If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or email alerts. Thanks for visiting!
The perks of blogging - free books! Or is this a DesiPundit effect?
I received an email a week back from Simon & Schuster’s (publishing company) marketing manager telling me that she wanted to send me two latest of their books for my review. At the first read, I thought it was one of those numerous spam messages that promised free stuff but upon careful review, I thought it wise to respond. Also noted pundit blogger Dan Drezner also posted about receiving a similar offer. Thankfully I was offered better books (he received an offer for Pam Anderson’s new book).
The marketing manager assured me that it was no spam and wanted my contact information to send the books. This weekend I received Q&A by Vikas Swarup and Untouchables by Narendra Jadhav (not yet released). She has also mentioned that I was under no obligation to review them but may share thoughts and opinions about the books on my blog. I will definitely give them a read and post my thoughts soon. Until then feel free to check them out. Blogging helps and blogging about books more so. You can check out my previous posts on books if you wish.
by Patrix | on Tuesday, September 13th, 2005 at 6:00 am | 
Books . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
September 13th, 2005 at 7:22 am reply
Now.. I am truly jealous. I am. Ggrr.
September 13th, 2005 at 7:33 am reply
Will be looking fwd to the review. The books sounds promising. BTW - totally agree with Neha :)
September 13th, 2005 at 8:45 am reply
On what basis did they choose you? Are you like a celebrity n stuff?
September 13th, 2005 at 9:08 am reply
Good for you! My own experience has been very different, me literally begging for the books to be distributed at “Nirantar”. Few authors like Biz Stone and Rebecca Blood obliged while some like Ben Hammersely kept on promising and a majority did not even bothered to reply.
September 13th, 2005 at 9:11 am reply
Oops, that should read: “did not even bother”.
September 13th, 2005 at 9:34 am reply
I object! This is totally unfair!! We are your audience. The books should be shared with us too.
Just kidding jawan :) Enjoy.
September 13th, 2005 at 11:54 am reply
Too cool, too cool :D
September 13th, 2005 at 12:28 pm reply
If I review music, will they give me free CD’s / iTunes?
Sounds interesting. Pass on all our URL’s to them…we can also benefit:-)
September 13th, 2005 at 2:36 pm reply
very nice!
Now how do I go about getting fee books? Come on Patrix, out with the inside story…….:-)
September 13th, 2005 at 3:33 pm reply
kewl! getting famous are we? :)
September 13th, 2005 at 10:12 pm reply
Neha, sorry! but I’ll share my review if that makes you feel better :)
Prerona, looks like now I HAVE to blog the review.
Gawker, hardly a celebrity! I am not sure how they found me.
Debashish, I never knew they handed out free books to bloggers. Maybe publishers are waking up to the power blogger are wielding these days.
Chetan, sirjee remember I had told you that Amazon also might be doing something similar with their Top 100 reviewers when I had blogged about Shashank Tripathi.
Gabby, don’t worry! you’ll get there sooner than I did.
Kaps, Only if that were true. I never contacted them but now I will be keeping in touch and harping on the power of DesiPundit to get more free books for all of us :)
Sunil, I wish there was an inside story. When there is one, I promise to share it with you first :)
Twilight, I dunno…other desi A-list bloggers should be getting preference if that were true.
September 13th, 2005 at 10:54 pm reply
Shucks, and to think I thought i was the only one approached…:p
September 13th, 2005 at 11:35 pm reply
I got this ofer as a comment on one of my earlier posts and an email. sounded not like spam. but I wasn’t sure - and I checked again - and got an indignant response saying “this is NOT spam”. and then I saw your post :)
now I sit back and wait for the books.
September 14th, 2005 at 5:51 am reply
That’s an excellent strategy actually. Getting bloggers to spread the word about new books. Looking forward to the reviews :)
September 14th, 2005 at 11:45 am reply
untouchables is a great wonderful book. i reviewed it here;
http://calamur.org/gargi/2005/08/17/freedom-from-caste/
check out the review after you read the book and lets compare notes
September 14th, 2005 at 3:58 pm reply
Patrix,
Interestingly enough, Simon and Schuster sent me those books as well. I haven’t had the time to read the books myself, but intend to, in the near future.
So, maybe it’s US-based bloggers they’re tapping into? It’s excellent marketing strategy any which way you look at it.
September 14th, 2005 at 6:54 pm reply
What is this?…the second wave of commenters saying, I got it too. Dang! breaks my lil illusion of being special.
Anti, Ohno! you weren’t the only one.
Charu, why didn’t you blog about it? Afraid it was a hoax and wanted to be sure until you got them? :)
Leela, must give it to them. You can’t get bloggers talking about your stuff faster than by giving it to them for free.
Harini, I will wait until I have read to book but lets compare reviews later definitely.
Reuben, so it was a generic desi thing. Let us now demand books in the future.
September 14th, 2005 at 8:47 pm reply
If they read my blog, they’ll give me free vacation pakage to go somewhere, get a life and put an end to my blogging!
Great going Patty! My my, even Pi gets thesis papers to review for free…
September 14th, 2005 at 9:49 pm reply
Alpha, or just sign you on to write a personal memoirs…your past life is eventful enough to warrant a bestseller :) Don’t remind me of those research review papers…I get nightmares about reviewing those. I sympathize with Pi.
September 15th, 2005 at 2:55 am reply
how much are they paying you for this?
September 15th, 2005 at 9:02 am reply
Sharon, I wish! nothing apart from couple of free books. Wouldn’t you write about them if you got them too?
September 20th, 2005 at 9:58 am reply
Dr. Narendra Jadhav is a very well known economist - in fact i believe he is Principal Adviser and Chief Economist of the Reserve Bank of India. I had a chance to listen to him at a Maharashtra Mandal function about 4 years ago (he was then in the US as part of the Indian delegation at the IMF, may have been the world bank, im not sure). A great speaker, he was primarily speaking about his life and his book आमचा बाप अन आम्ही. an autobiographical account focusing on his uneducated father’s strong will and efforts to make sure that his kids got opportunities to make it big. although it does not say so anywhere, i wonder if ‘untouchables’ might be a translation of that one?
October 25th, 2005 at 1:37 am reply
yeah…its outcast reintroduced wid diff name!