ReadFirst

Citation

Nesbeitt, S.L. (2001), "ReadFirst", Online Information Review, Vol. 25 No. 4, pp. 271-279. https://doi.org/10.1108/oir.2001.25.4.271.12

For those interested in getting the scoop on the latest trade books in Britain, ReadFirst serves as a liaison between marketing departments and readers. It has two advantages over most online publishers’ catalogues: it provides free access to the first chapters of a number of recent novels and popular non‐fiction works, and the books themselves come from a variety of publishing houses. The publishers represented range from large outfits such as Simon & Schuster, Random House, and HarperCollins down to smaller presses and independents like Serpent’s Tail and Canongate.

The initial screen highlights four recently published books (presumably those which publishers are most eager to promote). A colour photo of each is provided, along with author and title, and clicking on each image leads to more detailed information such as publisher, price, format, ISBN, review blurbs, and the publisher’s description. At this point readers can choose to read the first chapter online or purchase the book from an online bookstore. For those who wish more information on the publisher, links to detailed publisher information pages and Web sites are included. While access to the site as a whole is free, visitors must create an account and sign in before they can read any chapters. After signing up, access is via e‐mail address and postcode (those outside the UK will be assigned a “postcode substitute” based on their names).

The main menu, found in the red background frame prominently displayed at the top of every page, provides access to the entire gallery of books by genre or author. “New writers” highlights books by first‐time authors, “The serial” provides chapter‐by‐chapter access to worthwhile yet still unpublished works, and “Frank Delaney’s choice” provides reviews by this well‐known critic. “Bookshelf” allows readers to browse through the complete list of titles, all 250 of them (as of early 2001).

While the site’s design is colourful and attractive, its main defect is that navigation requires a great deal of scrolling. All pages take up at least one screen length. Readers should also keep in mind that the overall purpose of this site is to sell books. The storyline blurbs are all written by publishers and as a consequence are of the type normally found on a book jacket – there are nothing but positive remarks here. Despite this, people who are at all interested in books and reading will find themselves reeled in from the first second. The site certainly worked on me; Robert Goddard’s latest mystery is at this moment speeding its way to my door.