Something For Voracious Readers and Geeks Alike

It's very difficult to keep up with the now divided lives of the "bullies." One group is having a hectic schedule with their practice teaching and school per se, while the other lolls around with their too bummed out lives. Despite of it all, I, as a member of this beloved group, invite the bullies and everyone who’s reading this to try joining Shelfari.

Nope, this is not a paid advertisement for Shelfari but just a recently converted avid user of this website. Forgive my rudeness and allow me to introduce it to you. It is a website that let’s you have a virtual bookshelf wherein you can put books and lets you sort them out into categories like “I plan to read,” ”I’m reading now,” and “I’ve read.” Just like some networking sites, you can have friends within the website. You can also join different groups and discuss various things with different people online. You can take on challenges which are related with reading books. Take on these challenges and you’ll become an active reader in no time.

In the meantime, I can recommend one good group. It is called “The Challenge Reader” and they have a challenge this coming 2009 entitled “Pages for Pounds.” In this challenge, you will have to reduce your “To Be Read” books list by, of course, reading the books in your list. You will have to weigh the book you’ve finished reading and sum up the total weight of these books. Then, you’ll post it on the discussion thread and the group’s administrator/s will do a regular check on the thread. And the one with the heaviest weight of books will be the winner. I know, this is something only geeks like me and bookworms would do, but it’s really a good challenge to take on.

Another good group is for Harry Potter fans out there. You’ll be able to do some role-play as a Hogwarts student. They do the traditional “sorting” to know which house you’ll be, you can also join a class like Charms in which you’ll have lessons and homework to pass, gain house points and other Hogwarts-ish stuff.

So, even you’re just a lukewarm or voracious, slow or fast, whatever kind of reader you are, Shelfari will certainly be of some help and fun (I hope).