No, not 51, 50!
Random House imprint Knopf has a new program called First Reads where they will send new books up to 50 registered participants before the book is published and solicit their reviews. I’m not quite sure what purpose this serves other than very minor advanced buzz. 50 people is barely any kind of critical mass and actually seems rather stingy when you consider that movies screen for hundreds of thousands of people for free before anyone has to pay.
So I ask then. Does Knopf know what it’s doing and I just don’t get it or is this yet another short-sighted, ham-handed attempt at viral marketing from an industry that just now seems to be warming up to the idea (via Bookslut)? .