The release of the Local Books iPhone app (free) has relieved me—I now know that I’m not the only person in the world who has wished fervently for an easy way to find literary events in any city I happen to be visiting.
Local Books pulls all kinds of information from librarything.com: great bookstores, libraries, and literary events like readings, book discussions, author appearances and signings.
You can search venues or events, and the Local Books iPhone app, using your location, helps you find a variety of ways to get your words on wherever you might be. When searching venues, you have the option of filtering by distance, name or type (library or bookstore). Searching events allows you to filter by date, distance or name.
There is also an option to search by inputting an address or name, and you can fine tune your search range by distance and number of days in the future.
Writers and bibliophiles have been bemoaning the threat that the electronic age presents to the written word, but as Local Books shows, writers and readers can use new technologies to further and better promote books and the literary events they spawn.
The written word isn’t going anywhere. We’re just finding it in new and different ways. The Local Books iPhone app makes that a cinch.
