The Web is often blamed for taking people away from reading books, but it may also offer new opportunities to lead people back to them. Oprah is doing a Webinar series for her current book club selection. In a similar approach, but with much different books, Dan Maneker, former editor in chief of Random House, launched an “online salon” today, Titlepage.tv.

The authors and titles featured on the first show are:

Richard Price, Lush Life

• Hardcover:$26.00
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (March 4, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0374299250
• ISBN-13: 978-0374299255

Colin Harrison, The Finder

• Hardcover:$25.00
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (April 1, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0374299498
• ISBN-13: 978-0374299491

Susan Choi, A Person of Interest

• Hardcover:$24.95
• Publisher: Viking (January 31, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0670018465
• ISBN-13: 978-0670018468

Charles Bock, Beautiful Children

• Hardcover:$25.00
• Publisher: Random House (January 22, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1400066506
• ISBN-13: 978-1400066506

The TitlePage blog offers further book picks.

Although the next program is not listed on the site, a January New York Times article said the next show will follow in two weeks and will feature first-time authors:

Sloane Crosley, I Was Told There’d Be Cake

• Paperback Original: $14.00
• Publisher: Riverhead/Penguin (April 1, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 159448306X
• ISBN-13: 978-1594483066

Please Excuse My Daughter, Julie Klam

• Hardcover:$22.95
• Publisher: Riverhead/Penguin (March 27, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 1594489807
• ISBN-13: 978-1594489808

Blood Kin, Ceridwen Dovey

• Hardcover:$23.95
• Publisher: Viking/Penguin (Feb 28, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0670018562
• ISBN-13: 978-0670018567

All the Sad Young Literary Men, Keith Gessen

• Hardcover: $24.95
• Publisher: Viking/Penguin (April 10, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0670018554
• ISBN-13: 978-0670018550