Books, Readers and Beyond: #54 Social Networking Though Books

iHCPL the Next Generation #54

Exercise#1
I am currently a member of two book clubs, both meeting monthly. One is a staff book discussion group and the other is the local Science Fiction/Fantasy book club. They both have the same format: tell us what you've read this month. You get recommendations about books that you may or may not have read and get to put you own two cents in. I much prefer the in-person clubs because you have a set time & place & your full attention. Plus you can get together for other stuff too.


Exercise#2
I've already implemented a book club into my Library. My self & another staff member reached out to an existing book club, the Science Fiction/Fantasy book club, that had been booking our conference room. I attended a few meetings and proposed a partnership that has been beneficial to both sides. They got a regular meeting space and advertising & we got a core group that has grown since implementation.

Using Reading Group Guides, I searched for a book that the Science Fiction/Fantasy book club could discuss. I liked this site's ability to search by genre and specific genre, not just "fiction". I found Fahrenheit 541 by Ray Bradbury. However, having just one title could be boring.


Exercise#3
I search for Raise the Titanic on a couple of social networks:
LibraryThing shows an average rating of 3.69 out of 5 points.
Shelfari shows a nearly 4 out of 5 stars average.
Goodreads shows an average rating 3.78 out of 5.
I'm not suprised that the ratings were similar, it is a solid book. I like that these sites allow for searching without needing to be member.

iHCPL #11 LibraryThing

I have a Library Thing account and now that I remember the password, I can talk about it. As of this writing, I only have five items cataloged. I would have more, but I've been trying to weed my home collection to a more manageable size. Until that is done, there is no real time to use Library Thing . Because, once I start, I will be addicted. It is really easy to catalog your books. Your collection can be private or public. In a way, this site can be for social networking also. You can see who else has books you own and contact them to get recommendations.

You can see random books from my library at Library Thing on the right of my blog page.