Google Books has made the headlines mostly with the controversy surrounding the project rather than with the product itself. But this hasn't stopped the search giant from improving it and it has just announced a major update adding some very useful features.

“Today I'm excited to announce that we're rolling out changes to Google Books that give readers and book lovers everywhere new ways to interact with the words and images contained within the books we've brought online. We've also made it easier for users to share previews of their favorite books on their blogs or websites,” wrote Brandon Badger, product manager for Google Books.

The most important new feature is a much simpler way of embedding the books on other websites. The Mountain View-based company now provides a small code snippet that should make sharing a book just as easy as sharing a YouTube video. Embedding was possible before but it involved using the Embedded Viewer API and a fair share of knowledge. In addition to embedding, Google Books now also offers a URL link so you can share any page from a book with your friends via email or IM.

The search inside books has been upgraded too, with keywords now highlighted and displayed in context with the snippet of text surrounding them. The results are now sorted by relevance also not just by page number, making it easier to find what you are looking for.

Navigating the books is simpler with two new tools, a “Thumbnail View,” which shows an overview of the pages from a public domain book or magazine, and a “Contents drop-down menu,” which lets users jump to the book chapters or magazine article they desire. The other new features are Plain Text Mode, which displays an HTML version of public domain books, Page Turn Button and Animation and an Improved Book Overview Page.