The Globe and Mail reports on a new book club initiative between HarperCollins Canada and The Drake Hotel, one of Toronto’s priciest boutique chains. The program, which started in June with Richard Flanagan‘s THE UNKNOWN TERRORIST, sees new books from HarperCollins turning up on hotel guests’ doorsteps. Open it up to find a phone number; if you call, you’ll hear a message from the author. And if you leave a message, the author just might call back, especially if you’ve read the book and want to talk about it.
Tish Cohen, author of July’s pick TOWN HOUSE, says she’s going to return as many calls as possible, because she’s eager to be in touch with her audience and sometimes blogging just doesn’t cut it. “It’s such a struggle nowadays to keep book readers,” said Cohen to the G&M. “It’s an innovative project and it recaptures novels in an exciting way, for a change.”