The Millions : A Future for Books Online: Tumblr’s Reblog Book Club

This kind of thing is relatively new territory for authors - how many times have you cringed in the past decade seeing writers forced to start blogs or Twitter accounts or somehow engage with their readers online when it didn't come naturally, or worse, when it clearly made them uncomfortable? But these days plenty of writers do shine in digital spaces, and Rowell is one of them - and when Tumblr called, her publisher embraced the opportunity. Stephanie Davis, the marketing manager at St Martin's Press, told me, "Working with Rachel to launch the Reblog Book Club was really exciting because the community on Tumblr is so expressive, creative, and authentic." Davis cited the fact that Rowell was on Tumblr, and enthusiastically so, that made her an ideal first choice. The club was an experiment - and it was a successful one. It showed off the very best of the Tumblr book community:"It was thrilling to be able to approach a traditional book club in a new way," Davis said. "And to see how the Tumblr community jumped in and participated - I'm still blown away by how talented her Tumblr fans are!"