Blatant Bribery

I wanted to be a bookseller because you get discounted books. Then I found out you could actually get free books, and I knew what I wanted to do for life. Publishers send us ARCs (Advance Reading Copies) so that we will read the book, hopefully like it, and therefore want to sell it (with fervor!) to all who come in the door. I tend to call these freebies galleys rather than ARCs. This is because whenever anyone says the latter all I can think of are creatures from Lord of the Rings. Technically there is a difference between a galley and an ARC, but I’m going to go ahead and call them all galleys anyways.

So, the point of that was to let you know that I am going to bribe you to read my blog by occasionally giving away galleys to you, dear reader! I have two today up for grabs.

· Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
Free food for millionaires, free books for Brookline Blogsmith readers, this just seemed appropriate. This is a great, sprawling first novel about the daughter of Korean immigrants that I enjoyed very much. It has been chosen as the top Book Sense pick for May with some very kind words by Betsey Detwiler from Buttonwood Books & Toys in Cohasset, MA: "Casey Han is well aware of the expectations of her parents, first-generation Korean immigrants. She has the Princeton degree, the smarts, and the connections to secure the law degree they hope for. But Casey is set on finding her own answers. There are many story lines and remarkably limned characters in this engrossing and satisfying novel."

· The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth About Global Corruption by John Perkins
In the follow-up to Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, Perkins talks with others of his (former) ilk. I’ll admit to not having read his first book, but it has been incredibly popular here at the store so I’m guessing there might be someone out there who is interested.

Here’s the fine print: The first person to post a comment asking for a title gets it. You can’t ask for both—don’t be greedy! You have to come into the store to pick it up; we’ll be keeping it on hold behind the register for a week. Good luck!