Photo Credit of Jane Ubell-Meyer Photo​ Susan Pazera Photography
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Jane Ubell-Meyer, founder of Bedside Reading, has dedicated her career to connecting readers with exceptional books in luxury hotels worldwide. With Jane Recommends, she brings her passion for storytelling to a curated audiobook experience, offering an exclusive library for members who value quality and discovery in literature.
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My Journey from Heartbreak in the Caribbean to Literary Concierge
I'm excited to share the Bedside Reading Audiobook Collection launch with you.
My story is a blend of personal resilience, a lifelong love affair with literature, and a bit of entrepreneurial spirit. It's about how a single book can completely change the course of a life and how I'm now trying to share that transformative power with others.
As you probably know by now, Bedside Reading – places books by the bedsides in luxury hotels, turning ordinary travel stays into mini literary escapes. But my path to becoming these high-end hotels’ "literary concierge" is a little more… colorful than just a straight business success story.
It all started with a disastrous diving trip to the Caribbean in my early twenties. Let's just say it involved some heartbreak, a stranded-on-an-island situation, and a lot of soul-searching. My only companion? Anne Rice's Cry to Heaven. That book became my lifeline, a refuge during a pretty turbulent time. (And trust me, the full story of that trip? It's even more dramatic than it sounds – I'd love to tell you all about it sometime...and When I met Anne Rice, I told her this story!)
That experience solidified something in me. I already loved reading, but it was like a switch flipped. Deep down, I understood the power of literature to heal, transport you to another world, and create memories that last a lifetime. That experience taught me to ALWAYS take a book with you no matter where you go! I never forgot that experience and how that book (and others) helped me transport myself to another world and keep me sane! It became the driving force behind Bedside Reading.
Bedside Reading started by placing physical books in hotel rooms, and we've been growing like crazy since 2017!
Fun Fact: Salmon Rushie and Fiona Davis were the first authors' books we placed at the Mandarin Oriental New York Aug 15, 2017.
On March 27, 2025, we're taking it to the next level with a full-fledged Bedside Reading Audiobook Collection, launching worldwide and making our audiobooks available (not just to luxury hotels) but to everyone, to the public!
The Bedside Reading Audiobook Collection, which you can access through our new app, is an actual passion project. It's not just a random assortment of audiobooks. I hand-pick every title, from business and leadership books to wellness guides, memoirs, thrillers, classic literature, and contemporary fiction. I'm obsessed with ensuring each book has genuine literary merit and is a truly captivating listening experience. And don’t get me started on book covers! I’m so obsessed with them that I started the Bedside Reading Book Cover Awards!
As a lifelong advocate of authors, I also believe showcasing writers to a new audience is something I feel compelled to do; I often feel like I am the author’s advocate, and word-of-mouth can help an author build fans and a career!
This launch is simultaneously happening as we expand our Bedside Reading Digital program in luxury hotels. Our hotel partners include Conrad Washington DC, The Pierre, and Acqualina Resort & Spa . I am also proud to have been vetted and accepted at the Marriott's Mayflower Washington DC Autograph Collection. Guests there are accessing our curated audiobook, ebook, and author podcast selections with a QR code that is offered on bookmarks placed on pillows, in-room TVs, and in-room tablets; it's like turning their hotel room into their private library.
My background is a mix, too. Before Bedside Reading, I founded Madison & Mulholland (an industry leader in the world of celebrity gifting), I spent two decades as a TV producer at GMA, ET, WSJ-TV’s Money Style & Power, etc., and award-winning film producer (Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean, Sioux City, etc.), and now bestselling author (From Wanting To Having It).
I've been in the media world for a while, so I'm not just a book lover who decided to start a business. I'm a storyteller at heart; this is just another way to share the power of stories with the world—not to mention feeding my love of travel!
My story and the launch of the Bedside Reading and our new Audiobook Collection is about the transformative power of reading, bouncing back from tough times, and building something meaningful and lasting.
My story is a blend of personal resilience, a lifelong love affair with literature, and a bit of entrepreneurial spirit. It's about how a single book can completely change the course of a life and how I'm now trying to share that transformative power with others.
As you probably know by now, Bedside Reading – places books by the bedsides in luxury hotels, turning ordinary travel stays into mini literary escapes. But my path to becoming these high-end hotels’ "literary concierge" is a little more… colorful than just a straight business success story.
It all started with a disastrous diving trip to the Caribbean in my early twenties. Let's just say it involved some heartbreak, a stranded-on-an-island situation, and a lot of soul-searching. My only companion? Anne Rice's Cry to Heaven. That book became my lifeline, a refuge during a pretty turbulent time. (And trust me, the full story of that trip? It's even more dramatic than it sounds – I'd love to tell you all about it sometime...and When I met Anne Rice, I told her this story!)
That experience solidified something in me. I already loved reading, but it was like a switch flipped. Deep down, I understood the power of literature to heal, transport you to another world, and create memories that last a lifetime. That experience taught me to ALWAYS take a book with you no matter where you go! I never forgot that experience and how that book (and others) helped me transport myself to another world and keep me sane! It became the driving force behind Bedside Reading.
Bedside Reading started by placing physical books in hotel rooms, and we've been growing like crazy since 2017!
Fun Fact: Salmon Rushie and Fiona Davis were the first authors' books we placed at the Mandarin Oriental New York Aug 15, 2017.
On March 27, 2025, we're taking it to the next level with a full-fledged Bedside Reading Audiobook Collection, launching worldwide and making our audiobooks available (not just to luxury hotels) but to everyone, to the public!
The Bedside Reading Audiobook Collection, which you can access through our new app, is an actual passion project. It's not just a random assortment of audiobooks. I hand-pick every title, from business and leadership books to wellness guides, memoirs, thrillers, classic literature, and contemporary fiction. I'm obsessed with ensuring each book has genuine literary merit and is a truly captivating listening experience. And don’t get me started on book covers! I’m so obsessed with them that I started the Bedside Reading Book Cover Awards!
As a lifelong advocate of authors, I also believe showcasing writers to a new audience is something I feel compelled to do; I often feel like I am the author’s advocate, and word-of-mouth can help an author build fans and a career!
This launch is simultaneously happening as we expand our Bedside Reading Digital program in luxury hotels. Our hotel partners include Conrad Washington DC, The Pierre, and Acqualina Resort & Spa . I am also proud to have been vetted and accepted at the Marriott's Mayflower Washington DC Autograph Collection. Guests there are accessing our curated audiobook, ebook, and author podcast selections with a QR code that is offered on bookmarks placed on pillows, in-room TVs, and in-room tablets; it's like turning their hotel room into their private library.
My background is a mix, too. Before Bedside Reading, I founded Madison & Mulholland (an industry leader in the world of celebrity gifting), I spent two decades as a TV producer at GMA, ET, WSJ-TV’s Money Style & Power, etc., and award-winning film producer (Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean, Sioux City, etc.), and now bestselling author (From Wanting To Having It).
I've been in the media world for a while, so I'm not just a book lover who decided to start a business. I'm a storyteller at heart; this is just another way to share the power of stories with the world—not to mention feeding my love of travel!
My story and the launch of the Bedside Reading and our new Audiobook Collection is about the transformative power of reading, bouncing back from tough times, and building something meaningful and lasting.
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Erin brings a vibrant blend of creativity and strategic thinking to Jane Recommends. With a background in event coordination and social media strategy, she excels in building valuable client relationships and expanding the company's network. When she's not busy sparking new ideas, Erin likes to travel and write, but there is nothing she enjoys more than a great book in my PJ's with her cat.
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