Contemporary literature? Not new enough.

Tired of traditional book groups? Sick of reading the same books everybody else reads?

Lynn Rosen has some intriguing alternatives.

A nonfiction writer with 25 years in publishing, Rosen calls on her connections to give passionate readers an early look at books that have not yet been released.

Rosen teaches "A Sneak Peek at Next Year's Bestsellers," at Temple University's Center City and Fort Washington campuses. Through an agreement with publishers Ballantine, Random House, Knopf, Norton and others, Rosen gives her students prepublication copies of TBR (to be released) fiction and nonfiction books to read in the five-week, noncredit course.

Her students discuss the novels as well as the authors, and Rosen shares her behind-the-scenes knowledge of the publishing industry.

"We talk about what reviewers might say and how readers might react," says Rosen, who has an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a graduate degree from Columbia University - both in English.

"In many cases, I can interview the authors and answer students' questions about why the writer took a particular approach. People who are passionate about reading are interested in the writer's backstory, too."

And publishers love the idea, she says.

"They're totally supportive, because it helps them reach readers on a grassroots level. And it brings the whole process together."

The books aren't rejects or unlikely prospects - far from it. Rosen's Temple class read first-time author David Wroblewski's The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (Harper Collins, June 2008) before it became a best-seller and an Oprah Winfrey pick.

"We loved it," she says. "We knew right away it would be a hit."

Rosen started the Temple class in 2007, and when she saw how the idea caught on, she branched out with another option she calls Open Book. These are small-group discussions, focused on fiction already in print, held in Elkins Park.

Last semester's Open Book group read memoirs; this semester, Rosen has them reading local authors Diane McKinney-Whetstone, Kelly Simon, Beth Kephart and Benjamin Wallace.

Rosen says Open Book and Sneak Peek are designed to give readers a chance to do what J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield wished for:

"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours," Caulfield says in The Catcher in the Rye, "and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it."

For years, publishers were cautious about distributing Advance Reading Copies (ARC in the publishing parlance) of novels, fearing the books would end up being sold.

But as reading experienced a renaissance, publishers began to view ARC as marketing tools to create prepublication buzz.

Random House developed its "Read It Forward" program to give free advance copies of certain novels to the first 200 readers who request them. Details at www.randomhouse.com/crown/readitforward.

And last year, Barnes & Noble launched its "First Look Book Club," distributing hundreds of free prepublication copies to readers who register for the company's online book forum (go to www.bn.com/bookclubs).

Six or more times a year, a First Look title is announced. Often it's a book that will hit the bookstore shelves in the next three to five months. Readers who want in on a guided online discussion about the book are mailed copies, and a few weeks later, the monthlong online discussion starts. - Dianna Marder