Here at Readings, we receive numerous books from publishers for reviewing and marketing purposes. These books are normally proofs – early editions of a book that have not yet been proofread and may contain errors. They are printed so that booksellers and media may read the book ahead of time, and they usually don’t feature the book’s final cover, and sometimes more editorial changes will be made to the book after the proof is printed. These proofs are strictly for booksellers to read, and are never sold.

Readings receives many proofs, and after they have been read and shared by our booksellers, we often have to discard them, as our storage space is quite limited.

Right now, we know there are many people suffering due to the COVID-19 crisis, and, with the publisher’s permission, we are hoping to send some of our spare proof copies to readers in need.

If you are someone, or know of someone, who is unable to afford or access books at the moment, or is otherwise suffering significantly due to the impact of COVID-19, we want to offer our help. Please write directly to Mark Rubbo at [email protected] to let him know the situation, and he may post out a proof copy of a book, free of charge.

Please note, we are unable to take specific requests, as we are limited to what is on hand at the time, and we cannot guarantee everyone who writes to Mark will receive a proof. This offer is only available for a limited time.