Looking for a good book to read? Of course you are. How are you going to find one? Well, you could hit a site like Goodreads, or you could bounce around to Amazon, B&N, Kobo, your local library…or if you could hit up Lovereading.co.uk for edited, curated recommendations AND books in every ebook format for purchase!
Lovereading.co.uk was offering books in Kindle and ePUB formats for some time, and they’ve now added integration with the iBookstore! This is a UK-only deal, but it’s (as far as I know) the first time anyplace has been able to offer iBooks titles outside of iTunes. It’s a big move for Apple, and a way to to try to claw some marketshare away from Amazon and B&N. At the very least it gives readers in the UK a way to search iBooks without heading to an iOS device or a computer. It’s huge, and the first bit of love iBooks has seen from Apple in quite a while!
So if you’re a UK-based Gear Diary reader, be sure to check out Lovereading.co.uk, and let us know if their recommendations and site help you find your next favorite book!
[showhide][blockquote]ONE-STOP SHOP FOR EBOOKS
NEWS COPY
The world’s first ‘one-stop’ shop for eBooks launched in the UK yesterday.
Until now, readers have had no option but to buy the most popular eBook formats at separate websites.
Online retailer Amazon, for example, only stocks titles in its own Kindle format.
But book recommendation website Lovereading.co.uk have “taken the headache” out of eBook shopping by joining forces with Apple’s iBookstore (UK) to integrate all iBooks onto the site.
As Lovereading already features Kindle and ePub formats, it has now become the world’s first e-retailer to sell the top three types of eBooks.
The new venture – dubbed the “Go Compare of eBooks”, in reference to the popular price comparison website – promises to end “consumer frustration”
over buying eBooks.
Peter Crawshaw, Director and Co-Founder of Lovereading, says the partnership will “greatly” benefit the consumer.
He said: “At Lovereading.co.uk we always look to be the readers’ champion and these days no-one has time to go to a number of different sites to find
out what is available and at what price. “As we already integrate ePub and Kindle formats, the addition of iBooks makes Lovereading.co.uk the destination site for any eBook lover to get expert guidance on what to read and buy in iBook, ePub and Kindle format, in addition to all the physical book formats. “Having the world’s first one-stop shop will greatly benefit consumers, making comparing and buying eBooks as simple and straightforward as
possible.”
In addition to integrating all iBooks on the iBookstore onto the website, Lovereading will also feature the iBookstore recommended titles.
The service, “iBookstore recommends”, features six new titles a month selected by the editorial team at iBooks and supported by exclusive content and competitions. “We are very excited about adding a new ‘expert voice’ on the site, supporting what we believe will become a very influential eBook format,” said Crawshaw.
He added: “Now we can recommend great stories and, uniquely, offer them in the widest possible range of formats from hardback and paperback through books on CD to the three most popular eBook formats.”
The demand for eBooks in the UK continues to rise, fuelled by the growing popularity of digital readers such as Amazon’s Kindle and titles by bestselling authors including Stieg Larsson.
UK sales of digital books increased last year by 20 per cent to £180m, according to the latest figures from The Publishers Association.[/blockquote][/showhide]
