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KenJackson · 06-04-2011, 05:04 PM

GoodReads and LibraryThing are two book sites that seem to try to be non-bookstore answers to Amazon.com. That is, when you hear about a book and you want to find out about it, where do you go? For the quickest, best results, I always go to Amazon.com. These sites seem to be an attempt to be a solution that is not a commercial bookstore.

It kind of irritates me that the best source for information on a topic is a site that profits from selling me the results of that information. Amazon's information seems pure, but the influence and power they wield must at least tempt them to use it in some way I wouldn't like.

I'm pleased that LibraryThing and GoodReads exist, but they don't always provide two key pieces of information that I am always want to know first:

The date first published
The length

I want to know the length because I don't like novellas. I don't want to waste my time reading fiction that's too short to adequately develop the plot.

And knowing the date of publishing is crucial to knowing what to expect technology-wise.

I enjoyed reading The Two Faces of Tomorrow, which is scifi that was published in 1979. One reason I read it was to specifically notice references to any "futuristic" technologies like cell phones and the internet. They at least had touchpads--whatever they are.

The knowledge of, use of, and assumption of the presense of the internet pervades practially everything written today--especially technical and scifi. That's an interesting detail. One could almost guess what year a book was written in by examining what it says or implies about the internet.

But back to book sites--are there any other really good, library-like, Amazon-like sites that have book information?

06-04-2011, 05:04 PM	#1
KenJackson Addict Posts: 256 Karma: 112042 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Sony PRS-650	Looking for a book site GoodReads and LibraryThing are two book sites that seem to try to be non-bookstore answers to Amazon.com. That is, when you hear about a book and you want to find out about it, where do you go? For the quickest, best results, I always go to Amazon.com. These sites seem to be an attempt to be a solution that is not a commercial bookstore. It kind of irritates me that the best source for information on a topic is a site that profits from selling me the results of that information. Amazon's information seems pure, but the influence and power they wield must at least tempt them to use it in some way I wouldn't like. I'm pleased that LibraryThing and GoodReads exist, but they don't always provide two key pieces of information that I am always want to know first: The date first published The length I want to know the length because I don't like novellas. I don't want to waste my time reading fiction that's too short to adequately develop the plot. And knowing the date of publishing is crucial to knowing what to expect technology-wise. I enjoyed reading The Two Faces of Tomorrow, which is scifi that was published in 1979. One reason I read it was to specifically notice references to any "futuristic" technologies like cell phones and the internet. They at least had touchpads--whatever they are. The knowledge of, use of, and assumption of the presense of the internet pervades practially everything written today--especially technical and scifi. That's an interesting detail. One could almost guess what year a book was written in by examining what it says or implies about the internet. But back to book sites--are there any other really good, library-like, Amazon-like sites that have book information?