In a novel partnership, Transport for London (TfL) and Hodder & Stoughton (Hodder) have launched a book club.
Named The TfL Book Club, it will enable customers to easily access a new eBook each month to read, including during their journey on TfL's network, as part of a monthly subscription. Costing £4.99 per month, the subscription will give customers one credit to redeem against a specially curated library of eBooks from one of three categories – crime/thriller, fiction (more broadly) and non-fiction.
Three new titles will be added to the library on the 1st of every month. Members will have a rolling monthly subscription, which they will be able to cancel at any time.
Many titles will be new releases and will often be the first time that the books will be available as an eBook at such discounts. Customers can download their selected book each month to their phone or another device using the TfL Book Club app or read it online using the website.
To launch the first month of the club, three exciting titles have been selected. Members can choose between:
BBC Radio 2 presenter Sara Cox's Sunday Times bestseller Thrown;
adventurer and TV presenter Simon Reeve's bestselling Step by Step;
compelling thriller Sun Damage by the acclaimed author Sabine Durrant.
TfL hopes that this partnership will help encourage customers back onto the network as public transport can offer many people the often rare opportunity of having time to themselves, with reading a book being a perfect pastime while making a journey.
Book club members will also receive a range of additional benefits including exclusive author content, discounts on other Hodder eBooks, and competitions. Other perks will include sneak peeks of forthcoming books from bestseller authors and new debuts.
Readers will also be able to share their thoughts and reading experiences with each other as part of the TfL Book Club community by using #TfLBookClub on social media.
For more information about TfL Book Club, or to join now, visit https://www.tflbookclub.co.uk
Julie Dixon, TfL's Customer and Revenue Director, said: “We are excited to be launching the TfL Book Club with Hodder & Stoughton, offering our customers the chance to lose themselves in a new book while making their journey across our network. We are increasingly seeing more people travelling across London and for many, one of their favourite things to do while using public transport is to read a book. The new TfL Book Club is one of the many ways that we are improving our customers' journeys as we welcome them back to our network and to experience everything the capital has to offer.”
Vickie Boff, Hodder & Stoughton Marketing Director, said: “As publishers, we've long known that reading and travelling go hand in hand so we are thrilled to be launching this new Book Club in partnership with TfL. We are always looking for new ways to reach potential new readers wherever they are and this Book Club is a fantastic way to do just that. I'm really excited about the opportunities it will give our authors, books and readers all over London.”
Sabine Durrant, author of Sun Damage, said “As a Londoner, I am absolutely delighted that my thriller Sun Damage is included in the inaugural TfL Book Club, and in such great company. I really hope readers enjoy these books over the summer.”
