June 2016: What did you win?

June 2016 are rolling out now—what's headed your way?

Note: This month we had a number of multiple wins possible—if you win more than you want, just let me know and I can help.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them here, or email me directly (loranne@librarything.com).

Just found out that I won, "A Road Unforeseen: Women Fight the Islamic State", by Meredith Tax. I look forward to receiving this title, reading it, and reviewing it!

I won Dinosaur Dictionary for Kids .. YAY! I plan to ask my grandson (who is crazy about dinosaurs) to help me with my review!!

Huzzah, I won two: The Kraken Sea and Steel Magic. And while Steel Magic is a second book in a series, I see Amazon has book one discounted down to 99-cents. HUZZAH.

Steel Victory
https://www.amazon.com/Steel-Victory-Empires-1-ebook/dp/B01112H0DA

Just found out I won a copy of "Snape" by Lorrie Kim! Looking forward to reading and reviewing this one.

Shakespeare's Prop Room: an inventory, by John Leland.

It looks like I'm getting Emotional Agility by Susan David ...

I'm getting Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret Agent in the Civil War South by Christopher Dickey.

I won a copy of Girl & Flame by Melissa Reddish. It sounds so perfect for me, and I can't wait to read it!

Bridge of Words: Esperanto and the Dream of a Universal Language by Esther Schor. I have been curious about this created language for a long time. Thank you LT.

>3 RaucousRain: Spend time with your grandson, encourage reading and maybe learn something new about dinosaurs. Sounds like a great plan.

>5 Gingermama: Snape was my favorite character in the HP world. I look forward to your review.

Still A Work in Progress by Jo Knowles!

The Clancys of Queens - can't wait until I get it!

I'm getting Age of Myth: the First Empire by Michael Sullivan and narrated by my favorite narrator, Tim Gerard Reynolds. Really excited for this one!

I'm so excited to have won Human Acts by Han Kang - I loved The Vegetarian, I can't wait to dig into another of her novels!

The Outlander Kitchen! When I finish reading and reviewing this, it will make a nice Christmas gift for my SIL, who just adores the series. (I like it, too.)

I'll be reading Souvenirs: And Other Stories
by Matt Tompkins...thanks!

I'll be reading and reviewing first communions by Geoffrey Girard whenever I receive it. Looking forward to it!

Me too! This should be fun.

I won a thriller - The Perfect Girl by Gilly MacMillan. I read something recently about all the new books with "girl" in the title because of the success of the Dragon tattoo girl series and Gone Girl. So now I feel a bit of disappointment at the cliche title but looking forward to it nonetheless.

Why do some win TWO BOOKS and others get none?

I got "The Panama Papers". I know it's newsy and probably too early to get a comprehensive book on the subject but I was on vacation when the story broke and didn't catch up for about a week and I'm sure I missed something.

>20 m.belljackson: I think it just depends what they qualify for. Obviously a participant with no review history or related books in their library (or a participant with a history of flaking on their promised reviews) isn't going to get awarded a book.

>20 m.belljackson: Adding to >22 KLmesoftly: , It's also largely the luck of the draw. We do our best to match up winners with books they're more likely to enjoy, based on what's in their library. It also depends on what books they've requested, and how many other members have requested those same titles.

Got an e-copy of Mind and Body: and other stories by Lucas Carpenter. Looking forward to it, thanks!

Yes, that makes sense...except for those of us who have offered complete reviews of ALL the books we have received.

>23 lorannen: Aren't most of the two book winners receiving a physical book and an ebook, as well?

I won the one book that I requested - As Good As Gone by Larry Watson and am very happy about it! Thanks!

>23 lorannen: And I think that when people receive two books, often one of them hasn't been much requested.

I won the Kraken Sea! :)

>25 m.belljackson: Reviews are only one of the things considered. How well an offered book matches what's in your library is also a criterion, so having just 15 books cataloged makes it less likely that you'll be selected. While having a lot of books cataloged and reviewing all of your wins boost your chances, they don't guarantee you'll get a book: I have about 4,000 books in a wide variety of genres and write reviews for the books I've won, but I don't always win and I have never received two books from the same batch.

I did not snag anything this month. On to July! ;)

I won a copy of The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan. Thank you LibraryThing!!

>20 m.belljackson: I have had some good luck in my ER wins, but this June 2016 double-win was especially nice -- I've gotten doubles in the past, but not for years. (I've been an ER member since 2007; doubles began being offered I think in 2012.)

Of the doubles I've won, the second book has always been digital. (The first book is usually digital, too, but that's probably because I request mostly digital works.) The second book is also usually one where the publisher is giving away 100-200 copies of the work.

I snagged a copy of The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson. Thanks Hogarth and LTER!

I won As Good as Gone: A Novel by Larry Watson. Yay!! Thanks ER and LT.

I won Revolution Time by Paul Varnas and Fifth Column: The Blitz Detective by Mike Hollow. Looking forward to reading these. My favorite genres!

So, having "just 15 books catalogued" keeps a reader from winning more...?

Yes, it does. LT's ER program uses a super-secret algorithm that works with the books you've already cataloged to determine if you're the best fit for the book you've requested. There are a lot of variables and we don't know them all, but that's how it's always been. I receive just about everything I request these days, but it wasn't always that way. Catalog more books and your odds increase dramatically.

Oh and I got The Cartoon History of Humanism Volume One: From Antiquity to Enlightenment which should be fun.

>38 m.belljackson: Well, not 'prevents a reader from winning' but 'insufficient data to provide a good match.' Your LT catalog can be considered a reflection of your personal reading tastes. The ER algorithm cannot be expected to make guesses as to your reading tastes beyond the content you've chosen to catalog.

As an example, say that a publisher offers up a book. Say, they provide ER with a list of 10 similar titles that they think, if readers enjoyed any of those 10 books, they'll enjoy the book being offered. Say that data is added as a factor in the matching algorithm. It follows that a member who happens to have logged all ten of those books in their library would be a considered by the algorithm as a better match for the offered book than a member who has five of those books logged, or one, or zero.

It's generally considered that the more works a member has cataloged in their library, the larger the pool of potential title matches that might come into play in the above example.

Be aware that the details of above example are pure conjecture. The ER algorithm is robust and uses many factors make matches, and a lot of those factors have not been disclosed to us members. And as >31 amanda4242: stated earlier, having various factors in your favor can help boost your chances of winning but is not a guarantee of wining.

eta >39 Bookmarque: Oh dang, I was slow at typing.

>10 Taphophile13: Taphophile13

Thanks for your encouragement -- I'm looking forward to getting some "expert" assistance from my grandson on this one. I think it will be fun for both of us!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Am going to receive Among the Ten Thousand Things by Julia Pierpont!

I won Brussels Noir and I am very excited about it!

I didn't expect to win anything because of not reviewing my last win (I'm getting to it!), but I won Dinosaur Dictionary for Kids which is just awesome because I've recently rediscovered my love of those awesome creatures.

I tired of Stephanie, but have been curious about Evanovich's new ventures. Am excited to have won Curious Minds. Thanks librarything!

I won both of those, too! Really looking forward to receiving Human Acts this round. Hope you enjoy.

Looking forward to cooking my way through The Outlander Kitchen! (I'm stocking up on oats...)

Hi - I'm new to this > by "catalogued," do you mean only the books that a person has WON and reviewed?
thanks.

>49 m.belljackson: Catalogued means all the books listed in Your books, regardless of where you got them or if you have reviewed them.

So, you can add ANY books to Your Books...or just books listed in Library Thing...or...?

>51 m.belljackson: any books. That's how more books are added to LT. It's not a list of every book ever published, it's a list of books that members have added.

I won three books! :) The Kraken Sea by E. Catherine Tobler, Managing Bubbie by Russel Lazega, and The First Shockwave: (The Billionaire Guardian's Aftermath Book 1) (A Billionaire Romance) by Leydy Otero

Is a review recommended for the non-won books?

>55 m.belljackson: The Early Reviewers FAQ should answer most of your questions.

I've read the lengthy FAQ a couple of times but do not see these questions addressed.

>55 m.belljackson: You are only expected to review the books you have won through the Early Review program. Not reviewing those books will count against you in future ER giveaways. It is up to you if you want to review non-Early Review books too.

I'm looking forward to The Outlander Kitchen - one can never have too many cookbooks!

>55 m.belljackson: I think what you're asking is whether writing reviews for books you didn't win will increase your chances of winning next time, right? Honestly, I don't know. I review just about everything I read, but I don't know that reviews are a part of the algorithm scheme. I would say it probably depends more on the books you've entered into your library, and perhaps the ratings you've given them. That gives LT a better idea of what you like to read and whether you'd like a book you are requesting.

Thrilled to have won Secrets of Nanreath Hall by Alix Rickloff. Looking forward to reading this one:)

Thank you to everyone who has tried to help me understand the method and benefits of entering books in Add Books.

Previous to this week, I had only entered the books I had actually won and reviewed.

I will now enter more of the variety of books, usually 5-10/month, that I read and have read, along with reviews.

I did win 2 books, one of them was an e-book, Mind and Body and other stories by Lucas Carpenter and Tom and Huck's Final Adventure by J. T. Jones

Great to have won Secrets of Nanreath Hall by Alix Rickloff. Looking forward to reading this one:)

Hey everyone! I'm new to the site and excited to be part of the ER and MG sections. In my first round of requests, I won African American and Cherokee Nurses in Appalachia by Phoebe Pollitt. I am a nurse of less than a year starting my next trek to RN this August, so I'm interested to see another side of my profession's history.

I was super disappointed that I didn't win snape by Lorrie Kim!

>62 m.belljackson: You're welcome. Keep adding and rating books and eventually you will be selected for an ER book. It took awhile for me, but now I regularly win books. I do try to review them all, and I only request books that I am REALLY interested in.

This month I won Still Here by Lara Vapnyar.