Doin' the Library Thing

My buddy sent me a link to Library Thing and it's been keeping me busy. It also confirms what I have known for a while. If it's possible to own too many books, I do.*

Library Thing is like MySpace for book lovers with a little extra. It allows you to create a catalog of your books online.

I have seen the Library Thing User and He is Us - Sorry, Pogo
With cross links in your profile area, it also lets you see there are other people out there just like you.

Frighteningly just like you if you read the profiles. I think there's a guy that is me. He's the same age, grew up reading Famous Monsters of Filmland and has a lot of the same books as me. We probably have more books in common than is currently apparent because I'm not finished adding mine yet.

I've added a lot though, it's addictive. You can search by title, author, ISBN number or a few other ways. It relies mostly only Amazon but it has other sources to draw on as well. It can usually pinpoint the exact edition of the book you own, though sometimes there are a few flaws.

It usually finds cover art, though in my obsession I get a little frustrated if the picture doesn't match my edition. I find myself envious of people who have managed to display cover art of the same editions I have when mine displays only the simulated wood grain that is the default image if no cover art is available. Ahhhhh!

An aside
Note to Library Thing Creators: Fabulous job but if there's a feature to add your own cover art scans, I don't see it. And I would use it. I know there's probably medication.

Another cool thing is that the creators really seem to have their act together. While I was looking around on the site yesterday they apparently got Slashdotted, which may be better than being digged, I'm not sure. I think that is the right past tense of "digging" a site but I'm not sure. Maybe I should check the urban dictionary on that.

Real time communication
Anyway, they were overwhelmed and real time messages were appearing - "We've been Slashdotted, bear with us." Ah, the new words the web coins for us.

Guess there's a little sense of Big Brother going on there. The, uh one from Orwell or the Mac commercial, not the CBS TV Show, I guess.

Here's what's happening with that, though. The people who built this thing are obsessive book lovers too, and they're just watching to see if you added a book they want to read. Talk to you later, I'm going to IM the me from the parallel universe to see if he wants to do a "need it, need it, got it" book trade. View my online catalog here.

Addendum
Duh! There is a way to fix covers. Just had to read the FAQ. I think they officially thought of everything.

(*I'm not sure it is possible to own too many books - please reference the Twilight Zone episode "Time Enough At Last." If Burgess Meredith did not break his glasses he would then have just enough books. If something happens like in Stephen King's The Stand and I am one of few survivors, then I will need these books. Dish Network will probably stop working.)