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: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 15/06/2011 - 14:03 Random House author Katie Price is to attempt to break the Guinness World Records title for the largest book signing by a single author. Price's attempt will take place at the O2 Academy, Leeds, at 11 a.m. on 27th July,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last week, TechCrunch reported that Google was in talks to buy display advertising company Admeld for $400 million. Now, it looks like the deal has been closed. Google announced Monday that it had signed a deal to officially acquire Admeld. Financial terms of the acquisition weren't disclosed,... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PCWorld managed to snag previews of some of the pages, although they are a work-in-progress as the pages have not yet been colored or had speech bubbles put in. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Rachel Bradley and Katie Allen Publication Date: Tue, 14/06/2011 - 17:23 Titles from Cressida Cowell, Sita Brahmachari and Jon Mayhew have been selected for Booktrust"s Booked Up programme, which sees 17 titles on offer to all year seven pupils in England. Over 650,000 free books... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Retailing for $185,000, the Espresso Book Machine, developed by On Demand Books, costs more than the annual revenue of some independent bookstores. But with a new partnership with the American Booksellers Association to help get frontlist and midlist titles from mainstream houses (something that... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google is in talks to buy AdMeld, a display advertising company, for $400 million, according to the New York Times. TechCrunch first reported the acquisition, but inside sources told the Times that the deal hadnt been finalized and that negotiations could still fall apart. An acquisition of... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-06-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publication Date: Fri, 10/06/2011 - 10:36 Octopus has acquired a vegetable cookery title by chef, eco-restauranteur and star of "The People's Supermarket" Arthur Potts Dawson. Publishing director Stephanie Jackson acquired world rights to Eat Your Veg from Sophie Laurimore of Factual... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 10/06/2011 - 10:45 Orion Books imprint Swordfish has acquired two books by Guardian columnist and TV presenter Charlie Brooker, signing the titles through Jo Unwin at Conville & Walsh. Publisher Rowland White bought world rights in all... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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By restricting purchases unnecessarily, ebooks and e-readers are a bad deal, says free software guru Richard Stallman. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 09/06/2011 - 08:05 Murdoch Books has further restructured its workforce following owner Matt Handbury's move into the role of c.e.o. last week. Christine Jones will become managing director of Murdoch Books UK, which has its UK offices in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 08/06/2011 - 14:53 The Edinburgh International Book Festival is to be sponsored by Guardian News & Media, in a newly-penned two-year deal. The sponsorship deal will include coverage in the Guardian, the Observer and its books website of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Unbridled Books is partnering with the American Booksellers Association to promote the organization’s IndieCommerce program. For three days Unbridled is offering 25 of its titles in ebook format for 25 cents exclusively through the approximately 250 independent bookstores that are set up to sell... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 07/06/2011 - 09:49 Dawson Books has been bought by the parent company of book wholesaler Bertrams for £20m. Smiths News plc, which owns Bertrams, announced today (7th June) that the wholesaler and Dawson Books would be "fully integrated"... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 07/06/2011 - 15:44 Thanks in part to a "better than half price" deal at Waterstone's, John Grisham tops the Official UK Top 50 for the first time in five and a half years. The Confession (Arrow), the Arkansas-born legal thriller writer's 23rd... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Anja Sieg Publication Date: Tue, 07/06/2011 - 12:10 Bertelsmann's Direct Group is to open to the public all of the retail stores operated by its ailing German book club operation Der Club. Previously the group allowed only members into the chain, a strategy which impacted a... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 06/06/2011 - 14:49 Lee Child and Suzanne Collins are the latest authors to sell more than a million Kindle books. The pair join Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts and Charlaine Harris. Child, who has written 16 Jack Reacher thrillers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 03/06/2011 - 10:03 Rider Books has acquired a non-fiction book telling readers how to use philosophy to improve their everyday life by journalist and blogger Jules Evans. Rider Books commissioning editor Sue Lascelles bought world rights,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 03/06/2011 - 14:25 Unbound, a publishing platform that allows readers to choose what is published, was devised as a response to the difficulties of the existing publishing model, with the programme aiming to get 35 to 40 projects off the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 02/06/2011 - 08:54 Orion has acquired The Pure Package: The Diet for Food Lovers by food and health entrepreneur Jennifer Irvine. Orion non-fiction editorial director Amanda Harris bought world rights to the title from agent Clare Hulton,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 02/06/2011 - 13:02 Google, American publishers and the US Authors Guild have been given until next month to revise a book-scanning agreement for out of print titles and orphan works. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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