I read a lot of novels. By “read,” of course, I usually mean “listen to.” I spend about 3 hours in my car every day commuting hither and yon. And I go absolutely stir crazy when I have to sit there with nothing to do but bide my time as I creep along to school, to work, or back home again.
Last year, I tore through about a dozen novels, all of them audiobooks. This year, I’ve got another 6 novels under my belt, and I’m in various stages of reading three more (with another half dozen non-fiction books in the mix for 2012 too). I’m actually getting my hands on dead tree versions again, though these take me a lot longer to get through. Too many distractions in a house full of kids. When I’m in my car, I’m on book island.
Since I read (listen to) so many, I’ve decided to start adding book reviews to my content mix. It allows me to talk about books I love, and it also gives me the opportunity to get free review copies from publishers. As I see it, this is a win/win situation: I have limited disposable income to buy books (I get most of my stuff these days from the library) and publishers have publicity copies to give away so people like me can talk the books up to their friends. Social media influence at its finest, that.
I recently found the secret about how to get my hands on these review copies, and tried it out. On my first attempt, I scored a copy of Josh Bazell’s new pulp fiction sarcasm/monster fest, Wild Thing. Which, not coincidentally, will be my first review.
Stay tuned.
Steve Skojec is a husband, father, storyteller, writer, and podcaster who dabbles in photography, filmmaking, and graphic design. His commentary has has appeared at outlets such as The New York Times, Foreign Policy, USA Today, The Washington Post, Fox News, and The Washington Times. He lives in Arizona with his wife Jamie and their many children.
