BOOK LOVERS : Book Hopping

'Only in books has mankind known perfect truth, love and beauty.' - George Bernard Shaw

Reading is always fun. Be it fiction, comic or some good old classic, it is the most inexpensive form of entertainment that provides enduring pleasure. No wonder it maintains an apex status on list of favourite hobbies the world over.

Thanks to computers the number of people reading books has reduced considerably. Ironically, in an era where bookstores and libraries are passe, the internet has opened loads of avenues for the book lovers. Be it buying a book using the internet or reading an entire book online, the potential of what you can do with books online is infinite.

Read Books Online

Unbelievable but true, with GoogleBooks, you can read an entire book online. Austen, Plato, Johnson, Shakespeare...everyone is there - you name it and the website has their works.

• Log on to http://books.google.com/
• Find books classified under segments like fiction, non-fiction, Sci-Fi, classics etc.
• Click on the title of the book you wish to read.
• Without downloading the book, you can start reading it online.
• Use the 'search in this book' feature to look up any word or phrase from the book.
• Get links to the online stores from where you can order the book.

If you wish to download a book, go to http://gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page and download more than 25,000 books legally, for free.

Reflect

For critics who like to share their reviews with other readers and those bookworms who want to know what to expect from their next read, this one is an ideal place to write what you feel and read what you want to know. Log on to http://www.bookswellread.com/home.php and read or share book reviews.

There are plenty of other blogging websites that invite reader reviews as well. Go ahead and post your thoughts.

Share Books

A book lying on a shelf is wasted ammunition. Like money, it must be kept in constant circulation.

• Register your books at http://www.bookcrossing.com/, write down the unique number and web address on the book and then set it free to travel the world to find new readers.
• Log on to the website to track the book's journey around the world as it gets passed on.

Find your book mate

Come across singles who share your passion for reading. The website http://www.singlebooklovers.com/ publishes personal profiles of intelligent and cultured single men and women across countries who like books, reading, arts and culture. Get aquainted with bookworms and bibliophiles of all ages; all with a common love of books and reading.

Then there is http://www.anobii.com/, a website that provides tools to let like-minded people connect and strike meaningful conversations.

Get a recommendation

This one is fun. On http://whatshouldireadnext.com/, just enter the book or author you like and the website will analyse their database of real readers' favourite books to suggest what you could read next. Now isn't that freaky and interesting?

Social Networking

Look up a book and find its description, sale information and similar reads in just one click. Besides this, the website http://www.bookjetty.com/ is also a social utility that connects you with your friends' bookshelves and links you up with book stores and your local libraries.

Lazy Readers

If you are a lazy reader who likes to read less but effective stuff, then go to http://lazylibrary.com/ and look for books that are less than 200 pages. You'll be surprised at the kind of stuff you stumble upon here.

And for those of you who haven't picked up a book yet, get inspired!

Happy Reading!!