Interactive Reading of Atlas Shrugged on Beck Book Service

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Interactive Reading of Atlas Shrugged on Beck Book Service

While looking at The Blaze, I clicked on an ad called "The Blaze Books."

This took me to the following page:

Announcing The New Blaze Books Vertical, Powered by Copia

This is a sponsored page, so the link may not last forever. Here is a brief explanation of the new service from that page:

Today The Blaze announces the launch of an entire Books vertical: dedicated to the custom selection and recommendation of the most interesting and relevant books available. Non-fiction, fiction, historical, political, faith-based; you name it. The Blaze Books vertical (Powered by Copia) brings readers a curated experience from trusted Blaze editors that enables them to go beyond the standard comments at the end of an article and start their own clubs, groups, and threads. Now users can connect with their favorite GBTV and Blaze contributors, read special editions with staff annotations, meet like-minded individuals, or argue with the other side— all in the margins of their e-books.

The Blaze has partnered with Copia to offer its readers this supplemental community platform. It’s a new way to enjoy a book in a socially connected way. With Copia, readers can create a profile, join digital book clubs with friends and connect with other Blaze readers with similar interests. They can take notes and share ideas within their e-books. Readers can join discussion groups related to specific books, authors, or genres (public or private). Copia members can even draw upon the larger Blaze and Copia communities to source the very best notes, thoughts, questions and discussions around a particular book or subject.

Obviously, this service is for selling books--but with reader benefits. You buy an ebook and argue about it online in the margins with others who are reading it at the time. And some other interactive stuff.

When I went to the Copia site to learn about it (see here--but be advised that this link might not last, also, or might change a lot over time), I only saw a few books listed, including the "Editor's Picks." Atlas Shrugged is one of them right at the start of this service. I took a screenshot and circled AS to keep this little tidbit on record:

Cool.

There are free books, too, but they are mostly public domain historical ones like Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington, The USA Constitution, The Federalist Papers, and other such.

btw - If anyone is interested in this service, I recommend it, but be aware that, although you will be arguing and discussing these things with intelligent readers who are more into the ideas than anything else, if the comments on The Blaze are any indication, you will also encounter fundamentalist Christians, leftie trolls and assorted colorful (and bland) nincompoops.

I am not an affiliate nor a member, but I might join.

Whether people like these things or not, I believe services like this one are the sources of intellectual instruction for many of the more active but silent members of mainstream America.

It reminds me of the way they used to post essays on tavern doors in olden times.

It's good to see Atlas Shrugged there. This is how penetration of ideas works in capitalism on an individual basis. And it is powerful history-changing stuff.

Michael