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: Gayle Feldman Publication Date: Wed, 01/06/2011 - 09:09 There was no one standout book of the fair at last week's Book Expo America however, talk continued to dominate the stands and aisles of those likely to succeed in the months to come. Here are some of the books highlighted by... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Wed, 01/06/2011 - 09:14 Three in 10 children live in households that do not contain a single book, according to a new survey. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Tue, 31/05/2011 - 08:00 Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy has organised a benefit for the Poetry Book Society, which faces an uncertain future following the withdrawal of all its Arts Council funding. The event, to be held at London's Institute of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 31/05/2011 - 16:09 Lonely Planet has brought three of its photo-heavy travel books to Apples iBookstore for the first time from today. The travel publisher is offering Lonely Planet's Best in Travel for free until 14th June with The Travel Book... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 31/05/2011 - 16:21 An Edinburgh independent has proposed an alternative to World Book Night next year, where readers buy tickets to attend book swap events across the country. Vanessa Robertson, co-owner of the Edinburgh Bookshop, said she has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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ADMINISTRATORS for the troubled book retailers Borders and Angus & Robertson have warned both chains may close if buyers can't be found. Continue reading at The Sydney Morning Herald
[ The Sydney Morning Herald | 2011-05-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 27/05/2011 - 09:29 Bloomsbury and Faber are to jointly develop a digital content platform providing online access to drama texts. Drama Online will launch in October 2012, and will feature the drama lists from Methuen Drama, Arden... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A pricing war among the big guns of the book industry is causing pain at the checkout screen, but sprouting new opportunities for writers and readers. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This years BookExpo America, an annual publishing business trade show, is full of talk of e-reading and other shifts in the industry. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2011-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 24/05/2011 - 08:46 Beautiful Books has launched its own summer reading campaign, providing POS material and an extra 5% off the selected titles ordered by independent bookshops. The four titles being promoted through the Go Against the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Tue, 24/05/2011 - 15:17 Aurum Press has bought a book delving into archive material from science fiction television show Star Trek. Commissioning editor Sam Harrison acquired UK and Commonweath rights to Star Trek Vault: 40 years from the Archives from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 23/05/2011 - 15:41 Simon & Schuster has defended its publication of Will & Kates Big Fat Gypsy Wedding as fun and gently humorous after Tesco withdrew the book from sale, following complaints. The supermarket pulled the title after... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers attending the Canadian Booksellers Association's National Conference in Toronto, May 1315, were introduced to innovations from two Canadian companies designed to help bricks-and-mortar stores sell ebooks. Transcontinental Printing demonstrated its ebook distribution system, which... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As a former Amazon Associate, I can tell you that a great many sales of Kindle Books are for the 99¢ complete Dickens, etc. Movie critic and Web publisher Roger Ebert, providing some context for Amazons stat about Kindle ebooks outselling print books. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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While the Rapture isnt scheduled to occur until Saturday, according to members of certain religious fringe groups, it looks like doomsday has come early for publishers of print books. Amazon announced Thursday that sales of ebooks on the site have finally surpassed combined sales of hardcovers... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 19/05/2011 - 09:02 Sphere is capitalising on the interest surrounding the US Navy Seals following the assassination of Osama bin Laden and has acquired Seal Team Six by Howard E Wasdin and Stephen Templin. Sphere non-fiction publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Thu, 19/05/2011 - 09:59 Amazon has told US publishers that it will begin accepting digital files in the ePub format in the near future and will also allow users of its Kindle device to read ePub files. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 19/05/2011 - 12:19 Readers are being called to cast their vote for the Independent Booksellers Book Prize winner, after the shortlist was announced today. The annual award, which recognises works of fiction for adults and children, asks members... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 14:45 The French National Assembly yesterday (17th May) voted into law a bill allowing publishers to fix prices of all ebooks sold in France. The text says that retailers inside or outside France must respect the fixed prices.... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 15:57 Traditional US print book output in 2010 increased 5% in 2010, despite the huge growth in ebooks, though there was a continuing fall in the number of fiction titles published. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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