As a blogger who started out way back in 2016, I thought that the day I would finally be getting ARCs was a long ways off. I wasn’t too concerned with them because I knew that in order to get them you really needed a platform and I just didn’t have one when I started out, obviously. So I was perfectly content with reviewing finished and already published books.
Then came the magical day when I received by first e-galley of Maud by Melanie J. Fishbane on Netgalley. From then on, I slowly started progressing with e-galleys, until I was contacted by a publisher and received an actual physical ARC. It was truly magical.
Since then, I have been getting a steady pile of ARCs every season, a perk for living in Canada and having big publishers and fewer bloggers. I feel for a lot of my international blogger friends who don’t get the chance to read ARCs because of legalities, but perhaps one day this bookish system will change and accessibility will widen.
Wow. That was a long intro. Anyways this incredible tag was created by none other than the wonderful ladies, Mandy and Sha over at Book Princess Reviews. If you know me, I am sure you know Mandy and Sha and if you don’t well I think you should correct that immediately!
Spindle by E.K. Johnston…which I haven’t read. I went to an Indigo Preview event way back when and E.K. was present signing books so of course I got it! Plus I had read A Thousand Nights, which was beautiful and I still am interested in reading this one eventually. I wasn’t a blogger at the time when I received this, but this event inspired me to start one up!
But also not. But I definitely would. I flipped my bejeebers the day the announcement came out, people. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE FALL!!!!!
ULTIMATE QUESTION: TO DNF OR NOT TO DNF AN ARC?
I really don’t like not finishing in general. I tend to give books the benefit of the doubt often and it doesn’t always work out (see Circle of Shadows review). I don’t know, I feel like I owe it to the publisher to read the book, especially if I requested it. That being said, I tend to force myself to read books that just aren’t working for me a lot and that needs to change I think.
NAME AN ARC YOU DNF’D AND AN ARC YOU COULD NEVER DNF.
I was l o v i n g my post-Narnia adventure book!
I had read an e-ARC, but I needed that physical copy on my shelf!!! (I love it so much) I bought it off of Book Outlet though, cheap and in great condition!
When I first started out, I started with e-ARCs on Netgalley. I didn’t get a lot of acceptances, but as I found more Canadian pubs, I got approved more often.
GIVE BLOGGERS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE REGARDING ARCS (RECEIVING / REVIEWING).
Pace yourself. Don’t get greedy.
Only request books you really want to read, that really have your interest. Not half of it, but all of it.
Here I am calling myself out.
I have a problem when it comes to requesting. I tend to request based on the in-the-moment feeling of “I wanna read that book” so what usually happens is that when I get the ARC, I no longer have the dying need to read it, so it gets pushed and pushed and pushed, until it’s way past its release date and then it just feels pointless in reading the ARC. This is super horrible of me. I know it. It’s why one of my new years resolutions was to relax the requesting game.
I feel terrible looking at the unread ARCs I have and thinking that it could have gone to someone that really wanted to read it. Of course I tell myself that I will eventually read them, but if I keep bogging myself with more and more, will I ever truly get to them all? Probs not.
SO the best advice I give to you and to ME is to pace yourself, and don’t get greedy.
Let me know what you think! Do you read your ARCs on time? How do you keep track of the books you get? What was your first ARC?
Rendz, thank you for the tag I love this! I am definitely doing it. Just have to wait hahaha! I agree, I really hope ARCs would soon broaden their distribution for other intl-intl readers. I may have had not read an ARC on time. I was in a bad shape/mood then. I keep track of the books I get by writing them down on a notebook or planner with the release dates and work out how I’ll schedule them out.
You are so welcome! Keeping track of the books I read is definitely something I have to figure out in my life! But mood most certainly affects whether I want to read a book or not!
How could you not read Spindle that cover looks gorgeous! *calls Rendz out while she calls herself out so there is a lot of calling out* Also idk what the plot even is, could have more blue wolves.
I am staring at Spindle right now…and I still don’t have time to read it.
Also, no more blue wolves please.
*reaches out* *hesitates* It’s so far tho.
I will read Spindle one day, some day, It will happen!
After having spelled out ARC I went through my whole collection to see if I had a ARC that started with each letter of the alphabet, I think I’m only missing F, J and X…..
AND I AM SO FREAKIN EXCITED FOR REBEL!!
And yesssss. It will be better to know you’re closer to final completion.
I’m quite bad at reading my arcs on time, but that’s something I’m trying to work on this year! I want to play catch up as best as I can, and be more selective with the books I request on NetGalley!
I think that NetGalley is both a blessing and a curse for me, since I love the fact that it’s relatively easy to get books that way, but I also hate the pressure I feel to finish and review a book even if I’m not enjoying it! I feel like my need to keep my feedback ratio high, and therefore to even finish book I’m hating isn’t fair to me or the author!
I feel the exact same about Netgalley! A blessing and a curse is the perfect description.
When I first joined I requested as much as I could and it was rough having to keep up with all the reviews and release dates.
Hopefully we both get better at managing our ARC requesting skills!
I hope you do the tag when you finally get enough ARCs! I’ll look forward to reading your answers!