Thing #20 - Books 2.0

So much "stuff" to browse! Read or visited these sites:

Literacy Debate - R U Really Reading? As a grandparent of a 12 year old boy who does not particularly like to sit and read a book, I can understand parents just being thankful their children are "reading" something whether it is online or not. Like the girl in the article, my grandson still manages to carry a 4.0 gpa in 6th grade. So to me, reading is reading regardless of the format.

Reader's Advisory:
Reading Trails. This site was hard to navigate. A sequence of books linked in different ways on trails with intersections. You could share trails, visit open trails or create a new trail. I think you can just get lost without ever finding the right trail.

What Should I Read Next? A good site to find books that are similar to those you have read in the past.

What's Next? A great place to find a list of series books by a particular author. This would be great for patrons who read in order. You did not have to know the particular series just the author or a book title.

OnLine Book Communities
BookGlutton and the Unbound Reader. This site you could read books alone or with groups. This is not for me. I want to read with a book in my hand.

Book Group Resources:
Reading Group Choices. Information on books that may be of interest to book clubs or groups. You can find what's new to read, review, reader reviews and even a list of conversation starters for the book club.

Audio Books:
LibriVox. Found older non-copyrighted material which is read by volunteers to put on the site. During my first look at this site, finding material was hard. However, after realizing that the material was "non-copyrighted" and starting to look for older books, the site was easier to navigate. The material is listed by the last name of the author and once the material is found it is easy to listen to - right off the computer. I have already given information about this site to a patron for use with her son's reading of "The Odyssey" by Homer. They were having difficulty with pronunciation of names and with the flow of the words written.

Book Reviews:
BookBrowse. You can find books by age group or topic. Once you find the book you want you can look at the various reviews, including reader reviews, and even read an excerpt from the book just to see if it is something you may want to read. This is something you can also do on the library's website.

Facebook:
Visual Bookshelf/WeRead. Visited Visual Bookshelf and WeRead. Added WeRead application to my FaceBook. I added three books that I have read and one that I am wanting to read. I am on the wait list with the library.

The Books 2.0 tools can be rather daunting. There is sometimes too much information to absorb at one time. I think that most patrons will find the one source for information that they are comfortable with, whether it is in person from an individual at the library or one or possibly two websites. It is still good to know that these sites are available for future patron interaction.