November Affiliate Spotlight: Open Book Society
Open Book Society: November Affiliate Spotlight
interviewed by SusanAshlea
The Affiliate Spotlight for the month of November belongs to Open Book Society. MVF was fortunate to be able to ask the owner and manager of the site a few questions via email. We are big fans of OBS, so make sure to check out the interview and give the site a go. If you enjoy MVF, you’ll definitely enjoy Open Book Society!
MVF: What brought the two of you together? How did you come up with the idea for OBS? What are each of your roles?
OBS: I wanted to take part in an online book club. I began searching for a site where a 30 something adult with a passion for the supernatural (including young adult fiction) could discuss books intelligently and with real thought provoking questions. I couldn’t find one, so I decided to create my own website with an emphasis on a monthly book club.
Aaron, my half-brother, agreed to design the site. He occasionally stops by for tech help.
I run the site, manage content and staff.
MVF: Tell us about the Open Book Society.
OBS: [It] is a site for all things supernatural/paranormal. From Harry Potter to Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, we discuss books, movies, comics, fan art, and so much more. We even have an 18+ mature section on the forum for discussing R rated material.
If you don’t have the time to check multiple sites for news on all your favorite movies, books, and authors come to OBS. We combine movie news, TV series news, book news, etc – we are truly your one stop shop.
MVF: What can a first time visitor expect when they come to your blog?
OBS: News on their favorite TV series, movies, and actors. Then they’ll quickly find the links to our book and movie quizzes, book study chapter discussions, and out forum.
I think our forum is the best part – we discuss the books we’re reading and from those discussions, many books are recommended. We also discuss our favorite TV series episodes and movies. We are like a large family and it’s fun to share our opinions.
MVF: Are there a limitation of what books can be discussed on the site, or are all genres welcome?
OBS: We find that the discussions about supernatural/paranormal generate the most discussion, since that is the theme of OBS, but certainly if someone wants to talk about a book, ANY genres are welcome.
MVF: Do you write all the book reviews? Can readers submit reviews or books that they would like to see reviewed on the site? Do you allow spoilers in your reviews?
OBS: [The] Staff do most of the book reviews, but we hope to change that. We have a members’ control panel which can be used to submit book reviews.
http://openbooksociety.com/member-control-panel/
We have give-a-ways – we choose one person a month, who has submitted a member’s book review, to choose a book from this list:
http://openbooksociety.com/article/obs-member-book-review-contest/
Yes, we do allow spoilers in our reviews, but we’re generally pretty good about providing a quick review of the story at the beginning and then warning of a spoiler before the story synopsis.
MVF: Why did you decide to expand beyond book reviews into TV reviews/recaps, movie reviews, news, etc?
OBS: Initially the site was for news and book clubs. But we soon realized that we wanted to discuss television series and movies. Recently there has been a flood of movies and television series made from popular books, so this gave us an easy segue into movie and TV discussions We began with True Blood episode reviews. Those were a hit, so we expanded to The Vampire Diaries, Merlin, Fringe etc..
We also wanted to generate exclusive content for our readers
We do:
Read-A-Likes (recommending books that are similar to our book club of the month)
A-Z (listing topics or characters for each letter of the alphabet on a book, series, or movie)
Author profiles
Exclusive interviews
Casting Couch – we cast a book as if it were being made into a movie.
Fan Art Madness – we find drawings by fans based on a particular book or series.
Mature Fan Fiction highlight
OBS Speaks Out – articles/rants on anything related to supernatural/paranormal series, characters, authors, literacy, etc… – We hope to have our readers writing these articles
We now include comic/graphic novels – each week we have a suggested read.
MVF: What are you reading now? Do you have a favorite book of all time?
OBS: I am currently reading Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris and a Gena Showalter Lords of the Underworld book, I can’t recall the name though. I’m also reading The Hallowmere series. I am usually in 2-3 books at a time. I’m a speed reader and it’s difficult to keep my attention.
I don’t have a favorite book because of how much I read. I spent my youth in the library. I have favorite books for different times in my life:
Young adult – Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series.
In my 20′s Anne Rice first introduced me to Vampires and Witches – that’s when my fascination began. And now I can’t get enough of supernatural beings.
MVF: Is there anything else you would like to say about the blog? Any news or updates you would like to share?
OBS: I have so many plans for the site, but we don’t currently have the staff to expand. My goal is to have 3 book clubs running a month – YA, Adult and Mature (as in rated R books). We hope to have author chats, expand on the fun exclusives, and eventually have a radio show or podcast.
Come over and join us or follow us on Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter. We often have exclusive contests, book give-a-ways and much more.
We are really excited to have such an amazing site like Open Book Society on board as one of our MVF Affiliates. Make sure to check them out and sign up for their newsletter. There’s always something new happening!
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