ZDNet's Donna Bogatin asks in a blog post Thursday whether the new site can "make reading sexy," quoting an S&S exec who says that she hopes the site will "humanize" authors with interviews and additional information about them, and hopefully create "water cooler chatter" about books.

While Simon & Schuster book videos have traditionally been single-title driven by targeting specific book content, personality profiles of authors will be the focus of the BookVideos.tv platform

Simon & Schuster wants to bring to the fore authors’ “back stories,” not commonly known by fans, Fleming told me. BookVideos.tv is an “extension of our efforts to find new and creative ways to talk about our authors to more people,” [Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group Vice President Sue] Fleming said.

To seed the new channel, Simon & Schuster has committed to creating at least 40 videos showcasing authors, including Sandra Brown, Mary Higgins Clark, Vince Flynn…

Initially, editorial focus will be on 1) Book Club style titles and 2) Self-Help/Fitness/Lifestyle type titles, Fleming said.