Do you use other book cataloguing sites?

This came up in another discussion: do people use multiple book sites (LT, GR, etc.), or do they tend to stick to just one? Personally I find that even though I do prefer GR in some ways, it's too much trouble to maintain active accounts on both sites, so I mostly stick to LT and visit GR only occasionally.

Frankly, I don't consider GR to be a "book cataloguing site". It's a book site, and I copy my reviews there, but it's not set up for cataloguing, just listing. In my mind, there's a distinct difference.

Yeah, I struggled with what to call them. Maybe "book listing sites" would have been better. I did want something more than just "book site", because I didn't want to include sites like Amazon.

I hope the intent is clear, anyway.

I was just talking to a friend today about different sites - she works in a bookstore and was looking for books to recommend, I told her to join LT and read challenge threads for ideas (or rec threads or whatever), and she said she's already on Shelfari and it isn't really good, but she prefers the Shelfari interface to the LT one ("too busy with text on LT").

I think she's a good example of why people tend to stick to just one, whether or not maintenance of the accounts is an issue. I only use LT, mostly because I primarily want a place to catalogue my books and when I browsed the options back in 2006/2007, it seemed the most functional. Now it's a matter of being too attached to LT to switch, plus I just saw how linked GR is to Facebook and got turned off in a big way.

4> I know people who prefer the UI of myspace over facebook (and, of course, vice versa). It's amazing the variety that people's preferences can take.

I wonder if some secondary "skin" could be made to make LT look more like GT and if it'd ever be worth it. I suppose it would if Tim couldn't make his business model work and he needed to increase the total numbers of users for the site. Otherwise, I'm not sure how you'd reconcile the form over function vs function over form (and all shades in between) crowds.

What is GR? I don't know of any other book sites than LibraryThing.

GR = Goodreads. I wish I could remember where/had the patience to search for you, because we've had two or three very long threads within the last six months about LT vs. Goodreads vs. Shelfari vs. whatever else, which had people talking about different features and why they prefer one to the others. (I think one of them, from November or December maybe, was started by Zoe in response to another thread, actually. But I could be misremembering the thread-starter.)

I've looked at others, but nothing could compare to LT.

>7 keristars: You're right, I did start a thread about GoodReads late last year. Apparently it was actually in October; the December thread was a continuation after the first got too long!

I have, at one point or another, made accounts on most of the "competition". Goodreads, Shelfari, etc. The only one I spent more then a few days on was Goodreads. I made all those accounts after I became a LibraryThing lover, though... it was more of a "I want to check these out and see what other people are talking about". I did catalogue a bit on Goodreads, but as lilithcat said, it's not a "cataloguing" site in the same way LT is, and I can't imagine myself every making a serious effort over there.

A bit of a complex question. I regularly visit and use LT, GR, and Shelfari. I also irregularly update two other book listing applications on Facebook. The reason I have active/semi-active accounts on so many sites is that most of my friends who list their books online will use one site pretty much exclusively, and that site isn't typically LT. So to keep up with what my friends are doing, I find it worth my while to maintain several different accounts (I may be rubbish at social networking in general, but will go out of my way when it comes to specific things I am interested in).

The tricky part is, while I have and maintain accounts on several different sites, I use these sites for different purposes. LT is the first book listing/cataloguing site I came across, and as such it is what I am most familiar with. This is where I maintain the online catalog of my personal library, and for the most part it only lists the books I actually own. Until Collections went live, I did not have any books listed here which I did not own and could physically lay hands on (albeit with some rummaging and searching in a number of cases).

GR and Shelfari, on the other hand, are more for my reading list and socialisation. Prior to LT Collections, I would use these sites (and FB applications) to keep track of what I read, regardless of ownership. If a book I didn't own looked interesting, I'd drop it on my To Read list on at least one of these sites. I still use them this way.

I am particular about specific editions and correctness on LT with the books I own (may not be perfect, but I do try). If I have multiple copies of a book, each is listed separately. I tag the books so I can easily find things, or look at a particular portion of my collection in more detail (very useful for things like series). Physically, my books are not as organised as I would like. Catalog-wise, however, things are much better.

With GR and Shelfari, I really couldn't care less about specific editions. I am reading/want to read/have read the book, and that is good enough for me there. These are lists, not a catalog. The data does not need to be as precise. I just want to be able to see what my friends are reading, and to have them see what I am reading.

Like others, I've checked out other sites but nothing comes close to LibraryThing. The original intention was to catalogue my books just to keep track of them. Then I discovered all the interesting things about the site that are just not available anywhere else. Although I don't post in group threads often, I read lots and have learned so much. I've especially enjoyed the challenge groups that have helped raise my tbr and wishlists skywards. The Early Reviewer and Member Giveaway programs are excellent. Tim has done a fabulous job of maintaining a site that is polished as well as fun. In my opinion, no other site can compete with LibraryThng.