Bookish.com is a

content discovery A content discovery platform is an implemented software recommendation platform which uses recommender system tools. It utilizes user metadata in order to discover and recommend appropriate content, whilst reducing ongoing maintenance and develop ...

and

ecommerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain managemen ...

website, which launched in February 2013, devoted to

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

s. The site allows users to browse an extensive

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...

of books and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

s, add books to user-created digital "shelves", get custom book recommendations, read editorial content and purchase physical books,

ebook An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

s, and

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

History

Bookish was founded in 2011 in a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

backed by three of the ''big six''

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

companies –

Hachette Book Group Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Grou ...

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initial ...

(USA), and

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

– with the goal of increasing the presence of book publishers in the book-buying industry (which was becoming increasingly dominated by

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

due to the increased popularity of online bookstores), as well as to expand the overall book-buying market. The site was expected to launch in the summer of 2011, but the launch was delayed due to technical issues relating to data compilation, as well as a lawsuit filed by the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

in 2012 against

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

and five major publishing companies regarding the pricing of ebooks. The site officially launched in February 2013 with the support of sixteen additional publishing companies. In early 2014, online ebook

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

Zola Books Zola Books is a New York based social eBook retailer that combines a social network, bookseller and recommendation engine. Founded by literary agents and launched in September 2012. the company was described by ''The Washington Post'' as "a vent ...

, attracted by the site's sophisticated “algorithmic software” that offers reading suggestions, acquired Bookish.

Features

*Custom book recommendations *User-created digital bookshelves *

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...

shelf-import feature *Articles, newsletters, and author interviews *Book lists, reviews, and

listicle In journalism and blogging, a listicle is an article that is structured as a list, which is often fleshed out with additional text relating to each item. A typical listicle will prominently feature a cardinal number in its title, with subsequent su ...

s *eReader app for Android/ iPhone *Online

bookstore Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librari ...

References

{{reflist

External links

Official WebsiteBook Summary AppTales In Time Website
American book websites

History

Features

See also

References

External links