Books4Spain has been established in response to the explosive growth in online mass market “soulless” book retailers, such as Amazon, and the continuing decline of the traditional independent bookshop with knowledgeable staff and an interesting collection of books.
The site has been designed to re-create the experience, attractions and benefits of a traditional bricks & mortar independent bookshop but with the added convenience afforded by the Internet and technology to offer better choice, an easier way to discover books about Spain, great customer service and, ultimately, to enable our clients to discover Spain and its rich history and culture through books, as well as to provide them with access to useful, relevant and interesting information about living, travelling or holidaying in Spain.
A key feature of Books4Spain are Spanish Themes and Connections which are designed to enable users to easily explore and discover in greater detail books covering important aspects of Spanish culture and history.
Books4Spain has been launched with 3 Spanish Themes: Flamenco, Spanish Civil War and Camino de Santiago, with books covering People, Places and Objects carefully selected for each Theme (these are the Spanish Connections). A number of other Themes, such as Food & Wine, Living in Spain, Travel, Holidays & Leisure, Art & Architecture are under development and will be launched over the coming months.
In addition to Themes, the site has a growing number of books in a number of categories ranging from Crime Fiction to History, Novels, Music & Entertainment and Politics & Religion.
Books are curated and categorised manually and so the number of books will grow as more and more books are identified and added to the website. Books4Spain has a number of “expert” reviewers who review and rate books across a number of categories/genres.
Aside from Themes, other features include:
pop-up descriptions (where available) on mouse hover over the jacket to avoid the need to click on a book to get the description;
pop-up brief author bios (where available) on mouse hover over the author’s name; an easy to use interface with multiple search options; and
the ability to recognise and apply agency eBook territorial rights based on the location and residency of the user – unlike Waterstones or WH Smith for example, who restrict the purchase of eBooks to people physically located in the UK, regardless of whether they are actually entitled to buy the eBook from another location.
In common with many leading online bookshops, Books4Spain also enables users to save books to a Wish List, Recommend a Book to a Friend and to Rate/Review books.
Finally, Books4Spain has a blog, which will be updated regularly and will shortly be launching a monthly Newsletter.
Here are the initial reactions from users, authors and publishers to Books4Spain:
Customers
Well I have just been having a look around your website, and found it SO easy to use. Was impressed by the books you have on there too, there are quite a few I want to read! Excellent. I think you have done really well, it’s a site that people will want to keep going back to. Well done! Madaline Wright
I LOVE the look of the website, the bright colours, the layout, etc. I clicked on Rick Stein's “Spain”, read the blurbs and clicked “add to cart”...GREAT!! I LOVE the black band across the top of the page letting me know that I had, in fact, added the book to my Cart. I hate websites when you’re sitting there thinking: “So, is the thing in my cart???” Then you have to go check your cart every 2 minutes to make sure stuff is going in there.
I very much enjoyed browsing through your categories. I think that is a great marketing tool, because you always come upon something that interests you, and into the cart it goes!
So, overall, a very good experience and I very much like the different search categories for the search (ebook/print/audio/etc). I can't wait to really have those books now! I am very much looking forward to updates on Books4Spain. Janice Westfall, USA and Spain
Publishers
The site looks fantastic, it’s such a pleasure to be featured in its launch! On its looks and functionality, I had a quick browse and spent longer than I expected exploring. Peter Target, Enitharmon Press
“Great range of titles and most comprehensive listing I have seen of books in print relating to the Civil War.” Martin Ellis, Zymurgy Publishing
Authors/Journalists
“A clearly and lovingly compiled resource that makes the wealth of English-language writings on Spain more apparent than ever before, while keeping alive a vast range of unjustly neglected works.” Michael Jacobs, author of The Factory of Light: Tales from my Andalucian Village and many other travel and fine arts books.
“At last somewhere to browse for books – both popular and rare – on Spain. I’ve already seen a couple that I must have on my bookshelf." Giles Tremlett, journalist and author of Ghosts of Spain and Catherine of Aragon: Henry’s Spanish Queen.
“Finally an attractive website dedicated to the feast of English language books on Spain.” William Chislett, Madrid correspondent for The Times (1975-78).
“An essential port of call for those interested in the rich and varied literature that surrounds Spain, its culture and its history.” Jimmy Burns, author of Papa Spy, Barca and When Beckham went to Spain.
“Books4Spain is an excellent idea with great potential”. Antony Beevor, best selling author of Stalingrad, Berlin and The Battle for Spain.
“Your idea of selling books in English on or about Spain is most appealing.” Dominique Lapierre, author of Or I'll Dress You in Mourning: El Cordobes
FURTHER INFORMATION:
For further information on Books4Spain, or to arrange an interview with Managing Director, Rod Younger, please email Rod on [email protected] or call him on +34 678 021 347.
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