(no subject)

[lauradi7dw]

Several people I know use the Librarything web site to list their books. After 200 books you have to pay for the service. Under 200 books couldn't you just look on the shelf? Two hundred isn't so many - I have at least 200 books on my to-be-read list. I know that isn't the point - I presume it's the sharing feature that attracts people. I was browsing the review section on the site and clicked on "Catcher in the Rye" to see whether anybody (other than high school English teachers) still thinks it's worth reading. It's not the best Salinger book, it's not the best coming of age story - what's the point? I know from sitting at the cashier table at the LHS summer reading book fair last month (another last time ever event) that it is still assigned, enough that it sold out, as did "1984." I suggested that people borrow them from the library or buy them someplace like Goodwill. They looked at me blankly.
At any rate, the relevant page has a list called "People who own this book also own..."
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/951
Arthur's remark is that the category should be "people who had to read this book also had to read..." because so many of the books are mandatory English class reading.

I can see some of the social attractions of something like Librarything - if you have a lot of specialty books (cookbooks, historical costume, ringing) your friends might like to borrow some, and seeing the list would be useful. If it turns out that half a dozen people in your neighborhood own the same book, you'd have an instant book group. And if the FBI wants to know who's reading subversive literature, they won't have to harrass librarians. ;-)
I am considering entering the books we own that were autographed by the author. It's a pretty motley collection, many categories, so they aren't shelved together currently. If I do that, I'll add an edit with the link, but maybe we'll just rearrange the shelves to have them sit next to each other in real life, not online.

Comments

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

It's also useful if you're planning on buying a book as a gift for someone. You can see what they like and if they already have the book you were thinking about getting them.