Books that Make the List
Mockingjay By Suzanne Collins- I had read the two previous books in the trilogy (and loved them!) so I searched by author to find the title of the third book. Mockingjay has an average rating of 4.7 so I have no doubt it will not disappoint!
The Help by Kathryn Stockett- I just finished reading Water for Elephants which is a great book about a man in the traveling circus in the 1920s. I searched for it and scrolled down to the sidebar to look at "people who viewed this also viewed..." and saw The Help. This reminded me that a friend had already recommended The Help, and it had just completely fallen off my radar. It has a rating of 4.48 on Good Reads.
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollen- I had skimmed the back of this book a few months ago and found it really interesting, but I never found the time to actually read it. While using Google Books, I saw their cooking section with Fast Food Nation displayed and it reminded me to add In Defense of Food back to my list.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck- This used to be one of my favorite books, but it has been at least 8 years since I last read it. I know that it is a quick read so I really should do a little refresh and see if I can still count it among my top 10 list.
Corrag by Susan Fletcher- I went to Library Thing hoping to find a "what's popular now section," but because I did not have enough books saved in my library, it would not give me any recommendations. On the side, however, I saw a spot for "most requested books" and Corrag was listed. It is about a 16 year old girl who is waiting to be burned at the stake because she has been accused of being a witch in seventeenth century Scotland. The Salem Witch Trials fascinate me so this book might also be of some interest. I also checked it out on Good Reads and it has a 4.17 rating.
Frommer's Costa Rica by Eliot Greenspan- I am planning a trip to Costa Rica so I searched "Costa Rica Travel Guide" at Amazon; Frommer's book had the highest rating (almost 5 stars!) I have used Frommer's guides for other trips, and they have proven to be helpful resources with lots of good tips.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer- A list made by a fan of Steig Larson, an author who I happen to love, highly recommended The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. It has great reviews online and seems like it would be a nice book to read by the pool.
Cutting for Stone by A Verghese- One of my friends had recommended this book, but I had no idea what it was about. I logged onto WorldCat to read the summary and the reviews. It sounds like a good read, but I was disappointed in WorldCat though because there were only two reviews- and it turns out that this book has been on several best seller lists.
Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern- For this selection, I went to the New York Times Bestseller List to see what is popular. I have long since been a fan on Facebook of Sh*t my Dad Says. In essence, a son posts funny quips that his dad spouts off at random--sometimes with explanation, sometimes without. They are funny and lighthearted so I know I would enjoy this easy read.
PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God by Frank Warren- PostSecret is an ongoing project where people email a postcard filled with their secrets to Frank Warren. Each Sunday he posts a selection on his blog for followers to view. Sharing a secret out loud has been liberating for those who have sent in postcards, and fans often find themselves connecting with some of the selections. In addition, Frank has become a suicide prevention activist when he saw many of the secrets were about misery and unhappiness. He recently released this new book so it is a must-buy. It has a 4.8 star rating.
Resource Reviews
Google Books- I was surprised by how much I disliked Google Books. I am generally a fan of all things good, but in this case Google fell short. I did like the fact that it had popular books sorted by genre because that is often how I pick out my best read, but most of the other features I expected were absent. When you clicked on a book, it simply gave you a large pdf of the cover and links on where you could buy it. Reviews, summaries, and recommendations were seriously lacking.
WorldCat- I have always liked WorldCat. It shows you what area libraries stock the book, it connects you with critics reviews, it has a star rating system, it has user tags and related subjects, and it has lists that readers have compiled. The only thing that is a little lacking in the star recommendation. Some books might only have 2 or 3 ratings as opposed to a place like Amazon where most resources have hundreds of reviews.
GoodReads- GoodReads does a great job with book ratings and reviews. I would definitely trust the average star rating there more than WorldCat due to the shear number of reviews. The only thing I didn't like is that it would not publish a list of recommended books because I did not have at least 15 books saved. I would have preferred for each book I clicked on to have a "If you like this, read this..." type of section.
Amazon- I am an Amazon junkie, and I do not think any of the other resources will replace it. It has everything I want- reviews, lists, recommendations, ratings, summaries, links to authors' blogs and websites, and more. It even has a section of NY Times bestsellers which I find convenient. Plus, if I see a book I am interested in, I can always purchase it at a discount.
Analysis of Resources
No comments:
Post a Comment