The second lives of books

People are not the only things that should get Second Lives online.
As Internet developers find new capabilities to exploit for the Web 2.0, book publishers need to embrace its functionality to reach new generations of readers and hold on to the existing bibliophiles.
If newspapers have been lashed for their slow response to new possibilities on the Web, then book publishers should be buried alive. And yet there has been no hue and cry to date.
Publishers should take note of what every single movie producer seems to already know about the Internet.
Simply put, in my humble opinion, every book of consequence should register a domain name as close to its title as possible.
Once they go live, these websites should post features like:
• reviews good and bad, both from professionals and amateurs
• serve as a clearinghouse for author interviews and lectures
• hold reader forums
• use multimedia to produce "behind the scenes" material like movies do, to give "bonuses" to readers.
By taking advantage of the interactivity that the Internet provides, I envision new literary lives for the classics, new interpretation and critical discussions and opportunities for outreach by an antique media in the Information Age.
To be more specific, I think such websites could help unearth the next "Confederacy of Dunces" and replicate its cult-like success and, perhaps, rescue a frustrated author from the pit of despair; allow very capable journalists like Richard Preston, author of the real life thriller "The Hot Zone" about ebola virus as well as "The Demon in the Freezer" (the book I just finished reading) about the 2001 Amerithrax case to update the woefully incomplete story now that the mystery behind the anthrax attacks seems to be resolved; would give renown fantasy authors like Stephen Donaldson or Orson Scott Card a forum to float an idea to their fans whether to revive or not their characters from their original and near-perfect series like "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever" or the "Ender's Game," respectively, in new works; or give readers of rare books, such as "The Politics of Conservation" (the book I'm perusing now), to find other people with the similar interests and exchange thoughts.
Book publishers are missing out.
The rule of thumb for the industry should be: if something is important enough to publish, it's important enough to create a website for.