Sexing Up The Book Industry

In what’s apparently some sort of publicity scam in England, Penguin (the publisher, not the animal) has launched a campaign in which a “sexy model” will roam the streets, looking for men (> 16 years) who happen to be reading the book-of-the-month. This so-called “Good Booking Girl” (honestly) will reward the male reader with £1,000.

(June’s BOTM is Nick Hornby’s 31 Songs, FYI.)

The article also mentions an awkwardly funny poll that sounds like it would be a source of almost endless amusement (stating, e.g., that “85 percent of women said a man could increase his chances of getting a date by talking about a favourite book”), but which I haven’t yet been able to track down.

Ah well.

(Reuters: “Penguin’s sexy model to lure men to books” [June 7, 2004])