Well, I fell this morning. People at work have been succumbing piecemeal for some time, and then my online community discovered it, and I was finally a goner.
What the heck am I talking about? Librarything (librarything.com). It’s sort of like Facebook, for your books. Basically, you create an online library catalog of your own books, and you tag them, and yes, it sounds really boring and like something only a librarian could love, but honestly, it’s crazy addictive. It’s also super-easy to set up.
Once you’re in, you can see exactly how many books of Doonesbury cartoons or by Maurice Sendak or about archaeological field methods you own (me: many many many of each, tag clouds are frighteningly revealing). Then you can see who else owns them, and what books they own that you don’t (but might like to), and it is sounding boring again, I know.
Just try it; you’ll know right away if it’s for you. But make sure to try when you have some free time (Spring break is a great time). I have at least one friend who was up all night the first time she logged in.
Written by Phoebe Acheson
OK, in spite of the potential boring factor, I tried it. While I am not in the least interested in cataloging my entire home library, I found that Yes, LibraryThing is not only fun but useful! I’m going to add my book club’s history of books read, along with books we come across that we might want to read. So when we plan in the Fall, our list of suggestions will be ready-made, and everyone can see the covers, TOC, and Amazon reviews at least.