Thing 7. Goodreads and LibraryThing

This week we explore Goodreads and LibraryThing. Before you get started, read this article by Amanda Nelson “Goodreads vs LibraryThing” for BookRiot.

ACTIVITY

  1. Join Goodreads and LibraryThing.
  2. Have a play around.
  3. Add at least  5 books to your Goodreads/LibraryThing library.
  4. Post your thoughts, creations, booklists to your blog.
  5. For those of you who would like to test your skills further, embed LibraryThing or Goodreads as a widget in your blog.

GOODREADS

Goodreads allows you to catalogue your personal book collection online. You can also browse other people’s bookshelves and read their reviews. Many people use Goodreads to share what they are currently reading, have read in the past, or plan to read in the future.

Signing up is simple — you just enter your name, email, and a password. To start using Goodreads you should select books that you own (or have read in the past) and add them to “your books”. You can do this by searching for title in the search box. Rating a book automatically adds it to your books (and to your “read” shelf).

You can find new and interesting books by seeing what your friends are reading. To find a friend click the “friend” tab and then enter their name in the search box. When you log in, the homepage will show all the latest reviews from your friends. You can also connect your Goodreads and Facebook accounts and create a reading network of friends. Just choose the “find friends from Facebook” option. You can also compare your book list to that of another Goodreads member to see if you share the same taste. Click the “explore” tab to browse our top shelves and find popular books (among your friends or all of Goodreads).

LIBRARYTHING

Like Goodreads, LibraryThing allows you to create a catalogue of your books online. It also allows you to connect with people who have similar reading interests.

  • To set up an account you need a user name and a password.
  • To add a book go to the “add books” tab and enter a title, author or ISBN.
  • To see a list of your books go to the “your books” tab.
  • You can also edit your profile to make yours a “private” account. To do this go to the “profile” tab – then “account settings”  “public or private”.