
        &lt;p&gt;The patrons of Dirt Cowboy and passersby outside of Collis may have gotten a little more than they bargained for yesterday as the dynamic duo of James Therrien and Lidya Esrig distributed free copies of &ldquo;Too Far,&rdquo; the most recent book from venture-capitalist turned author &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.richshapero.com/&quot;&gt;Rich Shapero&lt;/a&gt;. Though the pair&rsquo;s neon attire and the far-out cover artwork may have suggested otherwise, this was no hallucination.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In a experimental measure to counter what they perceive as the failing advertising efforts of book publishers today, &ldquo;Too Far&rdquo; publisher Outside Reading decided to generate buzz through good old-fashioned word of mouth. Therrien, East Coast brand representative for outside reading, described the effort as a &ldquo;grassroots approach&rdquo; for a &ldquo;publishing industry in dire straits.&rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;The idea behind the marketing ploy is to avoid what Therrien termed &ldquo;top-down advertising,&rdquo; in which the publisher expends large sums of money in attempts to promote the book. Outside Reading&rsquo;s strategy, instead, aims to generate hype organically, Therrien said. By distributing free copies of novels to key demographics, the publishing company hopes that the increase exposure translates to higher sales figures.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;According to Therrien, the company&rsquo;s &ldquo;psychometric maps&rdquo; identified Dartmouth, along with a number of other prominent colleges on the East Coast, as a focal point for promoting &ldquo;Too Far.&quot; The novel, as described by Therrien, is a psychedelic adventure tale of two troubled Alaskan children trying to cope with an abusive family. The book comes bundled with &ldquo;Dawn Remembers,&rdquo; an accompanying audio disc containing music intended to serve as a backdrop during the readers literary experience.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&ldquo;Too Far&rdquo; is currently available for purchase on &lt;a href=&quot;www.toofar.com&quot;&gt;www.toofar.com&lt;/a&gt; for $9.99.&lt;/p&gt;

      