Well.
Concocting a list of books that I'd like to read should take me, oh... ten minutes tops. But I think I just lost a couple of hours of my life browsing through WorldCat and Library Thing. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Both WorldCat and Library Thing were easy to use and helpful, and I had a really hard time really deciding between the two which one worked better for me. Since I liked them both about equally and I chose the same 10 books on each site, I'm just going to go through my book list and talk through the experience a bit.
The MockingJay by Suzanne Collins
I thought I'd be really clever and search for this book on both since it's not out yet. Foiled. Of course both systems are hooked up to Amazon so I should have figured. Still, score one for both WC and LT. And I didn't even have to dig for it. Searched by title, and BOOM! There it was.
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
I've been meaning to pick up this book for a while, as all my students are saying it's fantastic. Although I trust my students (most of the time), I checked out reviews on this book and they convinced me that I needed to order it. From the reviews I picked through on both sites, it sounds life-altering. About the reviews themselves: prominently displayed on the book's page, with links if they were longer, with a rating system. Very clear, very organized. I loved the reviews because I do rely heavily on them, being that I sort of fell in love with Amazon's system right away, and they sway me almost always.
Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan & The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
I follow all three of these authors on Twitter and I love everything they've ever written, so for these searches I merely used their names, and both resources provided a list of everything they'd penned. The best thing about browsing through the lists was discovering books I hadn't read by them, and finding recommendations from people who had liked these authors. It was so easy to browse other people's lists, that I added a few books to my pile based on them.
Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and Angel Time by Anne Rice
These two books came from a list that I connected to from a different list, one that was a YA Favorites. It took me to one specifically about angel books, which I've sort of had a fascination with lately, so I added a few to my list. These two choices were cited on a lot of lists as good reads, had good reviews, and good ratings - all of those factors helped me decide that the two of them would be my best choice.
The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong
Religion fascinates me, especially fundamentalism because its views are so different than mine. A keyword search for 'fundamentalism' brought up a huge list of books and, well, here's where I should explain some of the differences between WC and LT.
WorldCat's search results come up in a list complete with book covers, options to view other versions of the book, and lists on the side to narrow down by author, date, format, audience, and more specific topic. To add a book to your list, easy as can be, check the box next to it and select the list you'd like to add it to from a drop down menu and viola! It's on your list. From this menu I found the name Karen Armstrong, who is a trusted writer on this topic, and selected her book.
Library Thing worked a little differently, but also in a good way. I went into the search option and typed in 'fundamentalism' in the keywords box, and this is where I favor Library Thing just a bit. It brought up what looks to be a real bookshelf, with the top books tagged with 'fundamentalism' sitting on it. Armstrong's book was the first result. On the side it gave me awesome other ways to either narrow down my choices or explore further. Related subjects, related tagmashes, authors who had used that tag, and related tags were all listed as well, and one click on any of them could have helped me browse. Really convenient, really user-friendly, and really a time suck for a book lover like me. I could have spent all day going from tag to tag and finding new books.
Finding Your Writer's Voice by Thaisa Frank, Writing Down to the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Using the keyword searches again, I typed in "writing", hoping to find some great books on the craft of writing. Neither site really was specific enough for me, so I started playing around with the tag clouds and user lists, but for this particular search, what I found to be most helpful was the Subject Lists on LT and the Recommendations on WC. Both operated sort of the same way, by suggesting books on the same topic. Going into the entry of my favorite book about writing, Stephen King's On Writing, LC showed me a whole lists of recommendations for similar books, as well as a tag cloud that led me to Writing Down to the Bones. WC, on the other hand, had direct links to specific subject lists or user lists at the bottom of the page, where I found the other books listed here. Again, both sites made this painless and really easy, and also had me wanting to browse for a few hours.
The Lists
The lists themselves are easy to access from your account homepage on both sites, and when you're done, they look like this:
LT: The Next 10
WC: The Next 10
LT allows you many different display options for your lists, as well as ways to organize it to your liking right on the list page. A drop down menu lets you easily flit between lists.
WC also allowed for different views of the list and ways to organize it directly on the list page, but it's not quite as attractive a setup as LT. LT just seems tailor-made for browsing because it's actually set up, visually, like a bookstore. So, I guess LT wins by a hair. But a very thin hair.
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