You can now pick up at Penguin...

I thought I'd seen it all.  When I read this article on The Bookseller's site yesterday, I wondered if I had the date wrong.  April 1st?  Nope.  Yes, it was 21/08/08 and the link actually worked.  UK publisher Penguin has teamed up with Match.com to launch PenguinDating Where Book Lovers Meet.

Reported The Bookseller:

'Penguin said the site would offer readers “a place to meet and indulge in the age-old art of writing love letters”. Members will be asked to write in their profile about the last book they read and will also be able to search through the site’s other profiles for mentions of their favourite book. Penguin authors including Julia Llewellyn and Adele Parks will write articles for the site, as will Match.com’s relationship expert Kate Taylor.

'Penguin online marketing manager Anna Rafferty said the creation of the dating site was part of her overall mission to “develop meaningful relationships directly with readers”, fitting alongside initiatives such as teen site Spinebreakers, which has attacted 50,000 unique visitors, and Penguin’s 100,000-strong digital newsletter subscription list.'

So there you go.  You can now pick up at Penguin.  The site is currently offering a 72 hour free trial.  Book lovers descend...

Not sure about the marketing manager's quote though: does Penguin actually achieve the development of "...meaningful relationships directly with readers..." or simply facilitate, through an enthusiasm for books and reading, the development of relationships between fellow book lovers.  Will there be wedding bells in the future because "We met online at PenguinDating as a result of our love of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch character"?  Over to you...

Comments

[Debi]

I read about this too and was considering posting about it. But I couldn't possibly improve on your title! Brill ...