Saturday, April 16, 2011

PE4_LibraryThing



This could quite possibly be the most exciting thing for a book junkie like me. It’s like taking all the best things from Facebook, iGoogle, and ebay! For someone that has a passion for books, one can easily get lost in it. I know I wasted a couple of hours building up my library. It’s as easy as typing the title of the book and then assigning the tags you want to give it. Just taking off the books from my favorite bookshelf, I quickly amassed a list of over one hundred titles. The only problem you can run into is finding the exact one due to various versions, re-releases and publication years, if you’re picky about that sort of thing. I was a little persnickety for my special books that were limited print, rare or antique. I have a few antique books, I’m trying to find some first editions of my top five favorite literary classics; “Alice in Wonderland”, “Sherlock Holmes”, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, “White Fang” and “Catcher in the Rye”. So far I only have one, and it’s a first edition, original American print of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. It was a most enthralling discovery I made while visiting a cousin in Richmond, I am eager about my return to the Black Swan Book Store. They have a third edition Alice in Wonderland in their glass case that I couldn’t get at the time, but I am hopeful it will still be there. There is just something about old books, and new books I can’t get enough of. On this site it also features a book lending section, not that the site is responsible nor would I participate in it, where other users that want to read a book and there is another user willing to lend it out, the search function makes it very helpful. It also features a comprehensive library and book store directory based on state, making it easy to find those tucked away antique book stores. The profile was fun and easy and when I added books to my account, it gives out excellent recommendations for future books to read. All of the books have the book’s cover image with its title making it easy to search for what you are looking for, if you’re a visual person like me that is. There is also a separate section for not just the book you are currently reading, but for the books you are currently reading. I tend to multitask and read several books at the same time, in addition to the research papers and schoolbooks I am required to read. It even has a section for where you can show what ebooks you have and are reading. The site also features cool widgets that help you browse the site easier, sporting an expanded search function that not only scans what you are looking for, but also has the intelligence enough to books that are similar even if they don’t match your keywords. Its all very helpful and I don’t know why I haven’t stumbled upon this before. Well, I’m going to keep browsing around some more, thank you for tuning in. Take care until the next post my listeners.

3 comments:

  1. Billy, you find the most wonderful sites. I will be sharing this site with my friends who love books too. I still have to get used to eBooks. My friends and I can spend hours in bookstores searching the shelves and be very happy and content doing so. This is a really great find, Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I feel the same way. I don't know if I will ever get used to ebooks. I am perfectly happy browsing bookstores. Reading is something I hold very dear and is a part of who I am. Thank you so much for your kind words. Personally, if it were up to me I'd rather be searching the bookshelves or libraries for our resources. The internet is nice and all, but nothing can replace holding and reading a book.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Have you ever read Isaac Asimov's short story, "The Fun They Had"? Books vs. the computer. It's one of my favorite short stories. Nothing beats a real person teaching and the feel of a good book.

    ReplyDelete