More off the Vine

This getting books for free deal is pretty fabulous. The latest offerings from Amazon Vine to come my way are American Lightning by Howard Blum - an account of the 1910 bombing of the LA Times building and The Bordeaux Betrayal by Ellen Crosby - the third installment in a mystery series. While I can't claim that the Vine is expanding my reading horizons (it's not like I'm suddenly addicted to, say, Fantasy Fiction) but it is introducing me to books and authors I might otherwise not have heard about.

The question occurred to me as I perused this month's offerings: what if a book I intended to buy was on the list? Would I take the freebie? Should I? I hope I'm strong will enough NOT to succumb to the temptation to the early and the free. It might be idealistic and probably not among the Amazon's goals for the program but I'd like to think that a side benefit for reviewers is the chance to be introduced to new authors. If I get a book for free I was planning to buy anyway I'd be depriving another reviewer the chance to learn about an author I enjoy. Isn't that why many people write reviews - to metaphorically grab a stranger by the lapels and say "you've go to read this, it's great"? Or, less occasionally, "Save your time and money, this one rots."

So far temptation has stayed away. There was that John LeCarre book but I wasn't really planning to buy it and it was more the likelihood of not finishing the book before it came out in paperback that kept me away.

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