Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Alison wrote: "Just curious, I received approval for a book after it had been archived which means I can't access it. Has anyone else had this problem?"

This has happened to me and I did what Dragana suggested and ended up waiting for it to be released at the library and then did the review. Those archive dates are worth taking note of!!

The publisher does have the ability to authorize you to download the book after it is archived. If you were apporoved after the book was archived, send them an email to explain and request access. I think there is contact information in the email that tells you when you are approved or not.

I've emailed support at NetGalley to see if they can do anything but have to admit I've already bought the book as it's the final one in the series and I really want to read it.

The approval date is definitely the day after the archive date but it was a strange email I received. Usually I get a list of instructions or at least "we're pleased to tell you your request was approved" but this one just said "you can access the title here" (which I couldn't).

I have noticed there are differences between publishers.

Netgalley yearly challenge has begun:

http://blog.netgalley.com/2015-netgal...

Thanks for the link, Karen. I didn't see that before.

Just finished this book and it is just beautiful. Highly recommend it to people who enjoy character driven novels. It has loads of humour, and just a lovely story


Can be requested here. No archive date set yet.

I'm about halfway through this and it is just delightful. A coming of age story about a girl in Saudi Arabia that is actually a fun read. Available until Sept 24
https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

I have My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry still waiting to be read. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm starting Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica today. You can request it here. It archives on Sept. 28.

I'm still reading Hello From the Gillespies, which is pretty good, but it's already been archived. I really need to get better about reading books before their archive dates.

I hope you're enjoying 'My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry' Kristie!


Just finished


Just loved it. Another great character novel. It is a fairly early copy so there are a few spelling errors towards the back, but no biggie.

Can be requested here until January:
https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

Thanks, Karen. I'm enjoying it. I can't link now, but it is still available for request.

I linked it in one of the posts above for anyone that may be interested. I really enjoyed it :)

Oh I see it now. Guess I just didn't look. ;)

I guess I forgive you
teehee

For anyone that read You and liked it, the sequel, Hidden Bodies, is currently a 'read now' on NetGalley.

Link is here: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

I also just read Hanover House, which was really good and is still available. The only issue for me was the rushed insta-romance, otherwise I thought it was well done. I liked the characters and the thriller aspect was good.

Link is here: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

I just read The Seventh Bride. It is a YA fantasy. It was really good, if you like you the genre. It is only available for another 5 days, then it will archive. If you are interested, you can get it here: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

I currently have 7 requests pending and haven't heard about any of them! So strange, they date back to Sept 28. I have to assume that I just wasn't approved for the oldest ones. I wish they'd let you know either way.

That's really odd. I had one recently which took over a week, but usually they are quite fast

I thought so too. I had one request on Sept 28, then 3 on Oct 13, 2 on Nov 6, and 1 on Nov 17. So a few of them have been pending for quite some time. They are from different publishers too, so I can't even use that as an excuse. Now that I'm thinking about it, the last book I requested archived without a response too. :/

On a separate note, have you ever had difficulty getting your titles on your Kindle? The last two books I got show up in my Amazon account and on my app on my phone, but not on my Kindle, even if I'm accessing the cloud, which is so weird. I've never had trouble with this before.

I figured out my downloading issue! That was all me, not NetGalley at all. Phew. Now just to wait and see about my pending reads.... I did pick up Hidden Bodies, which is next on my review list.

:) glad you worked it out!

The thing I don't like is being accepted for a title and then realising it's a PDF rather than kindle book. I find the bluefire reader app for PDFs nowhere near as good and sometimes the titles expire so you have to read them quickly!

I agree! I have to read those on my laptop, which is not very convenient. I don't like that they disappear when they archive either.

I did give that feedback to netgalley (I.e state the title format before we request) but they don't seem to care much ;)

Karen wrote: ":) glad you worked it out!

The thing I don't like is being accepted for a title and then realising it's a PDF rather than kindle book. I find the bluefire reader app for PDFs nowhere near as good ..."

And of course you can't conveniently enlarge text to read it easier. That drives me crazy with certain file formats.

Oh yes that's so true Erin. PDFs are just s bad way to read a book! ;)

I waited over 2 months to hear about my request to read After You. I assumed it was not going to be approved after waiting for so long and went out a couple of days ago and bought a copy to read for a challenge in another group. I got the approval today. Gah!

Obviously, I haven't read it yet, but it is available for request until December 31st here: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

Oh that is annoying!
I've had it on hold for a while at the library, I assume it will come through soon

I just finished

which I loved. Much better than book 2 and is stilkl available here:
https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

I am so annoyed! I had it on hold at the library too and I cancelled it because I didn't think it would be in on time. That's what I get for making assumptions. Next time, I'll wait it out to the last minute. Oh well...

That's a long one, Karen. I haven't read the first in that series yet, but I have it on my TBR.

I read all the pdf ones with a text to speech app on my phone. I have an android phone and use @Voice Aloud Reader with the Ivona TTS and the Aussie Ivona voice. Not as good as a real narrator, but less frustrating than a pdf.

Good tip, Renee! Thanks.

Thanks Renee. I have an apple, and they don't seem to have an app for it, but is a good idea and I'll see if I can find something similar for the necxt time I end up with a PDF!

Try this one Karen - it's free and the reviews look good
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/perfe...

On my phone at the moment so can't post a link but looks like Carry On by Rainbow Rowell is read now for people in the UK??? Seems too good to be true.

Omg
Thanks Alison, I just logged in and it let me "read now" and send to my kindle! Awesome :)

Glad you got it Karen. I was totally shocked to see it and kind of tempted to get it even though I've already bought it :)

I can't help but think someone pressed the wrong button there and it shouldn't be a read now title... haha :o

Hi! I have a quick question about NetGalley. I've been active on Goodreads for about 2 years now. I post a review of almost every book I read, which is around 125 a year. I don't have a book blog, and I don't really want to start one either. I run a homeschooling website, and it's stressful enough keeping up with that! But I've really been into reading pre-released books (won on giveaways), and would like to do that more often.

Do you think it's worth it for me to use NetGalley if I'll just post reviews here and maybe on Amazon? Also, I have heard from someone else that some publishers have books available on NetGalley that do not need approval. Are those books good quality? I know I could find free books on Amazon on my Kindle, but most of those I would have a hard time getting through since the quality usually isn't as good.

Thanks for any advice you might have!

Hi Christina - I don't have a blog and I still get approved for NetGalley releases. There are plenty of books that you don't need to get approved for as well. Those are the 'read now' books. I've gotten some good books as 'read now'. I would just sign up and link your Goodreads page as the place where you review, then in your bio state how many books you read and that you review on Amazon as well.

Christina wrote: "Hi! I have a quick question about NetGalley. I've been active on Goodreads for about 2 years now. I post a review of almost every book I read, which is around 125 a year. I don't have a book blog, ..."

I don't have a book blog either, but I have been with NetGalley for a couple years now. I used Goodreads as where I review books with no problem.

Alison wrote: "On my phone at the moment so can't post a link but looks like Carry On by Rainbow Rowell is read now for people in the UK??? Seems too good to be true."

I just got it and I am in the US. I have been wanting to read her, so this will give me a chance to finally do so.

Christina wrote: "Hi! I have a quick question about NetGalley. I've been active on Goodreads for about 2 years now. I post a review of almost every book I read, which is around 125 a year. I don't have a book blog, ..."

You should absolutely sign up Christina :)
I don't have a blog, and just post reviews to Goodreads and I am approved for most of what I request (I'd say 9/10 books).
To get some "runs on the board" so to speak with Netgalley (i.e. get a feedback ratio) it is a good idea to read and review a few of the "read now" books. The Rainbow Rowell Carry On book is a perfect place to start! ;)
I started by picking the publishers that prefer Australian readers in genres I like and adding them to my favourite publishers. Then to find books, I just go through those every now and again. I also love netgalley for reading challenges when I need to find a book by a certain author or title letter or publication date :)

I'm reading a book now called Anatomy of a Soldier. I heard about it through the grapevine and it sounded fascinating. It was listed on NetGalley as not available but you could wish for it. I had my wish granted, so it's worth a try.

It's the story of a British soldier who loses his legs from an IED explosion, but told in non linear timeline from the perspective of a series of inanimate objects.

He's the first author in this article.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016...

Thanks Renee!

This was fabulous, but now archived :(


and I just finished this middle grade book which I recommend for any kid around 10 years old (or adults like me if you just want a quick cute story :) )

It is available as "read now" https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

Karen wrote: "Christina wrote: "Hi! I have a quick question about NetGalley. I've been active on Goodreads for about 2 years now. I post a review of almost every book I read, which is around 125 a year. I don't ..."

I just wanted to give you an update that I officially signed up for NetGalley! I actually signed up about three weeks ago. I've already read and posted two reviews so I have that 80% ratio that is so important.

I read Carry On by Rainbow Rowell which you suggested. It also fit in perfectly for a reading challenge I had, too! And I read Anna the Girl Witch. It was a pretty good read even though the writing itself could have been better.

Those were both read now books. So today I requested three books that were not in the read now section. I tried to pick three books that I had already wanted to read but I didn't think were big titles.

How long does it usually take to get approved for books? How do you know when you've been approved? Do you need to go to the site and check your self, or will you get sent and email?

Well done Christina!

I find it depends on the publisher, but usually within a few days I will get an email with a response. Otherwise you can just login and see what's on your shelf :)

I just finished

which was a nice contemporary YA, and still available for request:

AUS/NZ: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...
Other countries: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

Karen wrote: "Well done Christina!

I find it depends on the publisher, but usually within a few days I will get an email with a response. Otherwise you can just login and see what's on your shelf :)

I just fin..."

Thanks! I guess if I don't get an email in a few days from any publishers, I'd pop on the website and check my shelf. There were a bunch more books that looked really good, but I limited myself to three. I might not be approved for any of them, but I figured if I was approved for all three then I don't want to have a big backlog in case there was a book I REALLY wanted to request and then my ratio would be too low.

Did you find that after reviewing lots of NetGalley books that your approval rating from publishers went up, or have you received approval from most of the books you requested right from the very beginning?

Oh, and thanks for the tip about the book above. It looks really good!

I understand. I have 7 on my netgalley shelf at the moment and I'm trying to read one every 2 weeks or so before I request any more :o

I think as time went on I was more likely to get approved. But that is probably also because initially I was requesting too many of the very popular books. Whereas now I just request things that take my fancy. I also find it a great way to find a book for a challenge (author names, date published etc.) and I've read a few really good hidden gems from netgalley that way :)

Christina - Most of my approvals come fairly quickly, maybe within a week or so. Usually, if I don't hear from a publisher at all it's because I wasn't approved and they just didn't notify me. However, I have gotten an approval as late as a couple of months after requesting the book.

Congrats on your first couple of books. :)

I discovered Chase the Dark on Net Galley and loved it so much that I read the entire series.

It is still available on Net Galley if you want to give it a try.
https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...

I currently have 13 on my reading list. I am also trying to plug away at those before requesting more, though I already have 3 requests pending too. They are books that I really want to read though and I will most likely read all 3 even if I'm not approved. I keep seeing other books that look good and I have to talk myself out of requesting them.