Social networks have ceased to be a curiosity and have firmly entered our lives. In addition to "global" networks, more specialized networks have appeared - for professionals or like-minded people with the same interests. These networks include livelib – social network for book lovers.

To experience all the possibilities that the LiveLib network offers, you need to register. The registration process for LiveLib is quite simple.: you need to provide your address Email, come up with a username and password. All other information is optional. Click Register and you are a LiveLib member.

Where to start? You can start leading your reader's diary- list of books read. To add a book to the list, click on the Add Book link in your LiveLib profile. Use the search on the site: enter the title or author of the book or ISBN number in the search bar and click Find.

In the search results, click on the plus sign next to the book. You can choose the status of the book (I want to read it, I'm reading it now, I've already read it), the copy you have (paper book, audiobook, e-book), tags (choose from those offered or add your own). You can add personal notes to the book that only you can see, or add it to your favorites list.

If the book you need is not in the list, you can add it to LiveLib yourself. It can be added manually or imported from Ozone. If you decide to add books manually, carefully read the rules for adding books to the site. Please note that if you are new to the site (i.e. just signed up for LiveLib), you cannot add books yet.

You can add reviews to books on LiveLib, rate and comment on reviews of other users. Just treat writing a review responsibly, otherwise it can be sent to the non-format section. If your review, in your opinion, does not pull on a full-fledged review, but is more like a slightly chaotic set of impressions, you can add it to the "Stories" section. You can also add your favorite quotes from books.

But LiveLib not only helps you keep a list of books you read - you can also find something to read here.. The site has ratings. best books(the most popular books, the TOP 100 rating of the most highly rated books, the ratings of the best books by year), lists of book novelties, lists of screened works, as well as lists of books compiled as part of flash mobs, when some LiveLib users recommend others what to read.

Also on the LiveLib website you can find biographies of authors, make selections and "anti-selections" of books (personal and collective). There is a forum for communication, and users with similar interests can be added as friends. LiveLib cooperates with publishers and bookstores, conducts interviews with book authors, organizes various competitions and giveaways of books.

Keep in mind only one thing - you can’t read books online on LiveLib, the site is not electronic library . You can't buy a book here either. But users will always tell you where you can get this or that book, moreover, in the description of many publications there are links to stores where you can buy books in paper or electronic form.

The motto of the LiveLib project is " We save knowledge!". This is a social network for those who like to read and share their impressions of what they read with like-minded people.

What is Livelib?

The creators of Livelib position their site as social network for those who like to read books and share their opinion about the books they read. Books on site really huge many, and in addition, for each of them you can find a review. And not one or two, but several at once. And even more so for popular books.

Livelib has a forum where you can chat on a variety of topics or ask a question of interest.

Why is Livelib needed?

"What should I read?"- perhaps this is the most terrible question of a book lover! But Livelib will solve it in a matter of minutes! It is enough to write your favorite genre in the search bar, for example, a detective story or a romance novel, or any keyword, such as psychology, space, or love, and Livelib will display all the books you request.

The site has top popular books, various book lists that are worth reading, and you can choose books even faster.

(Reviews on Livelib are voluntary, no one is chasing a ruble, so the authors of the reviews really only write what they think!)

You can leave a comment on any review and even enter into a dialogue with the author of the review if you have something to say, or if you have a different opinion about the book.

Can i just chat on the forum or in private messages and write your own reviews.

Each book card has links to where you can purchase and order a paper or electronic version of the book. You can’t download the book itself from the site, but everything is honest, and the rights of the authors are not violated, which seems to me a good form.

Design, site usability and other goodies

IN personal account you can keep a reader's diary, write reviews, make friends and write them private messages. I really like the "Quotes" section, where you can add your own or those that have already been noted by other users.

In general, Livelib seems to me a very cozy and calm place where I can plunge into the world of literature and reading without interference!

10/04/2017, 09:00

For the true book lover favorite hobby is not limited to reading alone. In our free time from bright adventures, philosophical thoughts and tearful dramas, we buy new copies for our collection of books, share our impressions of what we have read, look for something to add to our reading list, and follow the novelties on the book shelves. And let beautiful notebooks - best friends avid readers, it is still more convenient to work with information in electronic format.

Today we will talk about various Internet portals that make life easier for all book lovers in one way or another.

Most likely, you already know about the existence of this site and actively use it, but in a review of online book resources, Livelib cannot be left out. The Living Library is a social network for book readers, and various functions, useful to readers, there are countless.

Firstly, you can keep your reader's diary: add books to the read list, leave notes hidden from everyone or reviews-reviews available to everyone, catalog what you read using tags. Secondly, you can keep a list of books to read; however, there is a danger that in a couple of months this list will grow to unthinkable proportions. Because, thirdly, you can read book reviews written by your friends on the site or simply by the most active and talented users whose reviews end up on the main page.

There is also a section for book exchange, where users post ads for the sale, exchange or donation of books. There is a news blog, which contains not only news about writers, book adaptations and the near-literary world, but also publishing digests of new products. There are numerous tools for meeting like-minded people and communication: offline and online book clubs, a forum, comments on reviews. There are book games that are organized by the users themselves - thanks to them, you can decide on the choice of a book from your list to read, expand your reading horizons and just have fun. It is impossible to list everything, and each reader can decide for himself which sections of the site he needs and is convenient.

An English-language resource that can serve as an alternative to Livelib. Here you can also keep a reader's diary, make book lists, read reviews and look for new interesting books. The resource is not translated into Russian, the books in the catalog are also presented mainly in English-language editions, so knowledge of the language is necessary. But there is a Russian-speaking community on the site, so you won't feel like a black sheep. In addition, you can see how representatives of different cultures, and not just compatriots, evaluate a popular book. In addition to book catalogs and reviews, there are interest groups, tests for those who like to test their knowledge of their favorite books, a platform for authors, in a word, there is how to have fun.

Science Fiction Lab is a portal dedicated to science fiction literature. At first glance - a narrow specialization, but in fact the site covers the widest list of genres, including realism. On Fantlab you can find biographical information about the authors, detailed bibliographies divided into cycles, and most importantly - a detailed classification of books by genre, place and time of action, features and details of the plot. In short, if you want to know more about the book or find something similar to it, you are here!

If you love paper publications and actively collect your library, this resource will come in handy. Bookriver is a book exchange platform: you can put in good hands books that you no longer need, and find the desired publications that are already sold out in stores. Unfortunately, the site was made many years ago, since then it has not been modernized or developed in any way. Therefore, by modern standards, it is not the most convenient. However, many people use it, so if you're looking for a book, be sure to check it out. Technically, the site only allows you to exchange books, donate them or lend them to read for a while, in practice, many are ready to buy or sell a book.

libex.ru and libex.ru

In this review, we do not touch on online bookstores, but bookstore sites are a separate category. Here you can get old editions that no one has seen on the shelves of ordinary stores for a long time. Books here are most often offered not by ordinary readers, but by second-hand booksellers who are professionally engaged in this work. Prices range from ridiculous for ordinary used editions to high for rare volumes that no one else offers. Each seller has a rating, on libex - reviews, on alib - a black list of sellers on the forum. This, of course, does not completely exclude fraud, but it allows you to assess the trustworthiness of the seller.

Again, although we will leave the stores behind the scenes, the Litres library section is a separate conversation. This is an opportunity to borrow e-books from the library - legally and for free. You will need to register with a regular library that participates in the Litres program, as well as any device with an Internet connection on which you can install the program. You can use a smartphone or tablet, but many modern electronic readers will also cope with the task. The principle is the same as in a real library: the book is given to you for a while, if the term has expired, the program itself will delete the text from memory, and you will have to reapply for it. In addition, books are not immediately available for download, you need to wait until the librarian approves your request.

Simple as three pennies, but a useful search engine site that searches for books in the catalogs of popular and little-known stores. You can not only see which stores offer a book for sale, but also compare prices. There are a lot of disadvantages in the work of the site: unsuitable publications in the results come across, and you need to double-check the information. If a book is in the store's catalog with the specified price, but it's out of stock, Findbook will still show it in the results.

However, if you're looking for some rare book, give it a try: it's faster than directly rummaging through all the store sites one by one.

Social media

The modern world is arranged simply: if you want to find something, look in social networks. For book lovers, this rule also works! True, if we list all the interesting pages, we run the risk of writing a multi-volume reference book instead of a review, so we will limit ourselves to general advice. Vkontakte and Facebook have a lot of publics dedicated to both books in general and specific writers, genres, topics - for every taste. You can find drawings with tempting prizes, follow the news, read reviews of new products. By the way, be sure to subscribe to the groups and publics of your favorite publishers to keep your finger on the pulse and follow the latest releases and reissues.

On Instagram, by book tags (for example, or simply), there are bloggers who regularly post beautiful photos and write reviews. You will get more different opinions about interesting works or just dilute the tape with beautiful "book" pictures.

On YouTube, you can also find reviews of the publication you are interested in, just enter the title of the book in the search. Besides, book vloggers is a godsend for visuals: you can not only hear about books, but also admire beautiful editions and lovingly filled bookshelves.

That's all the book lover's assistant resources that I wanted to talk about today. Which of the following sites do you already use? Perhaps you know of other resources that we have overlooked? Share with us in the comments!

A big discovery for me today was the live library LiveLib which I would like to share with my readers.

Many of us set a goal for a year to read a certain number of books (I set myself a bar of 50), but is everything going smoothly on achieving this goal:

• what book to read this week?
• Will I like this book?
• What do other readers think of her?
• did it benefit anyone?
• Is it really worthwhile author?

There are, in fact, many more questions. Therefore, very often we either read not what we would like, or stop reading a book halfway through ...

I have already written about how and when to read books, but LiveLib can add more color to our reading.

I planned to read books in MyLifeOrganized and Evernote

Before I discovered the LiveLib service, I planned to read books in MyLifeOrganized and Evernote (to copy content).

Convenient, structured, but:

• everything is done manually (the task “Read such and such a book” is recorded and, if desired, information about it can be written in notes)
• there is no information about the book - is it worth reading and will it benefit

The result was achieved, but now I understand what exactly LiveLib was not enough for me to achieve the maximum result. And now I will explain why.

Live Library LiveLib

LiveLib (Live Library, Livelib)- Russian-language Internet project, a social network dedicated to literature. The site provides information about books, writers, publishers, libraries. It is one of the most visited portals of Runet in the field of literature

LiveLib is also famous for being the largest structure of reviews of all kinds of books from real readers (as opposed to those that are written by order).

You can get information through a search in any book:

• what is it about
• What do other readers think of her?
• is there a real useful information or just water
• is it worth reading or not
• how many people have already read this book and what are the reviews

There are a lot of user ratings on LiveLib for various parameters:

• genre
• auto RU
• novelties

For those who are looking for themselves new book, which I would like to read - finding what you want is as simple as possible.

It seems to me that finding (even if you download for free) a book on the Internet is much easier than finding something you would like to read.

That's just the question "What to read?" LiveLib answers like no other.

In addition to all this, in addition to the web service, the official LiveLib application is available for both Android and iPhone. So there are no restrictions on the use of the library.

Book Challenge 2016 by LiveLib

A very useful and motivating feature is "Book Challenge 2016 by LiveLib".

The challenge is a commitment to read a certain number of books in 2016, which is displayed visually in a beautiful way.

The bid for 200 books is not mine, but someone swung it really cool. If he makes 200 books in a year, honor and praise be to him.

I, as a modest person, swung at 50

You can see in the Book Challenge:

• Do you fit into the schedule of reading the required number of books
• what books have you already read
• which ones you would like to read (you need to tick the appropriate boxes for such books)

You can even arrange a competition with each other who read more books or who will read a certain set of books faster than another. But this is an amateur. I prefer to compete with my former self - I need to read more books than I read last year.

Summing up: Using MyLifeOrganized+LiveLib

For book reading planning, I leave MyLifeOrganized. Only in MLO it is possible to plan "when to read" and "whether I have time to read a book in a week or another period."

I add LiveLib as an add-on that will allow you to choose good and correct books.

I launch the Book Challenge 2016 from LiveLib as an element of monitoring the achievement of the goal of reading a certain number of books per year. But at the same time, I don’t remove the goal in MyLifeOrganized - let them duplicate each other. At least until I decide if I can control the reading of my books in only one service.

And what interesting and useful services do you know that can really help in choosing and reading books?

Photo by Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash

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1) read in an organized manner.

many read from time to time, case by case. nothing to do? read. boring? read. but in order to read quickly, it is better to set aside a few hours, set a pomodoro timer and read several times for half an hour with five to ten minute breaks. In this way, you can read a book in 1-2 days.

2) read fast. about it, which time I already write about it.

3) make life more monotonous and boring. (my story)

my life is just like that. I rest a lot and, as a result, I read. sometimes just to fill free time.

if life is interesting, then there will be little time left for reading and blogging (therefore, there is an opinion on tumblr that if a person does not write anything, then his life is getting better, although this is not always the case)

4) get rid of your friends. (my story)

meeting friends takes time, and you have to read, right? therefore a simple truth: there are no friends - there is time, there are books.

5) Take a book with you everywhere.

different situations can come across when there is time to read: a queue, time on the bus, subway ...

6) use e-books and read on your phone.

The phone, I think, is always with a lot of people. in your free time you can read and not it. I, for example, always have a lot of books downloaded to my phone and tablet. yes, of course, the phone has a small and glowing screen, so you can ruin your eyesight. but then you have e-books at your disposal.

7) listen to audiobooks and do needlework.

many books can be found in audio version. and for this it is not at all necessary to buy a subscription or pay for each book separately. you can find audiobooks in telegram, vkontakte, soundcloud and podcasts (there you can still adjust the playback speed, which is very convenient, because audiobooks are very slow).

and if just listening to audiobooks makes you sleepy, then do some needlework or other very background and not in need of a full focus lesson. the main thing is that it relaxes you and takes your hands with your eyes. I usually draw or embroider.

Audiobooks, by the way, are convenient to listen to in transport.

8) track reading.

I don't know if this works for everyone, but it helps me. there is a book call on livelib. I started participating this year. and added my family to it. so my dad began to buy a lot of books and read more+faster.

numbers have a magical effect on people, so seeing how good you are, your brain wants to be even more good, that is, it starts to want to read.

I know there are people who are against reading tracking, but if your goal is to read a lot, then this might help.

9) compete.

in the same direction as the previous paragraph. my dad introduced his friends and acquaintances to the book challenge, and now they are competing to see who has read the most. strange hobby, but it motivates to read.

10) don't stop. (my story)

this point is my mistake.

after reading a book, immediately start reading the next one, enter into a book binge ... yes, it really helps to read faster, but this month, in April, I will stop after reading a book, I will give my brain a rest, I will discuss each book (at least with the most myself), retell it (to myself) and write an essay either in the notebook I bought today on rings, or in a blog. By the way, today I have already written an essay about “Martin Eden” for 9(!) pages. And, I ask you, if anyone has read it, share your impressions, I really want to discuss this book with you.

(P.S. “my story” paragraphs are not required at all, these are just my personal characteristics)