Can I take a moment to tell you about Goodreads? It's my new favorite site, and it's ALL about books! It's not only your personal digital library, it's also a social networking site for bookworms... can you believe it?
Each member can build their own bookshelves (filled with all the books they have ever read and all the books they want to read), make reviews, join book clubs (as many as you want), look through book lists, get new book ideas, and read descriptions.... all of this about any book you can possibly think of. Goodreads makes it incredibly simple to find the books you love as they have them already cataloged on the site, cover art (in all the versions they come in) and all.
My experience has been wonderful. I have joined a few "clubs," participated in conversation threads about my favorite books, befriended strangers who share my passion for the written word, and stored up loads of to-read book suggestions! In fact, when I was figuring out which books I was going to choose to complete The Book Challenge tasks, I went to Goodreads before Amazon as a resource. People, that is a testament of it's own seeing that Amazon is my Holy Grail when it comes to book research! Goodreads trumps Amazon in reviews (because you can get a feel for the the person who is reviewing by seeing what other books they are fond of), lists (they create lists by votes, so they are made by more than one person), and recommendations (Goodreads suggests books to you off of the book you are viewing). And, although you can't buy books from Goodreads, they have links to various booksellers on each book's page.
A Few questions you might be asking yourself:
Q: Is this like Facebook?
A: No, although you can have friends, and update your status (in this case it is the current book you are reading), it is not a site that is devoted to the member sharing their personal information.
Q: Do I have to use my real name?
A: No, you can make up a name (or nickname, i.e. Lover of Books) if you would rather remain anonymous.
Q: Do I have to add friends?
A: Absolutely not. Though, the longer you are on, the more you will probably want to.
Q: Do I have to join any of those "book clubs" you were talking about, or join in any discussion threads?
A: Nope. You can use Goodreads solely to make a list of all that you have read, get reading inspiration, and keep a digital reminder of all of the books you are intending to read.
All that being said... I highly recommend that you sign up and start your membership today. It's free, it's fun, it's good for you (well it is, reading feeds your brain... and if Coconut Library plus Goodreads combined doesn't inspire you to read-- you are hopeless, I'm afraid).
xo,
The Coconut Librarian
Xo, I have found your blog from my account in goodreads.com.
Congratulatios, it's a nice and very inspiring place.
Posted by: Juan Carlos | Saturday, July 04, 2009 at 12:46 AM