Media space for book reviews is shrinking but online communities for swapping books and sharing opinions about them are flourishing. Here are more than a dozen such sites;
• BookMooch (Give books away. Get books you want.)
• LibraryThing (enter what you're reading, or your whole library--and connect with people who read what you read)
• GoodReads (a popular site for rating and commenting on books,for keeping track of what you read, and would like to read--or forming a book club, answering trivia, or collecting your favorite quotations)
• Shelfari (another popular site for rating and commenting on books -- a community-powered virtual bookshelf, to display your favorite books and connect to people who love to read what you love to read)
• BookCrossing (a popular book sharing site, with some paid features, including book tagging: You register a book, get a Bookcrossing ID, use that to physically tag a book, and release it (e.g., leave it in a coffee shop or on the subway). The person who finds the book you set free can register it, so you can follow where it travels)
• inReads (WETA, DC's public television affiliated, launched inRead 6-22-11, in Beta). Lets users converse about books, read reviews and get recommendations. Read (PW account here).
• Scribd (pronounced "skribbed") may be the largest book club in the world--on many topics
• Kobo's Reading Life. Explore. Unlock. Share.
• Wattpad (an eBook community). Fiction-oriented. Read stories. Vote for your favorites. Create a library.
• Bookperk. HarperCollins' site offers perks for "insiders."
• Nook Friends (Barnes & Noble site for Nook readers)
• PaperBack Swap (a paperback book sharing service and community)
• Revish (a book rating community)
• Reviews of these and other niche social networking sites (Kevin Palmer, Social Media Answers)
Which reading site do you love (or hate) and why?
• BookMooch (Give books away. Get books you want.)
• LibraryThing (enter what you're reading, or your whole library--and connect with people who read what you read)
• GoodReads (a popular site for rating and commenting on books,for keeping track of what you read, and would like to read--or forming a book club, answering trivia, or collecting your favorite quotations)
• Shelfari (another popular site for rating and commenting on books -- a community-powered virtual bookshelf, to display your favorite books and connect to people who love to read what you love to read)
• BookCrossing (a popular book sharing site, with some paid features, including book tagging: You register a book, get a Bookcrossing ID, use that to physically tag a book, and release it (e.g., leave it in a coffee shop or on the subway). The person who finds the book you set free can register it, so you can follow where it travels)
• inReads (WETA, DC's public television affiliated, launched inRead 6-22-11, in Beta). Lets users converse about books, read reviews and get recommendations. Read (PW account here).
• Scribd (pronounced "skribbed") may be the largest book club in the world--on many topics
• Kobo's Reading Life. Explore. Unlock. Share.
• Wattpad (an eBook community). Fiction-oriented. Read stories. Vote for your favorites. Create a library.
• Bookperk. HarperCollins' site offers perks for "insiders."
• Nook Friends (Barnes & Noble site for Nook readers)
• PaperBack Swap (a paperback book sharing service and community)
• Revish (a book rating community)
• Reviews of these and other niche social networking sites (Kevin Palmer, Social Media Answers)
Which reading site do you love (or hate) and why?