Google patent filing describes tailored online book clubs, minus the wine

The phrase "virtual book club" may not conjure romantic visions of low-lit rooms and vintage wines, but you don't necessarily need those things to throw fancy words around. Amazon-owned Goodreads hosts user-created online clubs, but a Google patent application that's surfaced today imagines a different way of bringing bookworms together. It describes a system that automatically prompts the buyer of a new title, presumably acquired through Google Books, to join a club. To make this virtual version a little more like the real thing, it'll suggest specific groups based on your age, location, interests, preferred club size, reading speed and literary tastes. Furthermore, you'll only be coupled with those who've bought the work recently, so your new-found chums aren't on page 400 before you've even started. It'll all be managed through a social network, of course (we hear Google has one of those), and members will be able to fill specific roles within the club hierarchy. They'll also be able to schedule "activities," which we assume is patentese for Hangouts and the like to foster discussion. The patent filing also talks of financial rewards to tempt participation, which sounds like the perfect strategy for building millions of inactive G+ pages. Filed under: Internet, Google Comments Source: USPTO Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2013-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #patent filing #financial rewards

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Google patent filing describes tailored online book clubs, minus the wine'


The Silent Book Club, a global meet-up for introverts, now connects them remotely

A book club for people who don't like book clubs, founded in 2012 in San Francisco and now boasting six chapters in L.A. County, has moved online. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-10 14:00:07 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book clubs #moved online #book club


Author Fanny Singer and chef Alice Waters talk food and family with L.A. Times Book Club

In a virtual meet-up, "Almost Home" author Fanny Singer and mother and famed chef Alice Waters join book club readers April 21 for a kitchen conversation. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-04-07 20:33:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #virtual meet- #book club #times book


Oprah has announced her April book club pick.

On today’s CBS This Morning, Oprah Winfrey announced her April book club selection: Robert Kolker’s Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family. Kolker book is a work of narrative nonfiction—with elements of biography, reportage, and scientific investigation—about the life of a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-04-07 14:36:54 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #robert kolker #book club


Oprah’s Book Club dropped her novel. It still became a best seller.

Kate Elizabeth Russell’s publication experience has been the best of times and the worst of times. Here’s why. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-04-02 09:00:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book club


UK's World Book Night celebrations to go ahead online

 The Reading Agency has confirmed the UK's World Book Night celebrations will go ahead on 23rd April, but will be modified due to Covid-19. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-04-02 06:54:47 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #world book


Indie bookstore Powell's Books rehires more than 100 employees as online orders soar

Portland's beloved indie bookstore Powell's Books rehired more than 100 employees after seeing a surge in online orders. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-03-29 18:12:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #online orders #bookstore


Los Angeles Times Book Club is back, virtually, with L.A. noir authors

Join author Steph Cha and Joe Ide for a streaming conversation about new L.A. noir. The March 30 event will be live. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-03-25 19:15:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #joe ide #times book


Dialogue rolls out virtual book club to connect readers in 'uncertain times'

As part of a new virtual book club, publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove will be in conversation with a Dialogue author about their book on Instagram live every Thursday at 8 p.m. for the next 10 weeks. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-23 22:24:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #connect readers #uncertain times #book club


Keeping Book Club Alive in the Midst of Social Distancing: Critical Linking, March 19, 2020

An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web! Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-03-19 10:30:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #social distancing #critical linking #book club


Authors and publishers get creative as book launches are moved online

In response to the coronavirus outbreak and government advice to socially distance, authors, readers and booksellers are thinking of new, exciting and creative ways to launch their books and keep readers engaged after in-person-events get cancelled.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 11:27:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #creative ways #book launches #moved online #coronavirus outbreak


Haven’t read War and Peace? Now’s the time to join Yiyun Li’s free virtual book club.

If you’re feeling alone and listless, or even if you simply have a few extra hours a week all of a sudden, I’ve got some good news for you. Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18, brilliant novelist Yiyun Li will be leading a virtual book club in reading Tolstoy’s War and Peace—a book that many... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-17 15:11:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book club


10 SUCH A FUN AGE Book Club Questions And Reading Guide

Read Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid and want to share with your book club? Use these Such A Fun Age book club questions to get the conversation going. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-03-13 10:41:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #reading guide #fun age #kiley reid #book club


Refuge, Gossip, and Revelation on the Private Book Club Circuit

Imagine being a fly on the wall for gatherings where friends who’ve known each other for years share intimate details about love, loss, and the longings of their lives. Imagine being invited into the homes of complete strangers to share a meal and discuss politics, religion, and other matters of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-12 08:48:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book club


Before 'American Dirt,' a history of Oprah's Book Club controversies

Oprah Winfrey first launched Oprah's Book Club on Sept. 16, 1996, 10 years into "The Oprah Winfrey Show," one of the highest-rated daytime talk shows in television history. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-03-10 14:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #oprah winfrey #american dirt #book club


Oprah’s Book Club Drops My Dark Vanessa, Keeps American Dirt

After holding a forum to discuss one contentious novel, Winfrey said she did not want to wade into literary controversy again. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2020-03-06 21:49:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dark vanessa #american dirt #book club


Oprah’s Book Club drops My Dark Vanessa as a pick because of Twitter controversy.

After the massive blowback from its selection of American Dirt—a book about the migrant experience widely denounced for having very little connection to the migrant experience (or to Mexico, where the book is set)—it makes sense that Oprah’s Book Club would make future selections more... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-05 17:20:51 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #dark vanessa #makes sense #book club


Steph Cha and Joe Ide talk noir with the L.A. Times Book Club

"Your House Will Pay" author Steph Cha and "Hi Five" author Joe Ide join the L.A. Times Book Club in Long Beach. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-03-02 21:46:24 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #steph cha #long beach #times book


The Best Book Club Questions to Jump Start Conversation: Critical Linking, March 1, 2020

An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-03-01 11:30:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #critical linking #book club


Want to Start a Queer Book Club? Here’s How

Looking for a queer book club or even want to start your own? This is how to get started. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-02-25 11:36:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book club


You Can Do It! (If You Want To): An Introvert’s Guide to Joining a Book Club

If the very idea of book club puts the fear in you, take a page from the introvert's guide to joining book club and consider these tips for participating. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-02-24 11:36:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book club