Lovereading has just launched the world's first 'one-stop' shop for eBooks. Until now, readers have had no option but to buy the most popular eBook formats at separate websites. Online retailer Amazon, for example, only stocks titles in its own Kindle format. But book recommendation website Lovereading.co.uk have “taken the headache” out of eBook shopping by joining forces with Apple's iBookstore (UK) to integrate all iBooks onto the site. As Lovereading already stocks Kindle and ePub formats, it has now become the world's first e-retailer to sell the top three types of eBooks. The new venture – rather like the “Go Compare of eBooks”, in reference to the popular price comparison website – promises to end “consumer frustration” over buying eBooks. Peter Crawshaw, Director and Co-Founder of Lovereading, says the partnership will “greatly” benefit the consumer. He said:“At Lovereading.co.uk we always look to be the readers’ champion and these days no-one has time to go to a number of different sites to find out what is available and at what price. “As we already integrate ePub and Kindle formats, the addition of iBooks makes Lovereading.co.uk the destination site for any eBook lover to get expert guidance on what to read and buy in iBook, ePub and Kindle format, in addition to all the physical book formats. “Having the world's first one-stop shop will greatly benefit consumers, making comparing and buying eBooks as simple and straightforward as possible.” In addition to integrating all iBooks on the iBookstore onto the website, Lovereading will also feature the iBookstore recommended titles. The service, “iBookstore recommends”, features six new titles a month selected by the editorial team at iBooks and supported by exclusive content and competitions. “We are very excited about adding a new ‘expert voice’ on the site, supporting what we believe will become a very influential eBook format,” said Crawshaw. He added: “Now we can recommend great stories and, uniquely, offer them in the widest
possible range of formats from hardback and paperback through books on CD to the three most popular e-book formats.” The demand for eBooks in the UK continues to rise, fuelled by the growing popularity of digital readers such as Amazon's Kindle and titles by bestselling authors including Stieg Larsson. UK sales of digital books increased last year by 20 per cent to £180m, according to the latest figures from The Publishers Association.