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 ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Thu, 06/10/2011 - 15:25 Oneworld has bought a book by a Private Eye journalist that uncovers how Britain has become a tax haven. Commissioning editor Mike Harpley bought UK and Commonwealth rights to Duty Free: How Britains Become a Tax Haven for Big... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Those who purchased the Kindle with Special Offers version of Amazon's e-reader can now expunge the ads for a one-time fee of $30. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Robert Stokes Publication Date: Wed, 05/10/2011 - 15:18 Liber, the 29th International Book Fair for the Spanish speaking world, starts today [5th October] in Madrid and takes place against the backdrop of the launch of Amazon.es, which publishers hope will lead to greater interest... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 04/10/2011 - 10:10 Sky Arts is moving "The Book Show" to a new primetime slot on Thursdays when it returns for a fifth series next week. The show, presented by Mariella Frostrup, will be broadcast at 8pm and opens with four episodes from the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 03/10/2011 - 17:23 The 2011 Galaxy National Book Awards will take place on 4th November, rather than 9th, with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge announced as the location. Agile Marketing m.d. Alastair Giles said: "It's mainly a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 03/10/2011 - 08:05 Former Tesco c.e.o. Sir Terry Leahy has written a business book for Cornerstone. Random House Business Books publishing director Nigel Wilcockson bought world rights to Ten Management Lessons by Sir Terry through Danny... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"All About Steve: The Story of Steve Jobs and Apple from the Pages of Fortune" has been released on Amazon as a Kindle book. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 30/09/2011 - 10:44 Hodder & Stoughton has acquired the first two novels by debut women's fiction author Emma Garcia. Senior editor Isobel Akenhead bought British Commonwealth rights, including Canada, for the first two books in the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 30/09/2011 - 15:29 Google is preparing an imminent UK launch of its ebooks platform for selling digital titles, with members of Gardners Hive network able to sell the ebooks from their websites. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams and Philip Stone Publication Date: Fri, 30/09/2011 - 08:40 Childrens books sales outperformed the rest of the market in the first half of 2011, down just 1% year on year to £143m, due to blockbusting brands and the delay in children adopting digital content in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Thu, 29/09/2011 - 09:30 Printed book sales in 2011 have passed the £1bn mark two weeks later than in 2010 with David Nicholls' One Day the biggest selling book of the year to date. In total, £29.5m was spent at UK booksellers in the week ending 24th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 29/09/2011 - 08:15 Ebury Press and Random House Children's Books have signed two separate three-book deals with crime writer Jane Casey. Editorial director for fiction at Ebury Gillian Green acquired UK rights, including Europe and British... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Wed, 28/09/2011 - 15:20 Google is to support a new family arts and literature festival, which is taking place during autumn half term in London. The internet giant will make 300 tickets to main theatre events at Word Up! available to low-income families referred to organisers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 28/09/2011 - 08:39 Pan Macmillan will be holding the world's first live Twitter book signing to launch Lord Alan Sugar's book The Way I See It: Rants, Revelations and Rules for Life. The signing will be held over www.lordsugar.tv at 1pm... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 26/09/2011 - 08:50 Amazon c.e.o. Jeff Bezos has been named as the most powerful man in books in a Guardian and Observer "power list" of the 100 key people in the trade. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There are almost as many ebook surveys as there are digital conferences. Two new surveys released last week provided more information, one on the impact digital readers have had on consumers' reading and book-buying habits, while a second examined the impact of digital publishing on the industry. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-09-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page and Philip Jones Publication Date: Tue, 20/09/2011 - 10:14 The Travel Bookshop premises in Notting Hill will reopen as a bookshop this week after The Book Warehouse acquired the lease to one-half of the building from the Travel Bookshop's founder Sarah Anderson. read... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 19/09/2011 - 14:24 A Game of Thrones author George RR Martin has become the latest author to sell one million copies of his books for the Amazon Kindle. Martin joins Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Charlaine Harris, Lee Child,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 19/09/2011 - 09:32 Bertrams has made three management team appointments, with Nick Harknett joining as group commercial director as parent company Smiths News Group completes its purchase of the Dawson Group. Smiths News now owns the Dawson... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Swiftly and at little cost, newspapers, magazines and sites like The Huffington Post are publishing their own version of ebooks. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-09-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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