For the second year in a row, Penguin is operating the Penguin Hotline, a holiday book advisory service for consumers modeled on the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. Hundreds of Penguin employees will be on call to recommend books to anyone who is trying to find the right book to give as a gift. The advisers will recommend a range of titles by all publishers, not just from Penguin Random House. The hotline opened yesterday and will operate through December 21.
In contrast to last year's inaugural effort, the hotline is starting earlier (last year it launched on the Monday after Thanksgiving), and the company is making a more concentrated effort to spread the word on social media. The hotline has an expanded website and did more research during the year so it can increase the number of requests it can handle.
Last year, requests ranged "from a Dad interested in conspiracy theories and aliens to a cousin with a passion for shrimp farming; from a good friend going through a rough break-up to a woman who wondered what to buy for the man who bagged her groceries."
Penguin said the response from users was "overwhelmingly positive." One said, "I was somewhat skeptical when I submitted the information, but am really surprised and thrilled to be given such interesting titles. It's going to be make it so much easier to fill my son's stocking this year!"