Dog Eared

PSST…if you want to gain entry to the next book launch in town for the author,his book or the free alcohol,whichever you prefer more,log on Ajay Jain’s website for book lovers. “BookWag is a book club to bring together readers,authors and publishers out of a common love for books and all that they represent,” says Jain,38,former business journalist with The Financial Express and Mint who has also written a travel book and another on social media and recently completed his third book on the environment called Green Dioxide.

The site is an informal web platform where anybody can join,there is no membership fee for registering and writing for the site. While the Home page contains news from the literary and commercial fiction world,there are other activities lined up too. “We plan to organise book readings by authors,launches,online as well as offline discussion of books,reviews and seminars,” says Jain. If you’re a book lover waiting to spill the beans on the latest Alexander McCall Smith book,you can also register on the site to write a review or post news about the book. “The book should be recent (launched within last six months) and available in the market. We’re looking at books of popular interest and not be targeted at niche or academic audiences,” says Jain. The book review should be under 400 words in length and should also have an excerpt of 3-4 lines which the reviewer feels captures the essence of the book. So if you’re up to the task,log on to bookwag.com.