If you’ve never heard of Goodreads, it’s sort of like an online book club. Or library. Sort of.
Like Shelfari* and LibraryThing*, Goodreads is a social networky place where you can list the books you’re reading, have read and want to read. You can read and post reviews, see what folks you know are reading and whatnot. There are links to buy books online from every book page, too, so it’s easy to get your fix fast.
While this sounds cool, I’ve been surprised at how cool it really is. I read a lot, like really A LOT, now, and a lot of the books disappear into book exchanges. By keeping track of what I read, I can see what I’ve read and what I thought of it. A great way to remember the books I’ve loved (or less than loved).
I also have managed to get great suggestions of books to read from people I know, which I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. It’s not a very chatty social network, like Facebook or Twitter, though you can seamlessly post reviews and what you’re reading to either or both sites if you like. For me, GR is more like a source I use to keep track of the books I’ve read and want to read with a dose of “ooh, look, she liked that? Maybe I should read it, too” every once in a while.
Seriously, if you read a lot, check it out.
* I’ve never used Shelfari or LibraryThing, but I suspect they are just as cool, if one or either of them is more your cuppa tea.