Social Reading

I ran into the music of Boban Markovic Orkestar completely by chance on the same day that I found J likes the sound of classic rock well enough to dance along. Lastfm has been around a while and anyone who enjoys discovering new music would love it.

There is some help for readers looking for books similar in theme or content to something else they have read. While these lists are useful, they are not exactly the "social reading revolution" on the scale of Lastfm. Largely maintained by public libraries and what appear to be a non-profits judging by their .org websites, they lack the snazzy technology that it takes to make a decent social networking site.

Amazon has had the "Customers who bought this item also bought" feature forever, but its not quite the same thing. As a reader I would like a site that has other readers posting favorites, memorable excerpts, reviews, analysis and commentary. For people like me who are avid readers but rarely buy new books, it would be helpful to know if the book was available at the local public library or if someone was selling their copy for really cheap. A book bartering system would be a perfect feature to include. If anyone who reads this post, knows of a place like what I'm describing, please let me know.