As a book lover, you will probably be interested in the following websites. These are resources that I go to frequently, and I find them very useful. You might already know some of them, but I thought I would share them in case you don’t.
The first two websites are similar: they are a place where readers can discuss books, write reviews, make lists, discover new books, enter giveaways, and a lot more. The sites are kind of like Facebook, but for people who love to read. You follow friends, and people follow you. You can see what your friends are reading, or what they want to read. Here are things that sets them apart:
- Goodreads: Probably the most well know of the two, it has a lot of information about authors with links to their websites. There are also author interviews and videos, quizzes, great recommendations, free e-books and fun quotes. You can even ask authors questions.
- Shelfari: What I really like about this website is the reading stats: your average rating, the number of books you have read each year, the subjects you’ve read about, the number of pages you have read, etc. In addition, the Shelfari blog is great, with book reviews and author interviews. Unfortunately, Shelfari will merge with Goodreads on 31 May 2016 and will no longer exist after this date.
Here are other interesting websites:
- LibraryThing: Here, you can list the books you’ve read, or books you would like to read. It is not as user friendly as Goodreads or Shelfari, but there are free books to be had if you are willing to write reviews in return.
- Bookish: This site sells books, but it also gives you great recommendations on what to read next. In addition, there are interesting articles about authors and their works, and the literary world in general.
- What Should I Read Next: It gives you recommendations, and then directs you to amazon to buy the books.
- The Book Country Genre Map: If you like a particular genre, the map directs you to a list of other titles in the same genre. The Book Country website is also where writers can share their manuscripts to get feedback from the site’s members.
- Read It Forward: They have interesting author and reader essays, as well as book reviews and reader guides. When you subscribe to their weekly newsletter, you can win free books. If you do win a book, you are expected to pass it on to friends, family or acquaintances.
- Free Book Notes: This web site provides free study guides for a wide range of books. Whether you want to understand better a novel you’ve just read or have a book report to write, this resource will prove really useful.
Have you ever been to these websites before? Do you know other interesting sites for book lovers?