NetGalley is a great way to get an early look at books that might turn into the "next big thing". For those of us who read a lot, it's also a handy way to get free access to books you might enjoy. My initial enthusiasm for NetGalley came from the latter (free books!), but it's now overlaid with a smidge of wisdom that came from some early experiences with NetGalley that didn't go entirely to plan:
Soon after I'd joined NetGalley I got an email from them promoting requests for Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World. I was still dizzy with the prospect of free books from NetGalley, and this was my first email from them. I blindly assumed they'd filter their emails according to my preferred Categories on their web site (which they clearly don't). Armed with my giddy naivety, I skimmed the book description, thought it sounded like an interesting near-future speculative fiction book, hit 'Request', and thought no more about it.
Epic genre misfire.
If you read the blurb with your eyes half closed and an expectation that it falls into NetGalley's "Sci Fi & Fantasy" category, and you may be able to kind-of see how I misinterpreted it. My excitement at being Approved was short-lived, but, being new with NetGalley, I didn't want to torpedo my own Feedback Ratio, so I dutifully read and reviewed it.
You may laugh now.
Although, in a quirk of irony, it's now my most popular Goodreads review by quite a margin.
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