[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #230: The Bookish experience

[Editor]

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #230: The Bookish experience
May 18th, 2011

<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bookish_logo.png>At 
the end of the first week in May, three major publishers announced their 
intention to create a joint online venture called Bookish.com 
<http://bookish.com/>. This comes at a time when bricks-and-mortar 
bookstores are having serious financial problems; Michigan-based Borders 
Group, for example, may have to close all its stores, since it's 
reported 
<http://www.freep.com/article/20110514/BUSINESS06/105140340/Borders-lacks-bidder-chain-sources-say> 
that they can't find a buyer. So how do publishers replace the physical 
bookstore experience, where readers could easily discover books? 
Bookish.com is one possible answer. (Of course, the library is another.)

    * Publishers make a plan: a 'one stop' book site
      <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/books/publishers-plan-a-joint-one-stop-book-site.html>
      (New York Times/Julie Bosman) "The site intends to provide
      information for all things literary: suggestions on what books to
      buy, reviews of books, excerpts from books and news about authors.
      Visitors will also be able to buy books directly from the site or
      from other retailers and write recommendations and reviews for
      other readers. The publishers - Simon & Schuster
      <http://www.simonandschuster.com/>, Penguin Group USA
      <http://us.penguingroup.com/> and Hachette Book Group
      <http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/> - hope the site will become a
      catch-all destination for readers in the way that music lovers
      visit Pitchfork.com <http://pitchfork.com/> for reviews and
      information."
    * 'What should I read?' A new site called Bookish hopes to tell you
      <http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2011/0510/What-should-I-read-A-new-site-called-Bookish-hopes-to-tell-you>
      (Christian Science Monitor/Husna Haq) "Bookish isn't the first
      site to attempt to create an online community of bibliophiles. The
      social reading site Goodreads <http://www.goodreads.com/> offers
      that already and is growing at a rapid clip of about 100,000 new
      users per month. But Goodreads has suffered from problems like
      reviews posted for books that aren't yet written and a tendency to
      spam users and their contacts. Complaints have been rolling in."
    * Bookish wants to help you find your next book
      <http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Bookish-Want-to-Help-You-Find-Your-Next-Book-75461.asp>
      (Information Today/Theresa Cramer) "On the business end, Bookish
      will have a dual revenue stream. On one side, there will be
      advertisements on the site. [Bookish CEO Paulo] Lemgruber says
      that, at least in part, this is where AOL Huffington Post comes
      in: 'They will provide access to their tools, but will also give
      us a wonderful platform for our editorial content. Additionally,
      AOL will act as our advertising sales team.' Bookish, however,
      plans to also get into the book-selling business. Bookish is
      dedicated to working closely with book retailers, according to the
      press release, and in the coming weeks will reach out to explore
      ways to complement the retailers' efforts and enhance all reader
      experiences."
    * 5 ways to screw up "Bookish"
      <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-e-kelly/5-ways-to-screw-up-bookish_b_860108.html>
      (Huffington Post/Laura E. Kelly) "When I read that Bookish founder
      Paulo Lemgruber said, 'The main goal of Bookish is to make
      recommendations about books that will appeal to a reader's
      particular taste,' my heart sank. Amazon already does this in
      spades. Why compete with them (and who really finds Amazon's
      soulless algorithmic recommendations that useful)?"

*/Confusion fact:/*

Bookish should not be (but probably will be) confused with Booki.sh 
<http://booki.sh/>, the e-book streaming site we mentioned in 4cast #215 
<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/?p=1655>. Nor should it be confused with the 
New Zealand Bookish <http://www.bookish.co.nz/> site. Nor with any of 
the myriad online book clubs and blogs with "Bookish" in their names.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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