'Today' is now the home of a book club
Another book club is coming to television: NBC's 鈥淭oday鈥� show will be the center of a new program that will select both new releases and older titles to read and discuss with viewers.
The first pick for the club is the fantasy novel 鈥淭he Bone Season鈥� by Samantha Shannon. The 鈥溾�� website called the new group 鈥渁 fresh and interactive digital discussion series鈥� and said Google Hangouts will be a part of the club, with readers able to share their thoughts on the book with the 鈥淭oday鈥� anchors, other viewers, and writers. Shannon will take part in a Hangout about her book that will be hosted by 鈥淭oday鈥� news anchor Natalie Rhodes on Sept. 16.
鈥淸It鈥檚] so amazing," Shannon said of the news, according to 鈥淭oday.鈥� "I just never imagined that [the book] would get to that kind of level.鈥�
An excerpt of 鈥淭he Bone Season鈥� is available on the 鈥淭oday鈥� website. "Today" has not yet said whether the book chosen each month or so will be discussed only via the Google Hangout or whether the book club will be part of the show as well.聽
Will being chosen by 鈥淭oday鈥� give books the same kind of sales bump that Oprah Winfrey used to bestow on the titles chosen for her book club? It certainly can't hurt, given the program's more than 4 million daily viewers. writer Julie Bosman called the book club 鈥渁 happy development for a publishing industry frustrated by years of shrinking television time devoted to authors.鈥�
Bloomsbury spokesperson Sara Mercurio told the NYT that orders of the novel (it comes out today) from bookstores almost doubled when the news about the 鈥淭oday鈥� pick surfaced.
鈥淥ne can鈥檛 overstate the importance of a nationally televised book club,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think it will have a huge impact on this book and on the publishing industry.鈥澛�
鈥淭oday鈥� did launch a book club about a decade ago, but it was phased out.
Even before its selection by "Today," Shannon鈥檚 book was already getting significant buzz in the publishing world. "The Bone Season" is the first book in what is projected to be a planned seven-part series.
