David A. Harding
Tuesday, 01 Jul 2008
While surfing Amazon.com, you discover your favorite living author will publish a new book in a couple months. At this moment, if you were me, the pressure to click the pre-order button will strain your fiscal restraint. You don't need the book in hardcover; you don't feel like spending $20 on a book that might suck; but you don't want to forget about it, and you'd really like to read the book the same week all your friends do.
You might have an alternative to the pre-order button. My local library pre-orders books itself. As soon they order the book, they enter it into their catalogue—making it available to request. I currently have the first request for By Schism Rent Asunder by David Weber (due out July 22nd) and Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi (August 19). I can forget about these books until the library calls and says they're ready. What a deal!
Other people know about this technique, but not too many. I requested Harry Potter book 4 from the library a month before it was released and there were 12 people ahead of me in the queue. Happily, the library system ordered more than 12 copies, so I got to read a copy the Tuesday after the Saturday official release.
I keep hoping that, by some fluke, the library might get a book and lend it to me before the official release date. This hasn't happened to me—yet—and even if it did, it would only be the icing on top of a very delicious cake.