Friday, August 29, 2008

Breaking Dawn review contest winners

The suspense is over—behold, the winners of the Breaking Dawn review contest!

When the contest closed on the 15th of August, there were already 119 reviews in (for a book that had been out just two weeks). As promised the top three reviews (those with the most "thumbs-up" when the contest closed) win a $50 gift card to Amazon, Abebooks, Booksense, or any independent bookseller of their choice, a LibraryThing t-shirt and a year's free membership (to keep or give away).

The top three are:
Seven runners up (the next seven reviews with the most "thumbs-up") win a LibraryThing t-shirt and a year's free membership (to keep or give away).
And then forty reviewers were randomly chosen from everyone who both wrote a review and voted for others' reviews. They'll each receive a year's free membership (to keep or give away).
Congratulations to everyone who participated! Winners, email Lindsey: info@librarything.com to claim your prize (include your user name)! If you won a tshirt, include your mailing address, and preferred t-shirt color and size (see the choices here).

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Thursday, August 28, 2008

Cover page changes



I've revamped each work's "covers" page—a.k.a. "change cover"—to emphasize the higher-quality images among out 1,000,000 covers.

1. The images are bigger, so you can see quality, and because covers are so beautiful.
2. The algorithm now sorts larger covers higher, so that members are more likely to pick higher-quality versions of their cover. The existing sort order was reinforcing the use of low-quality images, even when LT had high-quality ones.
3. High-quality images now say "high quality" and list the original dimensions.

Here are some examples: The Odyssey, Pnin, The Kama Sutra, Pudd'nhead Wilson, Origin of Species, Life of Pi, Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

News you can... discuss

Big news today—Amazon now owns 100% of our rival and bête noire, Shelfari.

With a lot to do today, I don't have time to blog-ify it, but you can read about it on Talk and talk back. We've always relied on members to direct the site. We could use your advice now more than ever!

Here's the post on Talk: http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=44126

Monday, August 18, 2008

August Early Reviewer Bonus Batch

St. Martin's Press is responsible for this month's unprecedented and huge Early Reviewer bonus batch! They're giving out 1,000—yes, one thousand—copies of Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland.

The book is available to residents of the US and Canada, and the deadline to request a copy is Sunday, August 31st at 6pm EDT.

Request your copy here:
http://www.librarything.com/er/list

About the book: it's a brand new series featuring Elizabeth Phoenix, a cop with extraordinary psychic powers who's hot on the trail of a ruthless murderer- and whose life is about to change forever. Bestselling author Lori Handeland delivers and unforgettable heroine and a pulse-pounding series that you don't want to miss.

And, on their website, you can sign up to receive In The Beginning, the free prequel story to Any Given Doomsday.

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Monday, August 11, 2008

August Early Reviewer books

The August batch of Early Reviewer books is up! We've got 56 books this month, and a grand total 1,274 copies to give out.

First, make sure to sign up for Early Reviewers. If you've already signed up, please check your mailing address and make sure it's correct.

Then request away! The list of available books is here:
http://www.librarything.com/er/list

The deadline to request a copy is Sunday, August 17th at 6pm EDT.

Eligiblity:
Publishers do things country-by-country. This month we have publishers who can send books to tons of new countires, including the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, France, Germany, and the Philippines! Make sure to check the flags by each book to see if it can be sent to your country.

Thanks to all the publishers, new and old!
Algonquin BooksAndrews McMeel PublishingBallantine Books
bluechrome PublishingCuneiformDelacorte Press
DeltaF+W PublicationsFaber and Faber
Loving Healing Press McBooks PressModern History Press
Open LetterOther Press Picador
PublicAffairs Raven Tree PressSanta Fe Writer's Project
SolarisSouth Dakota State Historical Society PressSparklight Press
St. Martin's Griffin St. Martin's Minotaur St. Martin's Press
Thomas NelsonTor BooksUnbridled Books
University of Illnois PressW.W. NortonWaterBrook Press
Willow Ridge PressYMAA


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