Well BookRabbiters, we’re all feeling pretty terrified excited here at the Warren as launch day approaches! A quick round-up of what’s been happening in the office this week – we’ve begun some user testing and the tech team are painstakingly working their way through the site stamping on any nasty bugs. Design are still fine-tuning the overall look and feel of the site, while the rest of us are editing the content and making sure there aren’t any bloopers.

We would still very much welcome your eyes and (rabbit) ears to spot any problems after launch. We’re doing our best to make the new site a lean-mean-book-lovers’-machine, but it will be your day-to-day use of it that will uncover any hidden niggles – so don’t be shy in letting us know through the usual channels.

There are also last minute deals being tightened up for the book data that you’ll see on the site when you arrive. Something in the region of 4 to 5 million books for you to enjoy. That should keep you busy…

Well, the solstice on Sunday signaled the first day of summer (although for many of us it was the start of Wimbledon on Monday that really meant summer had arrived) but it has got us thinking about summer holiday reading here at the Warren. Somehow a holiday just isn’t a holiday without a pile of books to read on the beach, but picking that perfect page-turner for the sunbed isn’t always easy.

One solution might be to head for Penguin’s first holiday book club which launched in Antigua this week (thanks for the invite?) The idea is that guests can choose a book from 20 titles in the ‘Borrow a Penguin’ library at the hotel. Some of the handpicked choices include modern classics such as Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch and Zadie Smith’s White Teeth or the latest paperback releases such as Jane Green’s The Beach House. Weekly poolside get-togethers organised by the hotel’s host will then enable readers to chat about the book.

So what do we think? Sheer genius or your idea of holiday hell? Some of you have expressed an interest in finding out if there are local BookRabbiters in your area so you can set up book clubs, so we’d also like to hear your thoughts on that.

In the meantime, here’s some more inspiration from our team with their current reading lists, and someone has already got his summer reading sorted…

Liam

I started my summer reading on June 21st, having finally got round to reading Infinite Jest by David Wallace. Last week I read Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi and the week before that The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Zoe’s Tale was enjoyable throwaway space opera. I liked the Old Man’s War trilogy well enough and it was interesting to hear the final tale from another character’s perspective.

Sylvia

I’ve just finished the Twilight Saga, a wonderful love story between two people, one who just happens to be a vampire. One of the best series I’ve read in a long time (though David Weber still remains my favourite). I’m in the middle of John Scalzi’s Old Man's War Trilogy; a Sci-Fi series exploring how a governing body looking after multiple colonies in a multiverse filled with other species could behave. The writing is fairly basic and he’s just not as good as my favourite author David Weber. I’ve recently read On Basilisk Station, Changer of Worlds and The Excalibur Alternativewhich is one of his one-off stories. I loved it. 16th Century English longbow men are captured by an alien master and made to fight his battles, but In Fury Born is my favourite David Weber book.

(Sylvia: probably the best David Weber fan in the world).

Dan

I’ll admit I don’t read loads of books, but when I do read I really enjoy Douglas Coupland. I’ve just started one of his books called All Families Are Psychotic. I tend to enjoy his books because he often writes about stuff that does seem to have a lot of similarities to my own life.

(We are sending Dan on compulsory holiday leave. As from right about now.)

Have a great weekend, enjoy the sunshine and it won’t be long now until we’re chatting to you from the live BookRabbit site!

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