Infinite Ink

Networking with books

Every site that's "in" is a type of social network in one way or another. I never actually considered Goodreads to be social until I added people to it. Then their updates started coming in my feed and voila! A new type of online social interaction appeared: book love sharing.

Sometimes complete strangers add me on Goodreads, and I accept, because it's just about sharing books, isn't it? And my virtual shelves are public, anyway. You can tell a lot about a person by the books they read, so perhaps shelving books on Goodreads is as telling as liking things on Facebook, with the only difference being, Facebook gives you creepy stalkerish ads in return, whereas Goodreads gives you...book recommendations! Which are very welcome to show up on my Goodreads pages, thank you very much, unlike Facebook ads, which kind of creep me out.

I started out with my social reading on Shelfari, which was acquired by Amazon, and consequently lost much of its charm, with its complicated login process--plus, everyone was on Goodreads anyway. And you can make a bookish wish list on Amazon if you really, really want to.

My most populated bookshelf on Goodreads is my "to read" shelf. It's very convenient. Like the name of a book? Shelve it on Goodreads. Hear your friend recommend a book? Shelve it on Goodreads. Want to keep track of your TBR? Shelve it on--I think you get the idea. In fact, keeping track of my to be read list is the most handy feature. When I need a boost, I just open my Goodreads shelves and look at the books. Really, it's therapeutic. Give it a try sometime. In fact, I think I'll go give it a try right now...

Are you on Goodreads? What do you think about the concept of social networking with books? (Though, to ask such a question on Wattpad is a bit of a joke.)