this month, and a grand total of 3,826 copies to give out. Which books are you hoping to snag this month? Come tell us on Talk.

If you haven’t already, sign up for Early Reviewers. If you’ve already signed up, please check your mailing/email address and make sure they’re correct.

» Request books here!

The deadline to request a copy is Monday, September 26th at 6PM EDT.

Eligibility: Publishers do things country-by-country. This month we have publishers who can send books to Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Portugal, Finland and more. Make sure to check the message on each book to see if it can be sent to your country.

WinterlandThe Rose and the ThistleMy Self, Your SelfNight LunchWin Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public SpeakingVintage Christmas Tales: A Holiday AnthologyToo Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf: A Counting StoryKumo: The Bashful CloudA Long Way from HomeMoonrise Over New JessupGreen Mountain AcademyHow to Teach Your Cat a Trick: In Five Easy StepsThe Nutcracker TreasuryThe Catbird SeatHer Heart's Desire48 StatesVéronique's JourneyGranite KingdomAugustaUphill: A MemoirStone WomanThe Spirit PhoneAdulting 101: How Not to Move Back Home with Your Parents: 135 Life Skills - Money Matters, Cooking, Job Interviewing, Car Basics, Dating, and Everything Else You Should Know Before You're 25Girl/FriendThe Great Escape: A True Story of Forced Labor and Immigrant Dreams in AmericaTrue Crime Storytime Volume 5: 12 Disturbing True Crime Stories to Keep You Up All NightThe Cannibal's Guide to FastingMastery & Mystery in the BibleLeigh Howard and the Ghosts of Simmons Pierce ManorThe Perfect Mrs. ClausButch Operation Overlord: A Tommy Collins AdventureThe Baby's Christmas BlessingThe Premonition at Withers FarmWhere the Blue Sky BeginsFairy ScienceGhostlightHow to Install Corvette Interior Kits: Includes C1, C2, C3Yes, That Happened!: A Collection of Wildly Insane-But-True Stories in Pop Culture, Science, and History That Seniors Will RememberThe Secret Benefits of InvisibilityFixed MoonThe Tooth Fairy Lost Her WayMurder at an ExhibitionJourney to the HeartlandEnd ManMy Mother's Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous RegionChildren of the FoxNFT Your Art: Maximize Your Profit By Converting Traditional Art Into NFTsScratchedUnder the Starry SkiesA Model of DevotionSugarball: A Novel of Negro League BaseballDead in the AlleyBlack Country Music: Listening for RevolutionsBurn MarksTrouble with Tattle-TailsThe SuperOptimist Guide to Unconventional Living: Alternative Strategies for Navigating the PresentTwelve: A Retelling of The Twelve Dancing PrincessesAdulting 101: How Not to Move Back Home with Your Parents: 135 Life Skills - Money Matters, Cooking, Job Interviewing, Car Basics, Dating, and Everything Else You Should Know Before You're 25The Lost and Found of Green TreeSummary of Next Level: Your Guide to Kicking Ass, Feeling Great, and Crushing Goals through Menopause and BeyondThe Power Yoga Handbook: Discover Yourself, One Breath at a TimeThe Play of LightFalling for the CowgirlWoman on the WallThe Welsh Dragon: A Novel of Henry TudorA Trade In TearsOver 80: Reflections on AgingChicken RunMaybe We'll Make It: A MemoirThe Year of the MonsterThe ExtraRoad To Nirvana: The Sikh WayThe Star in the East: A Winter Tale of Ancient MysteryThe Sun Never SetThe Crimson FathersThe Veiled Threat of MagicDoGoodRBeware the Ides of JusticeThe Harpy’s LullabySuffer!: A Hollywood NovelTricked in OctoberExtreme VettingTumbo in the ShadowsThe Signs We MissedWho Shall DieFound FootageunAfraid: A Faith-Based Workbook to Conquer FearMastery & Mystery in the BibleAny Better Than This: A Summer of Love StoryEphemeral WingsALTCombat to College: Applying the Military Mentality As a Student VeteranChicken Runbecause God loves the waspHarlequin MatlinaLittle Man, Big Mouth, 30 Years: Newspaper and Magazine Columns by an Average Dad in Cargo ShortsMonsieur Lapin Goes To LondonA Colorful BeginningImprintWalks Through Memories of OblivionHarvey's Hutch: A MemoirWinter PaleYou Will Know VengeanceOut of the CageRising From Down UnderHot for Teacher: Shakespeare Made Us Fall in LoveWizard's MasqueradeThe No. 1 Golden Health Secret You Simply Must Know and How To Look 10 Years YoungerThe Way BackNot So Different After All: Welcome to the World of SheepThe Land of Fake BelieveThe SunrisersFarawayerMidnight CravingSong of VirgoDiscordThe Stars in Their EyesCaged FurySouthwest HeatBlood and ThunderInto FaerLandAnthesisSummary of Silva Mind Control Method: The Revolutionary Program by the Founder of the World's Most Famous Mind Control CourseNFT Your Art: Maximize Profit By Converting Traditional Art Into NFTsLost PackagesCost Accounting and Management Essentials You Always Wanted to Know: 5th EditionDiversity in the Workplace Essentials You Always Wanted to Know6 Practice Tests for the GREWinning Strategies for ACT Essay Writing: With 15 Sample PromptsAny JoeFlowers for AlcyonJazz HouseThe Baby’s Christmas BlessingEbola Saves the Planet! and Other Wholesome TalesThe Song and the Swallow: Authenticity and LoveWhile the Music LastsThe Many Perfect Midnights of Meredith HillThe Patterns of Existence II: The Subsequent FateThe Muse of FreedomDusk Upon ElysiumThe Hegemony NetworkLiving Rent Free In My Head: Essays On Pop CultureSubmitting to HimBreak Through Burnout: Triumph Over Stress And Anxiety, And Win Back Your Life!The Seed of CorruptionEnd ManA Path Back to Life: The Art of Micro-RehabA Doctor's Journey Back to HealthA Doctor's Journey Back to HealthRetirement Planning at 40 and Beyond: Simple Guide to Take Control of Your Future, Your Finances, Your Investments and Your Time in Retirement to the Next Level in 30 DaysVelázquez 33The ScionessesConstitution CheckThe Herbal Code: Native American Herbalist Bible 8 in 1: Comprehensive Guide To Heal Naturally & Regain Vitality with Plant Remedies. Growing Medicine for Families (Beginner's Herbology Apothecary)Shallow DeathAfter the Walk: The Amazing Places the Mind GoesWink: Transforming Public Speaking with Clown PresenceOther Lost SoulsBlind Man's Beauty: The True Story of a Boy Born Blind & The Little Girl Who Grew Him UpLife Sucks!!: A Story of Love, Betrayal and HopeMoonsleep and Other StoriesDark RouxSplendide MendaxClear as IceABC's of Herbal Medicine: Natural Remedies for Common Ailments: All You Need to Know about Herbs for Natural Ways of Healing YourselfMy Way 2: La forza della libertàThe Dark Prince of LazeraBeans of AnafiUnshakeable Love: A Couples Guide to Winning Over Betrayal and InfidelitySteadfast PursuitSocial Skills for Kids 3 to 10: How to Help Your Child Develop Nine Social Skills Needed To Be Happy, Confident, and Successful as a Child and Grown-UpThe Harpy’s LullabyThe Gateways of AlkademahTake a Chance on MeThe Fire in a Woman's Belly IIEmpath and Psychic AbilitiesEvery Awful Thing: Flash Fiction and PoemsRakhi: A Promise to ProtectSuperhero Math - Money, Fractions, & Telling the Time: Grades 2-4 with Answer Key: Count MoneySuperhero Math - Addition and Subtraction: Grades K-2 with Answer KeyBusiness Fables Adapted from Aesop for Humans Who Work for a LivingHow to Talk to a Man and Feel Heard: 9 Mistakes Women Need to Avoid: Improve Couples Communication Skills, Reduce Conflict, Repair Your Marriage, and Create a Healthy RelationshipHow to Talk to a Man and Feel Heard: 9 Mistakes Women Need to Avoid: Improve Couples Communication Skills, Reduce Conflict, Repair Your Marriage, and Create a Healthy RelationshipAnger Management for Better Parenting: A Guilt Free Guide to Not Wrecking Your Kids and Peacefully Navigate Tantrums and MeltdownsLucid RevengeFathomless PursuitEchoes of Enmity

Thanks to all the publishers participating this month!

5 Prince Publishing Algonquin Books Bethany House
BHC Press Black Rose Writing CarTech Books
Cinnabar Moth Publishing LLC City Owl Press david.elrad@gmail.com
Essential Reads FTL Publications Gilded Orange Books
Golden Brick Road Publishing House Greenleaf Book Group Grousable Books
Henry Holt and Company Las Hermanas Publishing History Through Fiction
Lerner Publishing Group NeoParadoxa New Wind Publishing
Niv Publishing Ooligan Press PublishNation
Puffin Books Canada Pulp Literature Press Revell
Rootstock Publishing Sea Vision Publishing The Story Plant
Trebuchet Books Triune Publications True Crime Seven
Tundra Books Tuxtails Publishing, LLC University of North Georgia Press
University of Texas Press Unsolicited Press Vibrant Publishers
West Margin Press Wise Media Group

Labels: early reviewers, LTER

Monday, August 1st, 2022

August 2022 Early Reviewers Batch Is Live!

Win free books from the August 2022 batch of Early Reviewer titles! We’ve got 229 books this month, and a grand total of 4,739 copies to give out. Which books are you hoping to snag this month? Come tell us on Talk.

If you haven’t already, sign up for Early Reviewers. If you’ve already signed up, please check your mailing/email address and make sure they’re correct.

» Request books here!

The deadline to request a copy is Thursday, August 25th at 6PM EDT.

Eligibility: Publishers do things country-by-country. This month we have publishers who can send books to Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, India, Ireland and Germany. Make sure to check the message on each book to see if it can be sent to your country.

Funeral GirlRandomWeird and Horrific StoriesSundownHow to Make Friends with a GhostRomantic and Horrific StoriesEscape to Witch CitySir Simon: Super ScarerFantastic and Horrific StoriesThe Dollhouse: A Ghost StoryFuneral Train: A Dust Bowl MysteryA Suitable Companion for the End of Your LifeHonor's RefugeWomen in EngineeringWomen in BotanyThis Is the SunScientific and Horrific StoriesMysterious and Horrific StoriesMother Brain: How Neuroscience Is Rewriting the Story of ParenthoodThe Further Adventures of Miss PetitfourWomen in MedicineThe Maze CutterIf You Cry Like a FountainThe End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and SocietyMystery of the Lost LynxChildren of SugarcaneThe Weary BluesThe HomecomingThe Greatest Polar Expedition of All Time: The Arctic Mission to the Epicenter of Climate ChangeA Trillion Trees: Restoring Our Forests by Trusting in NatureWatersongBecoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our FutureThe Great BearA Death in DurangoTheir Ghoulish Reputation: A Folk Horror AnthologyDream States: Smart Cities and the Pursuit of Utopian UrbanismLittle Tim and the Magic ApplesCaesar's LordDouble O Stephen and the Ghostly RealmThe Stone ChildThe Doctor From Hell: The True Story of Harold Shipman One of Britain’s Most Prolific Serial Killer With an Estimated 218 VictimsAdulting 101: How Not to Move Back Home with Your Parents: 135 Life Skills - Money Matters, Cooking, Job Interviewing, Car Basics, Dating, and Everything Else You Should Know Before You're 25Crybaby: Infertility, Illness, and Other Things That Were Not the End of the WorldShout Out for the Fitzgerald-TroutsShadow ClocksFrom the LighthouseBlack No MoreThe Rogue and the PeasantThe Spirit PhoneMuddy People: A Muslim Coming of AgeCrimes Against Nature: Capitalism and Global HeatingEste es el SolAfrica for Africans; Or, The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus GarveyReady, Set, OhDaddy Will Fix ItIRL: Finding Our Real Selves in a Digital WorldThe Portals of Sparkling FallsInhuman ActsYour Writing Matters: 34 Quick Essays to Get Unstuck and Stay InspiredStripThe CollectorThe OrchardCanciónExtreme VettingA Pale Box on the Distant ShoreLocation Isn't AnythingHead Like a HoleThe Queen of Summer's TwilightThe SuperOptimist Guide to Unconventional Living: Alternative Strategies for Navigating the PresentGlorious FiendsLeadership for the New Female ManagerThe Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro LifeThe Big Festival of Lights: Stories and Plays for HanukkahThe Ghosts of Lewis ManorClear the Space... Feel the Rush: Declutter Body, Mind, and Stuff, and the Real You Shines ThroughBurning America: In the Best Interest of the Children?The Baby’s Christmas BlessingBone Saw SerenadeBarnum's AngelWild & FreeBeyond Amazon: A Metaphysical Journey Through Time and Space: How Curtis Trueheart Came to Live in the Village of Duachi, by the Golden SeaRagsThe Demi-Wolf and the HunterBad PressCity of RuinThe Harpy’s LullabyCalypso, Corpses, and CookingA Gem of TruthStriding Rough Ice: Coaching College Hockey and Growing Up in the GameThe Remembering TreePregnancy Guide for Men: How to Be the Best Partner and Father from Conception to Birth and Beyond: Plus 10 Life Hacks for New DadsProphet's DebtRookDestiny's RogueWorthy of LegendTo Win a PrinceThe Veiled Threat of MagicAdulting 101: How Not to Move Back Home with Your Parents: 135 Life Skills - Money Matters, Cooking, Job Interviewing, Car Basics, Dating, and Everything Else You Should Know Before You're 25Stronger Than LongingSo Damn SketchyTwo Guns Across Texas: Historical Tales of the Texas RangersThe Judas Conspiracy: A JFK ThrillerForget Me NotThe Day I DiedThe Ugly StepsisterBurnCleopatra’s Eternal Journal: Three Short Stories Starring Three Overbearing GhostsDeath and the MaidenThe Sins of the FathersIn the Wild LightThe Sun Never SetThe Crimson FathersThe Junkyard DickThe Secrets that Kill UsMaking Mental Might: How to Look Ten Times Smarter Than You AreTap Talk, Tidbits, and Tips for Dilettante Tappers: The World's Only Completely Nonessential Guide to Tap DancingThe Brilliant MirageProving a VillainThe Last Dollar PrincessHow to Grow and Use Gourmet & Medicinal Mushrooms: A Mushroom Field Guide with Step-by-Step Instructions and Images for Mushroom Identification, Cultivation, Usage and RecipesSummary of Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of MiseducationNoises from the Other SidePaper ForestsA Flower Girl?Night's Reign(R)EvolutionAnthesisHot SetSummary of Thank You for Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the Price of SubmissionSloth StoryYour Super Gut Feeling Restored: How to Restore Your Life Energy and Overall Health from The Inside OutSharon, Lois and Bram's One Elephant Went Out to PlayWilla the WispEyes of the WolfThe Baby's Christmas BlessingBetter TogetherVox Astra: When Clouds DieAwakenGateways to the ParanormalThe Guide to Being a Dictator's MistressMushrooms of the Pacific Northwest Foraging Guide: A 5-Step Mushroom Field Guide for Identification, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Pacific Northwest MushroomsThe Gateways of AlkademahThe Many Perfect Midnights of Meredith HillAverage JoeThe Ballad of Rochester JailTales of the Women of Norse LegendLucid BodiesHawaii Aloha: Stories and SongsStop Binge Eating for Good: Your Journey to Recovery and BeyondCalled to the DeepHow to Date a FuryBeyond Abuse: An Empowered Journey of Soul, Science & Self-HelpSuffer!Empath and Psychic AbilitiesFlipping Houses Quickstart Guide: The Simplified Beginner's Guide to Finding and Financing the Right Properties, Strategically Adding Value, and Flipping for a ProfitDeborah's GiftThe Welsh Dragon: A Novel of Henry TudorThe 3-Part Beginner's Guide to Manage PCOS Symptoms: A Modern Guide to Improve Your Hormone Balance and Repair Your Metabolism. Complete With Anti-Inflammatory PCOS Recipes.The Song of Everywhen: Books 1-3GabrielleMy Girly UnicornThe Hand We Are DealtThe Sky Never Came DownNadia's ShoesThe Midwife of DreamsGuía del Embarazo para Hombres: Cómo Ser el Mejor Compañero y Padre, Desde la Concepción hasta el Nacimiento y Más Allá. Incluye 10 Consejos Para Padres RecientesThe Land of Fake BelieveDestiny of Determination: Faith and FamilyMoments In MishmashAfter PlutoniumJilting JoryHomeland Insecurity: The Birth of an Era of Unrest in AmericaAwaiting ArrivalThe City WifeThe Rain City HustlePieces of Past: Hurts...You Are Your Healer: The Ultimate Guide to Heal Your Past, Transform Your Life & Awaken to Your True SelfThe Odd Dad Guide: Wise-Ass Rules for New AdultsCharacters of HuffinfieldWest of the SoundFinding My MojoSea Change in CrimsonKLEENYou Have Everything You Need to Get What You Want: You Have the Power to Change Everything!The Ninth StarIn Search of Beira's HammerSmall Stories: A Perfectly Absurd NovelAgapi & Other Kinds of LoveThe Harpy’s LullabyMirrorheartFather's DayThey Whisper in My BloodSummary of Why I StandThe April Fools!GRE Quantitative Reasoning Supreme: Study Guide with Practice QuestionsFinancial Management Essentials You Always Wanted to Know (5th Edition)Whispers of a Soul: Poems, Prose and ThoughtsStreet People Portfolio: Invisible New York Made VisualThe Last WarThe BroochDistant Flickers: Stories of Identity & LossPregnancy Guide for Men: How to Be the Best Partner and Father from Conception to Birth and Beyond: Plus 10 Life Hacks for New DadsThe Trophy CaseSecrets, Lies and Rhubarb PiesPregnancy Guide for Men: How to Be the Best Partner and Father from Conception to Birth and Beyond: Plus 10 Life Hacks for New DadsGuía del Embarazo para Hombres:Cómo Ser el Mejor Compañero y Padre, Desde la Concepción hasta el Nacimiento y Más Allá. Incluye 10 Consejos Para Padres RecientesIs THAT a Hat?Alive Again Study Guide: Find Healing in ForgivenessSouthern Highlands: Obi of MarsFighting Her TouchPacific Northwest Edible Plant Foraging & Mushroom Field Guide: A Complete Pacific Northwest Foraging Guide with 50+ Wild Plants & Mushrooms, 18+ Recipes & 150+ Instructional Colored ImagesAdira: Journey to FreedomBeyond Amazon: A Metaphysical Journey Through Time and Space: How Curtis Trueheart Came to Live in the Village of Duachi, by the Golden SeaOn the Emancipation of HatredThe Seed of CorruptionTouchpointsThe Shoebox SecretFinding the One: A Practical Guide to Manifesting Your Soul MateFarawayerAny JoeAtrocious ImmoralitiesWoodstock to St. Joseph'sThey Whisper in My BloodTrapped in IranNecropolisPreventing Her Shutdown: Losing My Wife to Alzheimer'sThe Lost and Found of Green TreeNFT Your Art: Maximize Profit By Converting Traditional Art Into NFTsSuperhero Math - Multiplication: For Grades 3-5 with Answer Key

Thanks to all the publishers participating this month!

Akashic Books Akashic Media Enterprises Bellevue Literary Press
Bethany House BHC Press Black Rose Writing
Broadleaf Books Brown Paper Press Cinnabar Moth Publishing LLC
City Owl Press ClydeBank Media Coach House Books
Crooked Lane Books Czidor Lore, LLC Dark Lake Publishing LLP
eSpec Books Essential Reads Fontreal
Greenleaf Book Group Greystone Books Greywood Bay
Henry Holt and Company Las Hermanas Publishing Hot Tree Publishing
Icon Books Identity Publications Islandport Press
Lerner Publishing Group Link Press NeoParadoxa
New Wind Publishing NewCon Press Ooligan Press
Paul Stream Press Pioneer Publishing PublishNation
Quiet Thunder Publishing Revell Rootstock Publishing
Science, Naturally! Scribe Publications TFIG
Thinking Ink Press True Crime Seven Tundra Books
Underland Press Unsolicited Press Vibrant Publishers
Well-Tailored Books West Margin Press Wise Media Group

Labels: early reviewers, LTER