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Viking Penguin Book Club

Tue, 09/18/2007

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Have you had a chance to take a look at the new Viking Penguin Book Club page? If not, grab a mug of something hot and head on over - it's well worth the browse. Not only does it feature a growing selection of Viking and Penguin's greatest books, but it's also beautifully designed and delightfully customizable.

Featuring reading guides, excerpts, posts from editors, publicists, sales and marketing people as well as from the authors, this webpage is focused on helping book clubs tackle novels such as this month's The 50th Anniversary edition of Jack Kerouac's On the Road (Viking), Yasmin Crowther's The Saffron Kitchen (Penguin) and Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice (Penguin Classics).

I actually spent as much time carefully decorating my desktop as I did browsing the books; the site comes with a fast loading Flash setup that allows you to choose between about 15 table top materials such as Dark Plankwood or Brushed Metal, and then litter them with chocolate pastries, starfish or paper airplanes. After about ten minutes of judicious testing, I opted for the Distressed Wood desktop with a mug of coffee and a chocolate chip cookie, which made me feel like I was indulging in creature comforts within the cindered husk of a beach house.

So go take a look: browse the extensive archive, check out the Penguin Classics that are being added month by month (ranging from Crime and Punishment to The Age of Innocence), and meander through the rich collection of aids, opinions and reading guides that will greatly enrich of your next Book Club meeting!

-- Philip Tucker, Online Producer