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No Names, No Jackets – Finally Something New in Book Discovery

228553888_d8ba156ade[1]One thing I’ve missed in switching from paper books to ebooks is the way I used to browse bookstores. I’m one of those people who pick a random book off the shelves of the SF section and read it to see if I like it, and that’s just not possible with most ebookstores.

Sure, most ebookstores have samples, but there is no element of randomness in choosing a sample and I miss that part. That is why I was thrilled today to read about a new ebook discovery site called No Names, No Jackets.

This site, which I heard about via Jane Litte of Dear Author, offers up random chapters of books and nothing else. You’re not offered the title, author, book cover, or blurb. You just get to read a chapter.

How cool is that?

You can either request a completely random chapter, or pick one from a specific genre, including Crime, Horror, SF, alt hist, and many more. There are only about 700 excerpts on the site so some of the categories are still rather thin, though I expect that will change. All the chapters were submitted by the authors or publishers, and at the end of each selection there is a link that leads to more information about the book.

This type of ebook browsing might not appeal to all readers, but I like it. It fits with how I used to browse for books, and that makes it an enjoyable change from the usual sales pitches that are often presented as suggestions for books I might buy.

No Names, No Jackets

image by zimpenfish

 

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Comments


kurt June 25, 2013 um 11:30 am

Wow
This is too cool
Thank-you for the link


Becki June 25, 2013 um 6:03 pm

Thanks for the heads up! Off to upload chapter one of my husband’s novel…


Michelle Louring June 26, 2013 um 5:03 am

This sounds like a really cool idea!
I’m also one of those who enjoy just walking around a bookstore and picking out random books from the sections I’m interested in, but it’s just no fun doing that in an online store. This might solve(at least some of) the problem!


Roads to Caveat Lector – Caveat Lector October 14, 2013 um 1:12 am

[…] first! There’s a new way to get to the site! I read over at The Digital Reader about No Names, No Jackets and thought the idea was wonderful. Basically you pick a genre (or not) […]


Stumblary Wants to be the StumbleUpon for eBooks – The Digital Reader November 17, 2013 um 6:50 pm

[…] so often I come across a new and novel way to promote books. In June I found No Names, No Jackets, a site that focused on serving up blind excerpts as a way of drawing the attention of readers, and […]


Callie November 28, 2014 um 9:56 am

What happened to the site? Now it’s just a random blog.

Nate Hoffelder November 28, 2014 um 10:04 am

They killed the site late last year. There wasn’t enough support from publishers.


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