Two of my favourite places to go for book recommendations are GoodReads and LibraryThing. They're weighted more towards fiction and popular non-fiction than to academic texts, just by sheer force of demographics, but once you've been using both sites for a while, the underlying algorithms start recommending books/other users that are most relevant to your interests. GoodReads' format encourages a more active commenting culture on reviews, I think, but LibraryThing has lots of good readers' groups and gives you more detailed statistical info about your collection. (Apparently if I stacked all the books which I physically own, the pile would approach the height of the Statue of Liberty! Which is the kind of pointless but fascinating fact that I love.)
I'm always eager to hear how other people find their book recommendations. I have LibraryThing and GoodReads accounts, but haven't done much beyond making virtual book shelves. I'll have to look into the groups on LibraryThing!
Not all of the groups on LibraryThing are super active, but I've found them good ways of getting especially thematic/genre recommendations when I'm trying to delve into new topics. They certainly tend to get updated faster with new releases than most academic reviews--with the exception of maybe the reviews on H-Net, which of course don't really allow a forum for response/discussion.
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Social Cataloguing
Two of my favourite places to go for book recommendations are GoodReads and LibraryThing. They're weighted more towards fiction and popular non-fiction than to academic texts, just by sheer force of demographics, but once you've been using both sites for a while, the underlying algorithms start recommending books/other users that are most relevant to your interests. GoodReads' format encourages a more active commenting culture on reviews, I think, but LibraryThing has lots of good readers' groups and gives you more detailed statistical info about your collection. (Apparently if I stacked all the books which I physically own, the pile would approach the height of the Statue of Liberty! Which is the kind of pointless but fascinating fact that I love.)
Thanks for responding!
I'm always eager to hear how other people find their book recommendations. I have LibraryThing and GoodReads accounts, but haven't done much beyond making virtual book shelves. I'll have to look into the groups on LibraryThing!
Not all of the groups on
Not all of the groups on LibraryThing are super active, but I've found them good ways of getting especially thematic/genre recommendations when I'm trying to delve into new topics. They certainly tend to get updated faster with new releases than most academic reviews--with the exception of maybe the reviews on H-Net, which of course don't really allow a forum for response/discussion.