Social Networking for Bookworms
Buried inside the LibraryThing website (think MySpace for OCD literati) is “I See Dead People’s Books,” a catalogue of the libraries of 33 deceased luminaries, including Marie Antoinette, e.e. Cummings, Thomas Jefferson, Ezra Pound, Karen Blixen, Theodore Dreiser, and Tupac Shakur.
While browsing, you may discover some excellent books you hadn’t heard of (like Aboard the Flying Swan, by Stanley A. Wolper, found in Ernest Hemingway’s library). Also, by peeking at the titles in a dead person’s library, you’ll get fresh insight into his or her intellectual nooks and crannies — sure, we more or less get why Aspects of Chinese Painting, by Alan Priest, was found in e. e. cummings’s library, but Machiavelli’s “The Prince” in Tupac’s library? Who knew? [via VSL]
Addemdum: Before you rush off, if you’re not familiar with “librarything.com” you owe it to yourself to get acquainted. I just did — and this is one wondrous site…
For example, consider a few of these online accolades:
On LibraryThing: “Highly recommended” (top place)
On Delicious Library: “Okay, we’ve cataloged our books and now they sit, like the Terracotta Army, silent and noble. And then what? Do we bring friends over and brag?”
PowellsBooks.BLOG (guest blogger Kevin Smokler)
“It is my dream web app. With it, I get to spend a sick amount of time playing online and playing with books at the same time.” –12 frogs
“When I visit someone’s house for the first time, I sneak a look at their bookshelves as soon as politeness allows. Who knew that there was a virtual equivalent? … Library Thing, my pick for high-concept website of the year.”–Lorem Ipsum (Cambridge, MA Bookstore)
eÆsthete
[...] when I was tag surfing after blogging today, I ran across a post titled “Social Networking for Bookworms” I clicked my way over and learned about the MOST AMAZING THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME IN [...]