Advice - Ways to get free books

Okay so those of you who aren't in the Amazon Vine program are wondering how to get free books to review? More specifically how to get ARCs (advanced reading copies).

Well there are a couple good ways to get them. Some are free and some are just really cheap.

I use paperbackswap.com a lot. Not only do you get books for the price of postage but in many of the forums people post ARCs (advanced reading copies) that they are trying to get rid. So, it's a great way to get books early and really cheap. The same can be said for bookmooch.com

Okay, well the above aren't free but a couple of bucks for a paperback is an awesome deal anyway.

Another way to get free books is through the LibraryThing.com Early Reviewer program. Every month LibraryThing lists a ton of books that they get from authors to distribute to LibraryThing members. This is only the second month I have done this. Each month I have scored a book, so it's pretty cool. It's even cooler than the Amazon Vine program because you are under no obligation to review the book and the book is yours to keep (not property of LibraryThing). I had no idea this program existed until I stumbled upon it while screwing around on LibraryThing one night. It is awesome!

Another way I have gotten a number of free books is to have this book blog. It helps to state your info and that you are willing to receive advance copies of books to review. I have had a number of authors contact me and ask for me to read their audio book, e-book, or paperback book. This is the most fun because you get to chat back and forth with the author a bit. Unfortunately this is also the most iffy way to get books. By that I mean I have gotten some really bad books this way, but on the flip side I have gotten some really awesome books this way too! It's a cool way to get books because you are under no obligation to review them (although you should), you get to keep them, and you get to know the author a bit. Many authors are willing to do interviews or other things to help your blog.

These are mainly passive ways to get books. I have heard that you can actively seek out review copies or ARCs from publishers or authors directly. I guess I am too lazy to do that...and I have too much to read. The above ways work pretty well for me. I usually score a few free books each month one way or another.

So all in all those are the ways I get some books before their publish date. Also the way I get a lot of my books cheap. I suppose I could mention the libray too...but everyone should know you can read books for free at your library :-)