Amazon Vine

Readers of this blog know that I like to read. In fact, I could probably crawl into a cave with a stack of books for six months and be perfectly happy - as long as I had access to ESPN, too. Anyway, in April 2006 I started to regularly write reviews of books I read and post them on Amazon. I also have made a few guides and 'listmanias'. See my Amazon profile.

Likewise, I also became a devotee of the web site LibraryThing where I posted my catalog (I don't actually currently own all the books in my catalog; some of them are just books I've read) and some reviews.

Writing the reviews helps me focus on what I'm reading and records my thoughts and so I can actually remember what I've read. I also enjoy writing and the reviews are on outlet for that. OK, I also got it in my head that it would be really cool to be one of Amazon's Top 1000 reviewers (I started at about 3 millionth and I'm up to 2484 this morning).

As it has turned out, however, there are other unexpected rewards. Some people enjoy reading the reviews and I've found other readers' whose reviews I have to come to respect and rely upon. These interactions have led me to discover a number of authors I would never have found otherwise (John Biggins and Boris Akunin to name two).

Amazon and LibraryThing both have become communities of readers. Well, readers buy books, so I began to wonder how the publishing industry would respond to all these free amateur reviewers.

It turns out the people running the publishing industry and even smarter than I ever dreamed because they are sending me free stuff! First, I received a free advance copy of Tipperary by Frank Delaney through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. And yesterday Amazon sent me an email inviting me to join Amazon Vine, which I did because they promised to send me free new releases and advance copies of books, DVD's and CD's. Amazon Vine is by invitation only and it starts up on August 15.

The plan is Amazon will send a newsletter with the offerings and Vine members pick. Amazon explicitly says there are no strings attached, but they do expect Vine members to review the products, but the review does not have to be positive. Obviously, Amazon is in business to sell stuff so they are factoring that in to the reviewers they picked. Most of my reviews are positive, but that's mainly because I make an effort to pick books that I am going to enjoy. Whatever, I'm just looking forward to getting free stuff!