Abstract: A system and method is presented for the highlighting of web-based books and text documents. Data is maintained in a database relating to books, chapters, pages, and page portions. Through the use of a user interface, users create highlights to the text documents by adding highlight database items to the database associated with page portions. Highlighted text portions are used to create excerpt documents, to value and price a request to license a portion of a text document, and to perform searches relating to the text document.

Abstract: A system and method is presented for contributing explanations for words and phrases found in web-based books and text documents. Data is maintained in a database relating to books, chapters, pages, and page portions. Through the use of a user interface, users can select a text portion and submit an explanation for that portion. During review of the book by other users, the computerized system can emphasize those words and phrase for which a user has submitted an explanation. By selecting one of those page portions, a new user can be presented with the earlier submitted explanations, which will increase the new user's comprehension of the book.

Abstract: A system and method is presented for the creating a synchronized reading session in a web based reading environment. Data is maintained in a database relating to books, chapters, pages. Through a speaker interface, one user operating a speaker computer controls the pages that appear on the interfaces of all participants in the synchronized reading session. The speaker interface also accepts an audio input that is also shared with the interfaces of all participants in the session. All participants view the same pages and hear the same audio in synchronization. Temporary audio input abilities may be granted to a particular participant computers in order to allow a participant to ask a question. Temporary page control can also be granted to a particular participant computer. The speaker computer retains the ability to revoke temporary control granted to participant computers.

Abstract: A system and method is presented for the web-based reading of books. Users of the system access books page-by-page through a computerized web server, with a social community oriented around each book being presented in conjunction with the book. Data is maintained in a database relating to user, author, and publisher additions to the book-oriented social community. Page clicks by users reading the book are also monitored and analyzed, allowing the system to identify users that read every page of the book, and also identify the page where users stopped reading the book.

Abstract: A system and method is presented for the web-based reading of books. Users of the system access books page-by-page through a computerized web server, with a social community oriented around each book being presented in conjunction with the book. Data is maintained in a database relating to user, author, and publisher additions to the book-oriented social community. At least a portion of these additions are associated with particular pages in the book. These page-specific additions are made available to the user only when the user has reached the particular page associated with the addition. A listing of other users currently reading the same page, or nearby pages, is presented to the user, allowing interactions with other users to be controlled according to the specific page being read by the user.