Egosurfing

Last night I took a break to do a little egosurfing, that is, googling my book title to see what people are saying about it. Googling my name isn't always helpful, although a surprising number of the first couple pages of hits are me. (I'm not the murderer, attorney, quilter, or dietician among them.) What I found:

- It's been reviewed in the latest issue (v.30 no.3) of Collection Management. We don't subscribe, and I'm assuming the publicity dept. hasn't seen it (or they'd have sent it to me) so I requested a copy over interlibrary loan. Collection Management is a peer-reviewed academic journal, which explains the year-and-a-half delay. I'm used to this; I edit for another library journal from the same publisher.

- It's listed on a bunch of library websites and newsletters. Always good to see.

- Someone had positive (and mostly correct) things to say about it on the Romantic Times boards.

- I found another review from the Australian Library Journal, dating from this August. Positive comments overall, though parts are snarky. I always find it interesting what reviewers outside North America have to say about titles geared for an American audience. I got similar comments on my first book when British and Australian reviewers took it on, even after being very clear about the expected readership in the intro. I like very much that readers outside the US will be reading it, and using it for book recommendations, but the selection of novels is based on the American market, which is what I know best. Alas, very few historical novels set in Australia have been published in the US in the last ten years. That must be the "eclectic" part. I wish it weren't so.

- Three people have it on their wishlist in Paperbackswap. I suspect they'll be waiting a long time, because nobody in their right mind's going to input a 4-pound hardcover into a system meant for trading 8-oz paperbacks. The postage is a killer.

Anyway, I'm generally pleased, as WorldCat lists about 700 holding libraries/library systems for it currently.

For those of you following the never-ending book saga ("never-ending" modifies both words here) - I've finished the novel and have drafted the review, though I'm still fiddling with the last two sentences. Having only 175 words to work with was a challenge, but I consider it an art form if I can pull it off with none to spare.

My guilt assuaged, now I'm going to read something fun.