A new kind of book club

An author contacted me, as many do, to review her book. I have cut way back on reviewing books for free since I am working more on my own books and get a constant stream of books from my boss at Authorlink (for which I am handsomely paid). She said that she understood people couldn't afford a hardback book in these difficult financial times and would be happy if libraries bought the book and they borrowed it from the library. I understand this kind of thinking and it's very unselfish, but it's not realistic.

As nice as it would be for authors to be able to afford to keep writing without having a full time or part time job or full and part time jobs, it doesn't work that way. If people really want something, they will find a way to get it. And here comes my idea.

There are groups that club together to buy and read a book to discuss, so why not groups willing to pool their money to buy a few copies of hardback books they can share out? A group of five or ten women could easily afford two or three hardback books by giving up that morning donut, thus saving their waistline and putting more books into the public eye. It might even catch on, spawning book sharing clubs all over the country that would have the effect of getting the book more attention and putting a few dollars into the hard working author's pocket.

How about it? What do the rest of you writers think?