Free download "tasters" of new novels

18/03/2008

For six months the publishing giant, Penguin, has been trialing PDF 'taster' downloads of  books - allowing readers to browse the opening pages of each book as a sample. As of March 17th 2008 they will have over fifty titles available online, and will continue to upload the first chapters of every single new fiction title each month.

 

The PDFs work on iPhones, Palms and Blackberrys, or can be read on your computer screen or printed off. It's an ideal way to discover new authors quickly, easily -  and for absolutely nothing.

But in practice, is this new technology all that different from browsing in a local bookshop? Anna Rafferty, Penguin's Digital Marketing Director, said: "The idea of a reader picking up a book in a bookshop and reading a paragraph or two before making a commitment to buying the book it is really nothing new - except in an online context. 

 

"The addition of Penguin Tasters to www.penguin.co.uk is in line with our existing online marketing mission, and will allow those readers to get a preview of the books they've been waiting for as well as encouraging them to try something new."

And the 'tasters' aren't just the first few pages of the books, or extracts arbitrarily chosen from the 'best bits'. Penguin include full prologues, the entire opening chapter, and in many cases several chapters, thereby allowing the reader to decide for themselves whether this is the book they want.

To start reading just go to the website linked below.

 

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