BingeBooks, an online community and book discovery hub focused on fiction, launched yesterday. The website is self-funded by some 125 founding authors, and carries the full catalog of fiction titles from Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette and Macmillan, as well as more than 7,000 books from independent authors.
Readers can purchase titles through buy button/affiliate relationships with several retailers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books and Google Play. While it is not available yet, buying through Bookshop.org will soon be an option. Audio, digital and print versions of many titles are available to buy, and readers can peruse plenty of print and audio excerpts.
"As authors, we've heard from readers that they want a new, more modern book discovery experience," said Alessandra Torre, BingeBooks CEO. "So our startup brought together bestselling authors and readers to collaborate on a new platform where book lovers can discover, recommend and talk about great books. Our catalog offers a wide mix of bestsellers from familiar household names as well as great under-the-radar reads from emerging authors."
BingeBooks also allows users to interact with authors, leave comments and share recommendations. They can create custom lists of past reads, and get updates on forthcoming tiles.