Novel networking
Call it an online book club, or call it the ideal tool for reading assignments. Either way, BookGlutton.com, a new social networking Web site, allows people to read full books online, post comments and have discussions.
The site, co-created by Travis Alber and Aaron Miller, has been installed at major universities such as Villanova University, New York University and Boston University. It has not been introduced at Syracuse University.
BookGlutton.com allows readers to annotate and have discussions as they read the text.
Its Web site claims it is not only engaging, but it gives a new age, digital feel to the idea of a book club.
‘We believe firmly that people want to read, annotate and discuss, right there, immersed in the text. That’s the best time to talk about a book,’ reads the official Web site.
The Web site currently contains popular titles like Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear,’ H.G. Wells’ ‘The Time Machine’ and Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice.’
Erin Gay, a graduate English teaching assistant at SU said she disliked the ‘digital book club’ idea.
‘Personally, I would rather talk to a friend in person,’ she said. ‘And even though it seems like it is being marketed also as a social site, there are so many Web sites to stay in touch nowadays, that given priorities, I assume more people are going to spend their time on Facebook.’
Gay said she routinely gets an invitation to Shelfari.com, a similar Web site where users can post reviews of the books they read and then share their reading lists with friends.
She also explained it does not make much sense to choose a book based on the recommendation of a stranger.
‘Instead, I think people should talk to friends, professors, even be as bold as e-mailing writers they admire and asking for suggestions,’ Gay said. ‘Or you could just hangout in the bookstore one afternoon and flip through random books until you find something you like.’
Web sites similar to BookGlutton, such as the one for Project Gutenberg, have ‘a more extensive catalogue that includes texts in languages other than English,’ she said.
Gay questioned whether universities should sponsor sites like BookGlutton, since the problem of Internet source reliability could come into play.
‘I feel like students need to be aware of research sites like Project Gutenberg so that they can find reliable sources, but I don’t think it is appropriate for universities to sponsor these sites,’ Gay said. ‘This is more a question of teaching students about the sources that are available to them.’
Ariel Vegotsky, a freshman in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, said she thought the site would be helpful for English classes.
‘I would definitely use it, most likely only to help out with school books though,’ Vegotsky said.
Imani Folkes, a freshman magazine journalism major, said she would enjoy chatting about the books online.
‘I think it would be pretty cool to use the Web site as a discussion setting, where students can post comments and bring up issues about the book,’ she said.
Folkes said she would use the site because she loves to read and hear other people’s opinions about books she has read.
But Folkes also acknowledged some of the drawbacks of such a Web site.
‘I personally don’t like reading things online,’ she said. ‘It’s hard for me to stare at text on a computer screen for long periods of time.’
Published on March 3, 2008 at 12:00 pm
