NEW YORK (AP) — For the past five years, liberal books, especially the Bush-bashing kind, have been a thriving market. A new online club is betting that they can evolve from a market to a movement, long after the president has left office.

The Progressive Book Club, which officially launched on Monday, combines the offerings of a traditional book club with the interactive features of an online social network and the ideals of a grass-roots political party.

Authors Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers and Barbara Kingsolver are among the editorial board members for the new club, which offers a selection of works each month, at discounts from 10 percent to 40 percent, and perhaps up to 80 percent.

For most sales, the club will donate $2 on the member's behalf to a range of educational, environmental and others. The Web site, www.ProgressiveBookClub.com, will also feature videos, audios, forums for debates, book reviews and recommendations.

"The idea for this came a few years ago," says Elizabeth Wagley, the club's founder and CEO, and a former fundraiser and communications executive for nonprofit organisations. "I kept noticing how the right in America had an ability to get their message across in a way the left didn't seem to have."

"The Progressive Book Club is one of those things that when you hear about it, you say, `How come we didn't think of that years ago?"' Eggers said in a statement.

Wagley was soon introduced to Michelle Berger, former senior vice president of Bookspan, which runs the Book-of-the-Month Club, the Literary Guild and other clubs. They found support from such magazines and blogs as The Nation, The Huffington Post and Salon, along with the Service Employees International Union. Virtually every major publisher is participating, but smaller companies such as Chelsea Green Publishing and Soft Skull Press will also be featured.

"We are completely agnostic when it comes to publishers," Wagley says. "People know about Al Franken's books, but there are a lot of other books they don't know."

The club begins with around 200 books, from the memoirs of former President Clinton to Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" to novels by Toni Morrison and Sherman Alexie, and will add 15 releases each month.