Beyond the Dewey Decimal System: LibraryThing
October 19, 2007
Reading doesn’t have to be a solitary pursuit. LibraryThing adds a dash of social networking to literary discussion by connecting people based on what books they read. You simply enter what books you own or are reading (you’ll automatically feel more well-read when you make a big list of books you’ve read, even if half of them are Where’s Waldo?).
LibraryThing fills in details like the publisher and ISBN number to help others find your books. Once you post your library, you can find folks who read the same works, and check out recommendations based on books you like. Even better, LibraryThing’s UnSuggester identifies books you won’t like, possibly saving you 25 bucks and two weeks of reading time you’ll never get back.
Like Flickr and other social networking sites, LibraryThing lets you tag books by topic or idea. You can join an online book club, or rave about a new favorite on the message boards. If you’re really into showing off your literary tastes, LibraryThing enables you to display your book list on your blog, which means you no longer have to sit around Starbucks hoping the hot barista notices you pretending to read the New Yorker.
LibraryThing is a must for all teachers and students of literature, and is great for anybody who just plain likes to read. List 200 titles for free, or pay $10 for a year of unlimited titles, or $25 unlimited books for life. The cataloguing and recommendations alone make LibraryThing worthwhile. When you add the social aspects, you may even convince a few students reading is cool. –BILL FERRIS
