is Social Reading the Wave of the Future?

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by wizwor

Well, looking at your avatar and imagining your accent, I don't even care if you can read

I was more interested because I keep encountering men who claim to be avid readers, but who actually live in a strange universe where "bought a book once" = reading, and "I read a book last year" = reading a lot.

[xg4bx]

I read because I want to be left alone lol. I don't play any online games either. When my front door closes I pretty much tune out the world.

[Freeshadow]

@ CWN

Clearly guys with a far too low librarybido

Spoiler:

You seem to look at the wrong places.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

I was more interested because I keep encountering men who claim to be avid readers, but who actually live in a strange universe where "bought a book once" = reading, and "I read a book last year" = reading a lot.

Ah yes, the difference between "I read a lot" and "I find reading so exotic and exhausting that I remember it for years after, so I think of myself as a reader because I'm someone who really notices when I'm reading."

I'm with Sherri Chasin Calvo:

“If you have never said "Excuse me" to a parking meter or bashed your shins on a fireplug, you are probably wasting too much valuable reading time.”

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

@ CWN

Clearly guys with a far too low librarybido

Spoiler:

You seem to look at the wrong places.

Bwahahaha! *gasp* Librarybido! Love it! Thank you for a desperately needed laugh!

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

Ah yes, the difference between "I read a lot" and "I find reading so exotic and exhausting that I remember it for years after, so I think of myself as a reader because I'm someone who really notices when I'm reading."

I'm with Sherri Chasin Calvo:

“If you have never said "Excuse me" to a parking meter or bashed your shins on a fireplug, you are probably wasting too much valuable reading time.”

Exactly!

[caleb72]

Got this off http://www.openbookmarks.org/

Social Reading
Social reading is everything that surrounds the experience of reading electronic books (ebooks).

Traditional books, physical paper books, are fantastic. You can read them cover to cover, bookmark them, dogear them, write notes in the margin, underline your favourite passages, treasure them, keep them, and lend them to your friends.

Ebooks should let you do these things too—but sometimes they don't.

Ebooks should make sharing easier: the bookmarks that you make, your notes, your progress through a book. All these things and more can and should be done with ebooks. And in addition, you should be able to save, share, email and store your whole reading experience, and read along with friends, as in a reading group. This is social reading.

Even if you don't want to share—and you certainly don't have to—your reading experience should belong to you: you should own the books you buy, and your bookmarks, and you should be able to save them and take them with you and save them for the future, whatever happens, and whatever reading platform or application you use. This is social reading too.

Open Bookmarks has developed a checklist for social reading to help readers get the most out of social reading, and help publishers and developers make social reading easier, more personal, and more open. Find out more.

Some examples of Social Reading

You're reading an ebook. You find a bit you like, and you select the text and email it to a friend.
While reading an ebook on an ereader, you choose to send the reading data to a social reading service. The service records all your bookmarks so you can search and return to them later.
A teacher makes a number of annotations in an ebook. She exports them, sends them to her students, who import them into their own copies of the book.
You link your favourite ereader to a social reading service. Over time, the service creates a virtual bookshelf of all the books you've read.
You're reading a book on one device, but half-way through you switch to another ereader. Your position and bookmarks are automatically synchronised.
You decide to clear some space on your computer, and delete some ebooks—accidentally or not. Your reading experience, bookmarks and annotations are archived separately, and are safe.

I'm guessing this is what is meant by social reading. I partake a little. I have friends on GoodReads and I'll get updates on what books they've finished and what they thought. I might make comments on their thoughts. I will post my progress - occasionally with comments - for my friends on GoodReads to read later.

I'm also a member of a few groups at GR that have group reads where people will join conversations as the book is progressing and sometimes passages would be quoted etc..

However, on my Kindle I turn all social features off. I have no interest in such ideas actually intruding on my reading as I'm reading if you know what I mean.

[Solicitous]

Originally Posted by Geralt

1) I use goodreads (example of social network) for me. For my own personal track record To get recommendations, and to use that challenge of theirs. I find it fun. I don't use it primarily for socializing nor do I care for highlights. People I have on my list are mostly people I care about and bookworms themselves so occasionally we steal each other books and give recommendations.

And this is where I am completely baffled. I am not a user of social networking (except forums if you count that as social networking). Why are all the social network features linked in with Facebook or Twitter? Facebook is for social, and 99% of your 'friends' probably don't care you just finished X-book and thought it great. Same with twitter. But we have goodreads where everyone has something in common, they all like to read.

Would Goodreads integration not be more suitable than FB/Twitter? Kobo tried to start their Kobo Pulse, but thats not really any chop at all.

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by wizwor

Social reading simply removes geographical (and potentially language) barriers allowing kindred spirits to enjoy a book (or movie or anything, really) together.

...while siphoning as much data about you as the device/app manufacturers possibly can in order to sell it to marketeers (or pass it on to marketeers to use it on their own behalf, if they're storefronts like Kobo or Amazon), which is the primary purpose of such features.

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

I was more interested because I keep encountering men who claim to be avid readers, but who actually live in a strange universe where "bought a book once" = reading, and "I read a book last year" = reading a lot.

I want to go on record as claiming to be an avid reader.

[wizwor]

Originally Posted by JD Gumby

...while siphoning as much data about you as the device/app manufacturers possibly can in order to sell it to marketeers (or pass it on to marketeers to use it on their own behalf, if they're storefronts like Kobo or Amazon), which is the primary purpose of such features.

I think I went on to say that

[Freeshadow]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

Bwahahaha! *gasp* Librarybido! Love it! Thank you for a desperately needed laugh!

You're welcome. A smile and a honest laugh are among my favourite tips for such a service
What's the next interesting need on the list?

[Apache]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

I was more interested because I keep encountering men who claim to be avid readers, but who actually live in a strange universe where "bought a book once" = reading, and "I read a book last year" = reading a lot.

Every woman I ever dated, and my ex wife, complained that I read to much.
My wife is a reader and she occasionally says I read to much. Then she also says, "at least it isn't cigarettes, booze or drugs".
Apache

[Freeshadow]

Next time she says it keep a straight face and mutter: "heh;these hollow fake hard covers were a good buy."

[patrickt]

I'm not clear on what "social reading" is but then I've never understood the nonsense of having "friends" on forums. When I lived in the U.S. I belonged to a reading group but I quit one group because it was all about socializing. I miss my reading group and remember with great fondness the battle over the meaning of Montana - 1948. Everyone else got it wrong. It was a wonderful battle but I'm not sure how that becomes "social". And, maybe, some day, someone will reconsider the book and say, "My god, he was right."

Socializing while you hide is not my idea of a good time. I imagine a dark wood with everyone hiding behind his own tree and talking to each other, softly.

[Apache]

I am unable to socialize while reading. It isn't that I am ignoring you, it is that I am oblivious to everything around me. OK I am ignoring you.
Apache