Even as the free offer of Different Strokes begins running on Kindle, the book got its first review, and it’s too delicious to waste its sweetness on the desert air:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ingenious post-modern critique of the porn business August 8, 2012
By White Room

“When I was compiling CARNAL KNOWLEDGE, my survey of the 20th century world of sex, DIFFERENT STROKES was one of my texts. Having no idea it was a witty parody of how adult films were made, I accepted it as an even-handed account of such a production, and its multitudinous pleasures and disasters. The inclusion of a long interview with the female star just added to its sense of authenticity.Who was to know that this was an ingenious exercise in literary sleight of hand by one of the masters of the game, Lawrence Block? I’d long admired his Matt Scudder stories and been amused by the adventures of bookselling burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, but DIFFERENT STROKES completely blind-sided me. Like the skillful conman that he is, Block played on all my expectations to lead me totally astray. What a pleasure to see this rare book back in print – or at least in Kindle. I recommend it unreservedly as an example of the redoubtable Block as his most puckishly deconstructive. Ladies and gentleman, a masterpiece!”