Find A Book Series 5 of 5: Social Media Comes Through Again

Social media has exploded these days and it's not just everyday life check-ins and relationship status updates. It seems every hobby has a social network of some kind and books are no exception. There are tons of social media sites for readers and what they offer most is a lot of great book recommendations. Many of those recommendations are broken down into groups from most popular to most loved to different genres. It's easy to get lost in the pages of a book social site.

When you're talking social media for books, all the sites are relatively the same. First and foremost are the books. There are always tons of books! Some are bestsellers that you've probably heard of, but many are books that you may not be aware of. I always find new books and especially new authors to be treasures. The site itself may recommend these books or lists from members may be posted. Some sites may offer recommendations based on your own lists of books. Besides recommending a good book, there are plenty of opportunities to be social. Well come on! It is a social media site! It's not as intrusive as Facebook though so don't let the words "social media" frighten you. You're in charge of the degree of your involvement. Most sites allow members to review the books they've read and rate them. There are generally discussions to add to and book clubs to join. You can make a friend list and eyeball their book lists or help each other find good books.

When looking around at social media sites, find one that's comfortable to you. The first thing that attracts people is the layout of the home page. Is it jumbled and confusing? Is it colorful and organized? Does the site do what you need it to do? You don't want to join a book website that resembles a forum if you're not interested in chatting. Make sure it's free. With so many good, free social sites, you should never have to pay for basic service. You may want to join several different sites either to take advantage of a broad spectrum of services or to use each site for a different purpose. I started with Shelfari which is owned by Amazon. I keep track of my reading and write reviews after each book I read. Shelfari works with your Amazon log in and password and is simple and easy to use. I really like the customizable bookshelf and book counter that let's me set goals. My social go-to is Goodreads. Goodreads is huge! Many people are on Goodreads and for good reason. For the most part, Goodreads is simple to use. It looks good and there are tons of amazing lists if you're looking for books. If you're looking to start a group of your own, then things get a little tricky. The public library has a monthly book club on Goodreads and there are many other groups to join as well. My last personal resource for book social sites is Library Thing. Library Thing has everything the others do, but I use it strictly to keep a record of book lists of my own especially my own collection so I know what I have without having to dig through boxes. 

Well, there it is. My last installment of my find-a-book series. I hope I helped shed some light on some great resources that can help you find your next great read. My personal favorites? When I'm looking for a book (I have a HUGE wait list so I don't look far) I go to Goodreads and nose around and I go to the public library book recommendations at the bottom of their website. I find plenty of books to add to that endless wait list of mine. Below you'll find a few social media sites to try out if you're interested.

Happy Reading!

Goodreads
A great social site for online book clubs and the book lists are amazing!

Shelfari
A very good resource for personal use. You can keep track of the books you've read and set a yearly goal. Shelfari will keep a tally of the books you have read total as well as the number of pages you've read! This is a pretty good site for someone who isn't looking for a lot of social interaction.

Library Thing
This is an interesting site that I have just started to browse through. I can make many different "collections" or book lists so I'm going to put all the books I own on a list. Since the lists have pictures, it'll be a great help when I'm looking to see if I already own a book.

Bookcrossing
This site is just too cool. I haven't really had time to investigate it since I just found it, but it's kinda like a book swap. If you have a book that you are done reading and don't want anymore, then you can "release" it. This means that you leave the book somewhere and then log where you left it on the website. Folks that are looking for a good book can go online, see where you left the book and then pick it up. They go online and check off the books that they have "caught". It's a fun idea. I highly recommend you check it out!

Bookish
I'm not sure if Bookish has any social aspects. The front page is covered in books recommendations so if you're looking for a good book to read, then this would be a good go to. The front page is very simple and clean.

Online Book Club
The website looks very bloggish which isn't a bad thing. It has a clean look to it and is easy to navigate around. There doesn't seem to be a social aspect to this site either, but there are book reviews and some other nice features. I like this site mainly because it's not intimidating.