Should Books Be Social?
I’ve recently started keeping track of what I read at a site called Goodreads, which bills itself as a sort of facebook for actual books. It’s reading becoming social, a place where you can post what you’re currently reading, what you’ve just read, what you thought about it, and what you think about your reading buddies’ books. There are a number of other sites out there that attempt to monopolize on our social networking age, turning bibliophilia into a connected, modern hobby. The other one I know is booklamp.org, which has a recommendation service supposedly like Netflix for books; it analyzes your favorite books’ “DNA” and gives you similar results.
The main reason that I’m on Goodreads is to have a record of what I’ve read. I previously used Filemaker to keep a database so that I could see what books I’d read in a particular year or all the books by a certain author that I’d read. I recorded where I got the book from, any notes about it, and whether it had made it onto my exclusive “five star list.” But a recent system upgrade has made my old copy of Filemaker no longer workable, and instead of shelling out the cash for a new version, I tried Goodreads. I’m enjoying it so far; it allows me to be a little voyeuristic and spy on what my friends are reading, as well as broadcast what books I’d recommend. And it lets me discover new books that I wouldn’t have heard of. But it does have me wondering whether it’s the right direction for books to become such a highly social matter.
The problem is that book snobs (and I know I’m one) will inevitably do one thing: they will judge what you’re reading. Sometimes they’ll take it too far and judge you for what you’re reading. At the same time, they’re often anxiously showing off what they’re reading. So Goodreads could become like facebook in that it could be all about the anxious, self-conscious performance of it all. It’s easy to say you’re reading War & Peace when you’re really going through some paperback beach read; it’s easy to pretend you’ve already finished Infinite Jest when you haven’t. Will the social networking world of books be one more arena for us to project an artificial self-image?
On the other hand, as I mentioned, book snobs have always been book snobs, with our without the internet. Perhaps, as is often the case, the internet is just one more tool or conduit for human behavior, rather than the cause of new human behavior. What do you think?
Um, I never thought about that. Goodreads on the contrary is where I met my “tribes”. There are lots of groups dedicated to “trashy” books you can join. You won’t be judged. If you are self conscious you can create several accounts and have one for your book snobs friends and one for your guilty pleasures. I read all over the map, respected books and trash but I have no shame so I keep everything in one account. In fact I love GR because I can talk and share with people who love the same genre fiction that I do.
BLH, you said you kept track of all the books you read, plus notes regarding such info as”where I got the book from…”
It occurred to me that many people then should add, “and to whom I really ought to return the book one of these days.”
Anyway, GR sounds like a goldmine to me. As it is, I turn only to my county library for monthly ‘picks’ of good books in various genres. But they are quite good at giving you several reviews from Booklist, etc. Plus, they always say: “if you like such & such an author, you’ll probably like this.” And those quiet little librarians can have pretty out there tastes, too.
It never occurred to me Book Snobs existed, but of course they must–it’s human nature (though I do not believe any person has finished “Infinite Jest” except maybe its late author. I know that NO one has honestly read “Pale King” all the way through–and I am a CPA who prepared tax returns for decades ’cause I LIKED doing them!)
I will check out GR &, like J above, if I join I will proudly list all books I read under my real name. Most people don’t read anything at all anymore. I’m pleased to know others are reading, period. Who cares what it is?
L&K, MaryB
I’m on Goodreads, but I admit I’m uninterested in recording what I’ve read. It’s in my head, and that’s enough for me. There are some interesting discussions on the boards there, but often, I find it just another way to avoid work.