Glose to a new e-reading app that is currently available for iOS, Windows and has an upcoming Android App. The premise is fairly unique, the eBooks become a collective experience where you can read other peoples notes on any given passage or see popular phrases that were highlighted.
You can actually buy eBooks from Glose and you can see how many people are in the process of reading the same book and how many times people have commented within the entire digital edition. There are 300,000 titles from major publishers such as Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette and Macmillan. Basically, there is no shortage of quality content and the prices are on par with Barnes and Noble and Kobo.
I think Glose makes a ton of sense for non-fiction titles. If you want to read a book on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, you can read the comments from history buffs and decide if its worth reading or not. Many people use fiction as an escape and seldom want to engage on a social level.
Not only can users employ highlights and annotations to get their point accross on how they feel about a specific passage but they can also attach media elements such as photos or even videos. Other people can upvote or downvote your annotations so that the next readers can easily find the best annotations.
I really like the premise of Glose, although to take advantage of their social media elements you have to buy your eBooks through them. You cannot import your own titles into the platform, which makes you reliant on dealing with them exclusively. This might be worth checking out as a novelty, but will not be a substitute for your e-reader or favorite online bookstore.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.