Monday, April 9, 2007

GoodReads.com: MySpace meets Book Club

Two of my sisters each individually sent me a link to GoodReads.com, and since they are usually on the pulse of whatever is hip and happening, I figured I'd better check it out.

GoodReads is an alternate online universe in the same way that MySpace is. You can "friend" people, leave messages, pontificate about things that matter to you. But GoodReads is more like your local library, no glitz and glamor, and it exists for one purpose: the enjoyment of books. Once you go through the (very easy) process of setting up a profile, here is what you can do:
  • Add books to your bookshelves
    (it defaults to Currently Reading, Read, and To Read, but you can add as many bookshelves as you like)
  • Rate your books
  • Write reviews of your books
  • Add/invite friends
  • Send recommendations to your friends
  • See what your friends are reading and rating
  • Join online book discussions
It's kind of fun. I set up a profile the other day with a few books I've recently been reading and browsed around the profiles of my sisters and their friends. It's kind of like when you go to someone's house and you look at their shelves to see what kind of a person they are based on what kinds of books they like to read. Only you can do this uninterrupted, and for hours on end.

The question is, with all the other sites and blogs we read, and all the profiles and emails we check and keep up to date, will GoodReads hold up? We'll have to see. I doubt I'll be stopping by every day to keep up on all the can't-miss excitement. But I bet I'll drop by every few weeks to update my booklist, check on what my friends are reading and reviewing, and recommend a few good reads of my own.

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