Reading is a great past-time that can be both comforting and rewarding — though to some people it can be more of a chore. One of the best ways to discover new books to read is by seeing what others are reading. Though there are many social networks out there dedicated to book lovers, here are the top 5 that I feel have the most to offer. Feel free to share your personal favorites in the comments.
Goodreads
Goodreads is the one that I’ve personally been most active on. It’s really great for keeping track of your reading progress on individual books, writing reviews and seeing what your friends are reading. You can create and join groups, explore things like trivia and quizzes (related to books) and swap books with other users. This works by finding a book you want, paying for shipping and then having the owner ship it to you. It also has Facebook Connect, which allows for quicker a login process.
Shelfari
“Shelfari is the premier social network for people who love books. Create a virtual shelf to show off your books, see what your friends are reading and discover new books.” It has a beautiful user interface, and the virtual shelf looks like an actual bookshelf. You can also rate and review books for the world to see, and of course connect with others who have the same tastes in books as you. They also let you ask your friends for book recommendations and participate in group discussions. You can easily find your friends on the site by entering your Gmail credentials.
Revish
With Revish you can write book reviews, maintain reading lists, keep a reading journal, participate in groups and much more. They have many actions that you can do when viewing a particular book: add to a list, add to favorites, watch, review, rate, edit title. Also, if you’re interested in purchasing a specific book they offer links for you to find and purchase the book on various other sites. There is also an “ask & answer” section that lets you ask and answer questions about any particular book; it’s kind of like a Yahoo Answers for books.
LibraryThing
“LibraryThing is an online service to help people catalog their books easily.” You can access your catalog via the web or your mobile phone. This site is great for connecting people who have the same taste in books, and even gives you suggestions on what to read next (based on your reading history). You can catalog up to 200 books with a free account, or upgrade your account for $10/year (or $25 for a lifetime membership). LibraryThing is often described as the “MySpace for books” or “Facebook for books”.
aNobii
aNobii is kind of similar to to Shelfari, especially when it comes to the virtual bookshelf. Once again you can review books and connect with those with similar tastes as you. They also allow you to display your “aNobii Shelf” outside of the site (by embedding it as a widget) — which is pretty neat. It’s a great way to share what you’re reading across the web. They also have a slick iPhone app that lets you cary your shelf wherever you go. You can also use Facebook connect to sign up for an account and find to find your friends.
What is your favorite book related social network?
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