Point of interest collaborative e-reading

1. A computing device comprising:

a display assembly including a screen;

a housing that at least partially circumvents the screen so that the screen is viewable;

a set of touch sensors provided with the display assembly; and

processing circuitry configured to:

manage an e-book library associated with the computing device, wherein the e-book library includes at least a first e-book;

associate the computing device with a reading group having a plurality of group members;

detect that a copy of the first e-book resides in an e-book library of a first group member of the plurality of group members; and

in response to detecting the copy of the first e-book by detecting the first group member purchased and/or downloaded the first e-book, control the display assembly to display a notification to enable or not a shared reading mode for the first e-book for the first group member when the first group member is currently reading the first e-book, information regarding the first e-book being shared among the plurality of group members of the reading group in the shared reading mode for the first e-book.

2. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to display a second notification on the screen indicating that the first e-book is shared by the first group member.

3. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to initiate the shared reading mode by:

monitoring a reading progress of the first group member with respect to the copy of the first e-book; and

displaying the reading progress of the first group member on the screen.

4. The computing device of claim 3 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

monitor a reading progress on the computing device with respect to the first e-book,

compare the reading progress on the computing device with the reading progress of the first group member; and

display a second notification on the screen based on the comparison.

5. The computing device of claim 4 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to display the second notification by:

displaying the second notification when the reading progress on the computing device exceeds the reading progress of the first group member.

6. The computing device of claim 4 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to display the second notification by:

displaying the second notification when the reading progress of the first group member exceeds the reading progress on the computing device.

7. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to initiate the shared reading mode by:

enabling one or more annotations to be posted in association with the copy of the first e-book.

8. The computing device of claim 7 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to enable the one or more annotations to be posted by:

receiving a first input via the set of touch sensors corresponding to a first annotation;

associating the first annotation with content pertaining to the first e-book; and

sending the first annotation to the e-book library of the first group member to be stored in association with the copy of the first e-book.

9. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

receive a second annotation from the first group member, wherein the second annotation is associated with content pertaining to the first e-book; and

selectively display the second annotation when the content is presented on the screen.

10. The computing device of claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

enable the second annotation to be ignored.

11. A method for operating a computing device, the method being implemented by one or more processors and comprising:

managing, using processing circuitry, an e-book library associated with the computing device, wherein the e-book library includes at least a first e-book;

associating the computing device with a reading group having a plurality of group members;

detecting that a copy of the first e-book resides in an e-book library of a first group member of the plurality of group members; and

in response to detecting the copy of the first e-book by detecting the first group member purchased and/or downloaded the first e-book, controlling a display assembly to display a notification to enable or not a shared reading mode for the first e-book for the first group member when the first group member is currently reading the first e-book, information regarding the first e-book being shared among the plurality of group members of the reading group in the shared reading mode for the first e-book.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

displaying a second notification on a display screen of the computing device indicating that the first e-book is shared by the first group member.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein initiating the shared reading mode comprises:

monitoring a reading progress of the first group member with respect to the copy of the first e-book; and

displaying the reading progress of the first group member on a display screen of the computing device.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

monitoring a reading progress on the computing device with respect to the first e-book;

comparing the reading progress on the computing device with the reading progress of the first group member; and

displaying a second notification on display screen based on the comparison.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein displaying the second notification comprises:

displaying the second notification when the reading progress on the computing device exceeds the reading progress of the first group member.

16. The method of claim 14 , displaying the second notification comprises:

displaying the second notification when the reading progress of the first group member exceeds the reading progress on the computing device.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein initiating the shared reading mode comprises:

enabling one or more annotations to be posted in association with the copy of the first e-book.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein enabling the one or more annotations to be posted comprises:

receiving a first input corresponding to a first annotation;

associating the first annotation with content pertaining to the first e-book; and

sending the first annotation to the e-book library of the first group member to be stored in association with the copy of the first e-book.

19. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

receiving a second annotation from the first group member, wherein the second annotation is associated with content pertaining to the first e-book; and

selectively displaying the second annotation when the content is presented on the screen.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores instructions, that when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations that include:

managing an e-book library associated with a computing device, wherein the e-book library includes at least a first e-book;

associating the computing device with a reading group having a plurality of group members;

detecting that a copy of the first e-book resides in an e-book library of a first group member of the plurality of group members; and

in response to detecting the copy of the first e-book by detecting the first group member purchased and/or downloaded the first e-book, controlling a display assembly to display a notification to enable or not a shared reading mode for the first e-book for the first group member when the first group member is currently reading the first e-book, information regarding the first e-book being shared among the plurality of group members of the reading group in the shared reading mode for the first e-book.

21. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to control the display assembly to display a text field to input an annotation on the first e-book.

22. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to control the display assembly to display an annotation by the first group member at a specific point of the first e-book.

23. The computing device of claim 22 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the display assembly to display the annotation by the first group member at the specific point of the first e-book when an input to view the annotation is received in response to a second notification to view or not the annotation.

24. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to display a notification on the display screen indicating other group members from the plurality of group members who are reading the same e-book.