Thank you to the many, many, nearly 200 applicants who gave me a righteous smacking lesson on how curious readers approach digital books. I have learned so much from reading your applications, such as how many forms of poetry can be created when one desires a digital reading device, and how frustrating it is for readers in locations with faraway bookshops to secure new reading material.
With no further ado, I announce the thirty Test Drivers for the Smart Bitches Sony Reader Test Drive. Many, many thanks to Sony Electronics Inc. and to Harlequin for making this program possible.
I will be emailing the winners personally with additional details, and I will also be emailing those of you who applied and weren’t selected. I can’t tell you all adequately how amazed I was by the response, and knocked over by your creativity and eagerness to experience a different method of reading. Thank you.
The Test Drivers are:
Lesley Knieriem
Tami Moore
Mary Granade
Billie Bloebaum
Robin McDaniel
Melonie Johnson
Jeanette Cogdell
Lindsey Schmidt
Liz Montgomery
Phyllis Laatsch Wilke
Sabrina Heise
Evangeline Adams
Lee Gorton
Deanna Duffy
Kristen Painter
Tina Chaney
Nikkie Cooper
Elizabeth Krentz-Wee
Corrina Lawson
Randi Willis
Jessica Borchetta
Shannon Stacey
Jennifer Lohmann
Anita Draper
Laura Grunzinger
Karen Shepherd
Laura Phillips
John C. Bunnell
Sandra Coburn
Theresa Meyers
Cool to you all. I love my Sony Reader and I am sure you will all love your test drive. 🙂
Woot! I shall not let you down!
Congrats to all the other winners!
Congrats all!
This is so awesome. What a cool thing for Sony, Harlequin, and especially SB Sarah to do.
For all you winners, here’s my piece of advice. When you register at an e-book store, check your e-mail within the next day. I neglected to do so and missed the deadline to use my “welcome-aboard” discount.
Congrats, everyone! *SO* jealous right now 🙂
Ditto on congrats AND jealousy! Guess I’m just going to have to figure out Stanza and getting it sync’d between Macbook and iPhone. Ow…technology hurts my brain.
spamword: turn82 Yeah…I’m gonna have to wait 82 turns before I get a chance to try a Sony. LOL *sniff*
Well poo! Congrats to the chosen.
What Elaine R said…..
Can’t wait to hear the test drive reviews.
Whoa – I freaked out, thought I won there for a minute. But I’m Laura Gorton, not Lee. So, poop. But congrats Lee! And all the other winners!
Dude. This is so cool.
Congratulations to all the winners, and as one of them myself, i shall try not to let anyone down with too many incoherent tweets at 3 am about how i dropped the e-reader on my baby’s head while i was nursing her.
it’s bound to happen, though.
Okay…guess I’m not your Danica…LOL!!!…but unlike the Indy Racing Queen, I’ll refrain from throwing one of her infamous temper tantrums…can’t say I appreciate those much…
Anyhoo…congrats to all!!!
The green flag is down…we’re ready for some racing…
Sexy, Sassy, Smart Wishes—- D. D. Scott
http://www.DDScott.com
Congratulations people! Have fun with the reader! 😀
Okay…guess I’m not your Danica…LOL!!!…but unlike the Indy Racing Queen, I’ll refrain from throwing one of her infamous temper tantrums…can’t say I appreciate those much…
Anyhoo…congrats to all!!!
The green flag is down…we’re ready for some racing…
Thank you!!!! Thank you!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!
Seriously, thank you from the Boulder City Library. The people on staff who know what this is, are jazzed. The rest, they will be soon. I’ll make them! 🙂
I can’t wait to get this and start showing it off to the public. We just today got access to a neighboring library’s Overdrive collection and this is going to be an amazing opportunity to show our patrons what’s available and how easy the tech is to use.
Thank you!
Spam word new 86. If we can get 86 new patrons using the library because of the downloadable materials we’ll be happy.
Congrats everyone!!! And may I say…
MWAHAHA YOU’RE GOING TO BE RUINED FOREVER!!!! Seriously, I love love luuuuuurrrrv my Sony, and I think Romance+Reader=Eternal Happiness.
And on a slightly unrelated note, Harlequin has now come out with Harlequin Blaze Historical Bundles! I don’t know if anyone remembers that suggestion to Harlequin on here, and Malle responding she’d work on it. Now it’s up!
Congratulations to all the winners!
:quietly sobbing with envy in the corner:
spambuster: chance67—not a chance, and not yet, thanks goodness.
Thank you, thank you!!!! I’m so excited, I can’t wait to get started. 🙂
Oh, well, poop.
At least now I can still read in the bathtub . . .
Zip lock baggie.
woman46 – well you’re half right, but I’m not even close to 46.
First of all, congratulations to all of the other winners! Secondly, thank you so much for choosing me! As someone who has never even seen one of these in person, I hope to give you a review from the neophyte perspective.
today32—only off by 10 years!
Now I have to figure out how to make Lego stop motion animation!
I am a woman of my word…..
Oh happy day.
This is going to make my summer. I’m sure I will cry when I have to pack it up and say goodbye (or maybe not, who knows – maybe I’ll want to throw the thing against the wall…that’s what the test will find…) but then at least I know what to ask for from Santa this year.
Thanks to the SB’s, Sony, Harlequin, and the Romance Gods for bringing on the funk-e-ness.
And congrats to my fellow drivers.
How cool is Harlequin? They clearly know, understand, and listen to their customer base. How awesome is it that the Harlequin Digital director hangs out on pro-romance, pro-ereader blogs?
My company doesn’t listen to anybody but the (lame) consultants they hire, and then they wonder why their market share shrinks. I just find this so refreshing.
I’m not real sure how I got picked but I’m real sure I’m thinking it’s a good thing. Can’t wait to show it around in rural America- and then someone said “Blaze Historical bundles” If someone would just put central a/c in my house the world would be perfect.
Note to self: next time I attempt to bribe w/cookies, send sampler so they’ll know what they’re missing… 😀
Congrats to all the winners!
Oh I totally agree, and sent them an email earlier telling them this 😀 Now if only they’ll take the hint on publishing a coffee table book of romance covers…
Congrats to all the winners. Hope you give the rest of us some insight
on these sweet babies. Maybe they will give you credits if people purchase them based on your reviews.
I hope the winners will be pleased with their new toys. Not that _I_ would want anything from Sony connected to my PC. Besides, I am perfectly happy with my Cybook! (love it, love it, love it!!!!)
changes33 – Change my toy? NO WAY!!! Not even if I were eligible…
Congrats to all the winners! One word for you is: Calibre. This is what you want to use to keep track of your ebooks and what you will use to convert ebooks you buy into Sony’s proprietary LRF format. Unfortunately, Sony has a crappy bookstore interface and crappy software to keep track of books. Calibre and mobileread.com will become your two bestest friends.
Get ready to become good will ambassadors for the Sony. You cant imagine how many people ask me about my 505 on the NYC subway. Happy reading!
It’s okay, Sarah. I can handle rejection.
Really.
Sniff.
Congrats to all teh winnahs!
Next time, perhaps I should bribe with a hand-made quilt… I can provide references ;o)
Diane :o)
can pout and be happy for others at the same time
[SFX: klunk!!!]
[picks self up off floor]
Very cool indeed. Must go watch email box now….
Congrats to all winners (as I lay sobbng on the floor because I didn’t win)
Guess I was not creative enough with my entries. And need to up my bribes. Do you think if I start sending items to the Smart Bitches now, they will look favourably on me next time?
To al the winners, as the proud owner of a Sony PRS-505 for almost a month now, you are very lucky. The reader is awesome and there is nothing better than walking around with hundreds of books in your purse. Enjoy your time with the reader.
spam word more56 – I have so many more than 56 books loaded.
Thank you so much! I’m so excited to try the Sony out an dcan’t believe I was picked!
Congrats to all the other winners and I can’t wait to see how everyone does with their test drives!
clearly48 – HEY! I’m so not!
Congratulations to all the other winners and thank you so much for choosing me! I’m so excited to try my ereader and plotting the books I can read that were previously unavailable to me . . .
Congrats to all the winners!
And, I agree, how cool is Harlequin to encourage more reading.
Sigh….
Maybe Santa will listen…
I’ve been really, really good…
Congratulations! I am looking forward to hearing what y’all think of them.
Woo hoo! I just got an agreement from the guy that writes the tech tips article for the local magazine (also posted online) to do a review if I can get it to him by the deadline. Awesome!
We’ve got a poet on staff. I’m hoping to talk her into do a review. Or, hmmm, I wonder… a review written by an Elizabethan noble. I’ve got some ideas.
This lining up reviews is going to be fun. 🙂
congrats to all the winners!!! I look foward to all the reviews and input. Both on the ereader and the books!
M.
password looking 53: when I’m 53 I hope I look as beautiful as my mother at 63