Booksquare

Maybe it’s that we got up too early, we don’t know, but we’re sitting here in BS Central, and thinking, “Huh?” Sure, the publishing industry moves slowly, but as we read an article on reviews at The Bookseller, we couldn’t help but wonder if we’d flipped back a year.

Not that we’d complain on that score, nosiree, nothing like living through 2005 again to get a girl all excited.

So, it’s all blah, blah, blah, too many reviews, readers don’t trust them, word-of-mouth, relationships, the usual, and then the kicker:

Already John Murray has decided to canvass the views of “ordinary readers” for the launch The Meaning of Night. How long before others follow? I suspect we will soon see publishers working much more closely with bloggers and reading groups. They will run ongoing focus group panels and maybe some will even follow the Miramax model and ruthlessly target awards and prizes. Exciting times are ahead for those switched on enough to recognise that a whole new “recommendation model” is needed. Let the fun and games begin.

Sure, okay, the UK is across the ocean, but no matter how many times we read the article (considering the source), we cannot help but return to our original thought. Which, of course, leads to calendar checking again.

• Sentenced to death?