Goin’ on a Book Safari

There are many topics I could have written about this week, except I have pledged to keep most of my personal life, good and bad, out of this blog. So I am not going to write about my frustration with a student who seems to blame me for her academic woes; I am not going to write about how much my son is loving JROTC, and I am not going to write about how hot it is in northeastern Georgia, but the triple digits keep appearing on the outside thermometer.

Instead, I’ll point internet readers to a fun resource: Shelfari, which is a word coined from "shelf" and "safari." There are other book info sharing sites, such as LibraryThing, which I did join, but I have spent little time there. That site is more like the law library at UGA; it has a lot of stuff, but it is boring. On the other hand, Shelfari has a visually appealing interface, easy to use tools for rating, reviewing, or just commenting on books. Like "my space," it has a friend feature, wherein you can invite like minded readers to be listed on your site. You can leave notes on other members’ shelves, and you can browse their shelves to find new reads on the shelves of folks whose taste is somewhat similar to yours.

I shared this site with my teen-aged daughter, who just loved it. She is now my friend, and she invited one of her book loving friends to join. If you want to see my shelf and read the comments I’ve posted, here is the link to my shelf at Shelfari.

Rather than list all of the books I’ve read and enjoyed (a Herculean task!) I have listed two or three titles by favorite authors. I’ve been making an effort to share my love of eBooks as well, so I have a higher percentage of those on my shelf than I might otherwise.

Of course, I listed my own books, with brief comments, but I didn’t copy reviews to expand the listings. Admittedly I joined after being prompted by a fellow WCP author, but I have enjoyed my visits to this site.

Some time when you’d like to browse for new books or old favorites, go on a Shelfari from the comfort of your home, and you’ll no doubt find it entertaining. I certainly have enjoyed it, and I have put some more titles in my shopping cart at Fictionwise based on the comments and reviews I’ve read via Shelfari. Now, if I could just get FW to have another store-wide 20% off sale!