Bookshelves Real and Virtual

Have acquired new bookshelves just as a drastic cull was imminent to make space for new acquisitions. Books pour in (purchases I can't help making, review copies, gifts, freebies from the bookcrossing pile in Raman's shop - this week alone 11 new books!).

3rd chimp a.k.a Ms. Wonderley bequeathed me a wonderful big glassfronted cupboard which was transported across PJ in my gardener's wife's father's brother-in-law's lorry yesterday. And I managed to find room for a huge custom-made bookshelf downstairs too. All this delaying the day when I have to make a Sophie's choice about which books to keep and which to pass along down the line.

And then there's my bookshelf in cyberspace! I threw out the link to Library Thing a few weeks ago hoping you'd find it an interesting novelty and play with it while I was in Manila, and not notice I was away. Then I noticed that CW had got hooked on it and I so enjoyed looking through her library online that I decided to try it out for myself ... and found it completely addictive. I even paid for a life membership.

Some of the great things about Library Thing:

• even if you are on the other side of the world, you can gaze lovingly at your book collection and don't have to dust it!
• your friends know which books you have and which they can ask to borrow (I lend books all the time and just pray they come back!)
  
• you can see deep inside people's souls by browsing the books they have for mental furniture (a great way to find a mate if you don't have one - whose book collection will best mesh with yours?)
• you can paste up your reviews, make notes, give a star rating ... and read what others thought about the book
  
• you can put an ever-changing display of books on your blog sidebar
  
• you can link it in with Amazon Associates and theoretically earn money from click through purchases (does anyone ever earn anything from this?)
  
• you can sort your books in many different ways - the tag cloud feature is wonderful
• you don't have to spend hours typing in boring book details - the keyword search is really quick and effective
  

My virtual library is here. (Can be displayed as a list or graphic bookshelf.) I am slowly entering books, a few everyday, so if the collection seems a bit unbalanced at the moment it's because I'm working systematically across my (real life) bookshelves. It is, as they say a work in progress and I will have many happy hours cataloguing the rest. (Can hear you saying "How sad is that? Get a life, girl.")