LibraryThing? - Page 7

thinkpad · 10-03-2010, 12:46 PM

I'm not in any way trying to imply that Goodread is a poorer choice because it's free. I'm merely saying that free services has to get there revenue elsewhere, usually through advertising.

astra · 10-03-2010, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinkpadx

I'm not in any way trying to imply that Goodread is a poorer choice because it's free. I'm merely saying that free services has to get there revenue elsewhere, usually through advertising.

I thought that you don't like that people prefer to use free service

desertgrandma · 10-03-2010, 01:04 PM

I never intended for this to be a "which is better" discussion.

It really doens't matter which one you choose, does it, because as long as you are happy with either, or both.....

it/they, is/are, the right one/ones, for you!

G'head. Figure THAT sentence out!

SeaBookGuy · 10-03-2010, 01:06 PM

I've been keeping an annual list of books read (just author and title, no comments) on an Excel spreadsheet. Most of those I've been reviewing at Goodreads since I joined there a couple of years ago; I can't just put a star rating, without at least a sentence or two as well.

I'm active in forums at both sites, and each have had great discussions (and learned of new books!) at each.

thinkpad · 10-03-2010, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astra

I thought that you don't like that people prefer to use free service

I've expressed myself poorly my tea drinking friend

. If my post in any way came out as holding a grudge towards people who prefer free services that was certainly not my intention.

beppe · 10-03-2010, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Are you a member of LibraryThing?

yes desertgrandma, I am.

Quote:

If so, why? ...

A small skirmish between pilotBob and some Carneades made me aware of the existence of such things. So i gave a couple of looks and joined to be able to see what it was from the inside. I put in the books of 3 or 4 authors. In total i accessed it maybe 4 times.

Quote:

Let us know why you like that site.

The interface is very useful and so easy to use. very informative.
I have been attracted by two things.
First the least interesting (for me). the reviews and comments. Great abundance of those, which could be useful. To make a choice, to be informed, .... But also great examples and occasions if one would like to practice in the fine art of reviewing (which is an excellent playground for aspiring writers). I would like to have some spare time to invest in this. Luckily for me I am very busy with more creative and gratifying activities.

Second, but more appealing to me, is the Web2.0 thing. that is also, BTW, the main reason of being on MR. The books as such or the gadgetry they are interesting and all that. I have tons (literaly) of them. When my actual wife decided to come and live with me we joined libraries and we were obliged to put practically all the fiction books we had in storage place and kept on hand only the significant non fiction. The house is literally full of books. We have read them all and being both gifted with instant recall we do not need any archiving system. So, I do not find that books are that interesting on MR. To me personally, I mean. But the virtuality yes. That fascinates me, and I am never tired of seeing it, studying it, and playing and swimming in it.
Librarything has some tools and facilities well attuned toward these directions, and I played a little with the clouds. As i have some professional expertise on these black magic things I could appreciate the good resolution, and also the potential. Not the results as I more or less ended up on disputable encounters. But that's life. It could be a dream, but most of the time it falls short.

Quote:

Thanks!

to you desertgrandma excellent thread.

Desertway · 10-04-2010, 05:28 PM

I have been an LT user for a few years now. I am totally dependent on it to keep track of my reading (especially when the novels are in series) and also to hold my wishlist.

It's social enough for me, and I find the user base to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I also love all the statistical data that is made available throughout the many subsections of the site. The interface is not especially intuitive, but you get out of it what you put into it.

I don't mind paying to help out all the cool community projects that they do. You all should check out the "Legacy Library" page, a database of the libraries of famous minds. (I share 12 books with Ernest Hemingway).

http://www.librarything.com/wiki/ind...eted_libraries

Somebody earlier in the thread asked whether there was a mobile site. There is a little bitty one, just to access your own library at: http://www.librarything.com/m/

JSWolf · 10-04-2010, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phenomshel

Chris and I looked at LibraryThing when I was looking for a "new" site to help me keep track of what I'm currently reading. I already have a Goodreads account (and Goodreads is free, no matter how many books you add, I think LibraryThing charges after so many books?) but my Goodreads account is already stuffed with things I've previously read and so wasn't much help with this project to keep up with what I read THIS month.
So I ended up with a Shelfari account - which did work for September, but now I guess I'll have to start adding the tag "October" to what I read this month...

I have a Shelfari account. It never gets used. The site is awful. I tried entering in some books and because of errors in the listings, I could not do it properly. Even tried adding corrected listings and that didn't work because the site thought they were already there. Contacting the people in charge to tell them of the errors didn't help. After 2 weeks, they did nothing to fix anything. Awful site that allows such grievous errors to be put in and staff that doesn't care. Hope they go away.

foreverjuly · 10-04-2010, 05:50 PM

I love goodreads and I'm very active over there! I've found a lot of people to talk with and I'm all the better for it. I actually joined librarything at the exact same time, and I found it much more difficult to navigate, more vacant. I too am glad that people are enjoying whichever site suits their interests, but for me I quickly found myself veering toward one and away from the other.

This is almost like a Coke vs. Pepsi argument only about book sites!

doreenjoy · 10-04-2010, 07:53 PM

I use Goodreads. I've met some nice folks there, and the user base is very respectful from what I've seen.

It's useful for keeping track of the huge number of books on my TBR pile. Otherwise I find myself buying the same books over again.

JSWolf · 10-04-2010, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

Goodreads has them.

If you use Firefox with Adblock Plus, you get no ads on Goodreads. I didn't know GoodReads had ads until I temporarily turned off Adblock Plus just to check.

BearMountainBooks · 10-04-2010, 09:46 PM

I'm on both, but prefer Goodreads. I'm not sure why, maybe because I found reading groups easier. I did find a quick link to signing up as an author on goodreads and I've heard you can do the same on library thing, but I've never found it. Okay, I haven't looked that hard.

I have done reviews on both and I think good reads is quicker. You can leave a short comment or two or just a reminder of why you liked the book. Or stars and no comments. When I did one on library thing, there are all kinds of forms. You don't have to fill them out, but there's a form for character names, settings, adding info...it's not a bad feature, but it's not something I want to really spend a lot of time on.

They're both useful although mostly I think I track my favorite books on my own blog. I keep a list there and usually have a one line comment. I have it segmented into cozies, mysteries, fantasy, and so on--and it's very quick for me to go grab my favorites and pass them along to someone when they ask.

SeaBookGuy · 10-04-2010, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

I use Goodreads. I've met some nice folks there, and the user base is very respectful from what I've seen.

It's useful for keeping track of the huge number of books on my TBR pile. Otherwise I find myself buying the same books over again.

I'm active there, and as a moderator of an active forum I've never come close to reprimanding anyone, let along banning them.

View Poll Results: Are you a member of LibraryThing?
Yes....I'm an author and its a way to get my books "out there"	3	2.24%
Yes, I like the reviews/recommendations	18	13.43%
Yes, I like the social networking aspect	9	6.72%
Yes, I like the way I can manage my books there	31	23.13%
Yes, I'm interested in what other people are reading	15	11.19%
Yes, I like to post reviews on what I've read there	8	5.97%
No, never heard of the place	69	51.49%
I prefer Goodreads because (please post reason)	25	18.66%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 134. You may not vote on this poll

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
LibraryThing metadata download plugin	rtype	Plugins	30	09-08-2015 07:24 PM
Librarything error in 0.7.3	gandor62	Calibre	6	06-18-2010 06:07 PM
LibraryThing.com	ahi	Reading Recommendations	27	09-17-2009 12:58 PM
Curse you LibraryThing	pilotbob	Reading Recommendations	7	10-06-2008 09:50 AM
Librarything	Jaapjan	Feedback	2	02-23-2008 03:51 PM

10-03-2010, 12:46 PM	#91
thinkpad David Posts: 1,808 Karma: 8916183 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Norway Device: Kindle, E.Edge (sold), Irex Iliad (retired)	I'm not in any way trying to imply that Goodread is a poorer choice because it's free. I'm merely saying that free services has to get there revenue elsewhere, usually through advertising.

10-03-2010, 01:04 PM	#93
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	I never intended for this to be a "which is better" discussion. It really doens't matter which one you choose, does it, because as long as you are happy with either, or both..... it/they, is/are, the right one/ones, for you! G'head. Figure THAT sentence out!

10-03-2010, 01:06 PM	#94
SeaBookGuy Can one read too much? Posts: 2,029 Karma: 2487799 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle PW 3, Sony 350 and 650	I've been keeping an annual list of books read (just author and title, no comments) on an Excel spreadsheet. Most of those I've been reviewing at Goodreads since I joined there a couple of years ago; I can't just put a star rating, without at least a sentence or two as well. I'm active in forums at both sites, and each have had great discussions (and learned of new books!) at each.

10-04-2010, 05:28 PM	#97
Desertway Addict Posts: 336 Karma: 1701842 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kindle Oasis 3	I have been an LT user for a few years now. I am totally dependent on it to keep track of my reading (especially when the novels are in series) and also to hold my wishlist. It's social enough for me, and I find the user base to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful. I also love all the statistical data that is made available throughout the many subsections of the site. The interface is not especially intuitive, but you get out of it what you put into it. I don't mind paying to help out all the cool community projects that they do. You all should check out the "Legacy Library" page, a database of the libraries of famous minds. (I share 12 books with Ernest Hemingway). http://www.librarything.com/wiki/ind...eted_libraries Somebody earlier in the thread asked whether there was a mobile site. There is a little bitty one, just to access your own library at: http://www.librarything.com/m/

10-04-2010, 05:50 PM	#99
foreverjuly Crank Up The Awesome! Posts: 315 Karma: 708054 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Japan Device: Kindle, Nook, iPhone	I love goodreads and I'm very active over there! I've found a lot of people to talk with and I'm all the better for it. I actually joined librarything at the exact same time, and I found it much more difficult to navigate, more vacant. I too am glad that people are enjoying whichever site suits their interests, but for me I quickly found myself veering toward one and away from the other. This is almost like a Coke vs. Pepsi argument only about book sites!

10-04-2010, 07:53 PM	#100
doreenjoy 01000100 01001010 Posts: 1,889 Karma: 2400000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Polyamorous	I use Goodreads. I've met some nice folks there, and the user base is very respectful from what I've seen. It's useful for keeping track of the huge number of books on my TBR pile. Otherwise I find myself buying the same books over again.

10-04-2010, 09:46 PM	#102
BearMountainBooks Maria Schneider Posts: 3,746 Karma: 26439330 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Near Austin, Texas Device: 3g Kindle Keyboard	I'm on both, but prefer Goodreads. I'm not sure why, maybe because I found reading groups easier. I did find a quick link to signing up as an author on goodreads and I've heard you can do the same on library thing, but I've never found it. Okay, I haven't looked that hard. I have done reviews on both and I think good reads is quicker. You can leave a short comment or two or just a reminder of why you liked the book. Or stars and no comments. When I did one on library thing, there are all kinds of forms. You don't have to fill them out, but there's a form for character names, settings, adding info...it's not a bad feature, but it's not something I want to really spend a lot of time on. They're both useful although mostly I think I track my favorite books on my own blog. I keep a list there and usually have a one line comment. I have it segmented into cozies, mysteries, fantasy, and so on--and it's very quick for me to go grab my favorites and pass them along to someone when they ask.

Advert

Advert