Aside from its insidious title, Goodreads, (which can, alternatively, be read as goo dreads) stands to become my favorite waste of time, and for my benefit, I hope it shall for you, too. Presumably, the site is for social-networking- however scuttled that motive appears beneath its exterior of bibliophilia. Indeed, the premise of the site is that the user catalog their personal library as a requisite to finding other users with similar tastes, ostensibly to befriend them and get book recommendations, (read "try to fuck them"). Goodreads is preposterous, of course, unless the user is earnest in their love of books, and utilizes the resources on the site to find other books which pique their curiosity or raise their ire, based on previous, shared interests. Lamentably, this site doesn't have the best tools for that function; however another site Librarything has a remarkable ability to match-up people with similar tastes and ailments or what-have-you. The exception to Librarything is that it limits the number of books which can be cataloged to 200, unless the user elects the $10 per annum subscription, which to any bibliophile reeks of extortion. Therefore, a better deal indeed, is the gratis membership to Goodreads, which is intuitively simple to command and plentiful in its recommendations, though not without effort. I have taken the liberty to post a few others, though I cannot vouch for them.
With exception to anobii, (Anobium Punctatum- book worm, get it?) the appellation of these sites is positively insipid! And this from the so-called literate segment of our society? Horse-cock!
http://www.shelfari.com/ http://www.anobii.com/ http://www.bookjetty.com/
Friday, March 21, 2008
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4 comments:
Hey, this is the LibraryThing guy. I hope you don't mind a quick note. I saw your post go by in Google Blog Search.
LibraryThing and Goodreads are both fine sites, but you seem, frankly, like the sort of person who would enjoy LibraryThing more, and I want to explain why.
First, as you note, Goodreads isn't really about book-based social networking. There are limited tools for connecting to other readers. Rather, their idea is to help you track "what your friends are reading." This is a powerful idea. Many want that. But doesn't add much to what you can get on various Facebook aps, and it doesn't satisfy the more fundamentally bibliophilic desire to socialize *about and around* the books.
The focus on social networking on Goodreads and the other sites is pervasive. Every time you see a member, for example, you see their picture, and the site presses you hard to give up your email contacts so they can send out letters on your behalf. By contrast, LibraryThing members resist the idea that people are little rectangular photos, and the system does not even require an email at all.
LibraryThing's strength is in connections made through the books, and for that we draw on much stronger cataloging resources. Unlike all our major competition, we draw our data from more than just Amazon.com. If you're over 20 and not a complete philistine, you have books that aren't currently in print. Maybe they're pre-ISBN books, hardcover editions that have passed from favor or books in a foreign language. Well, LibraryThing is a really *serious* cataloging application, and we draw from over 250 libraries around the world including the LC, the BL, Yale, Chicago—heck we have libraries in Pakistan and Turkey.
As you say, LibraryThing does charge. In that it's pretty unique for "Web 2.0" applications. Interestingly, about 5/6 of our members go straight for a lifetime account, which we list at $25. In fact, when you go to pay, you'll see that the apparently hard numbers turn into a "pay what you want," with a minimum of $6! We like the surprise and it's testimony to the sort of people who love us that we actually make more money from this than if we had a flat rate.
Because we charge, we don't hit you with ads. Members--free or paid--get no advertising at all. Goodreads and its competitors are ad-rich, often sporting two on every page and often jumping up and down or flashing obnoxiously. We figure that, if you're willing to take the time putting in a large library, you won't mind paying a few bucks to really control what you've done. Fundamentally, you will always be a "user" of Goodreads or Shelfari. LibraryThing people are "members" and "customers." A quick comparison of their culture and ours, as shown in our respective forums, will show how this matters. Goodreads is a fun service. LibraryThing can become your life! :)
Anyway, I'm going on too long. Thanks for taking a look at the site. And let me know if you and your fellow bloggers want a free account. LibraryThing has a nifty "groups" feature whereby you can browse the collective library of a group of friends.
Tim
By the way, if you sign up on GoodReads, and want to "share libraries" or whatever they call it, here is my profile.
Hi Tim,
I'm tremendously flattered that you have apportioned any of your time to respond to my post, on our meager blog- particularly after the admiring story on All Things Considered. Congratulations!
I hope my commentary on LibraryThing's fee wasn't completely churlish . My fellow bloggers and I are, without exception, living off the fat of our respective GI BILL allotments; if I am quick to call something "extortion" it is a product of our relative penury and without universal merit. Honestly, I had no idea that anyone, besides my fellow bloggers, actually read our blog! I'm sure you can see that I'm rather shamed at my flippancy, especially in light of your gracious invitation to join, sans fee.
So please, accept my apology, I meant no malice.
Oh, I'm sorry if I came off unhappy. No apology needed, of course. I totally get where you're coming from. Ultimately, every member adds value to the system. I love giving out accounts. What I hate is when a law firm catalogs all the firms' books for $10. :)
But, you know, a long day of keeping the server functioning during the NPR rush, and I was hankering to do some writing :)
Free accounts coming by email. T
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