BooksWellRead - your free online book journal

About BooksWellRead

What is BooksWellRead?

BooksWellRead takes advantage of the internet as a place for capturing and sharing our thoughts about what we read. It is designed for all readers in mind -- readers of all types of books, of all ages, interests and backgrounds. It's a place for you to keep an online book journal, learn about books, and connect with a community of readers. As a beta version, the site is a work in progress. If you encounter bugs, please report them via tell us (you'll need to be logged in).

What makes BooksWellRead different?

BooksWellRead provides the platform for readers to capture a lifetime of reading - not just what books you've read, but what you thought about those books.

Here are six things that make BooksWellRead unique:

write what you want - entries don't have be 'reviews'
you can post more than one entry per book
you can save your entries as hidden so that other users can't see them
users can comment on other users' viewable entries
entries can be saved as having spoilers (details that give away the plot)
you can classify books as reference -- such as school texts, dictionaries, etc.

What is the goal behind BooksWellRead?

The goal of BooksWellRead is to be the online destination of choice for people who want to 'digest' what they read by capturing their thoughts in writing. BooksWellRead has been designed to be simple, fast, and easy to use. We hope you like it and tell others about it!!

By the numbers: 19642 books, 12042 entries, 5823 members

So membership is free?

That's right. However, members can play a big role by buying their books through BooksWellRead or any of our other online affiliates. Click on a link to one of these booksellers, buy a book (or something else, for that matter), and BooksWellRead will earn a small commission.

Adding to your BookShelf

What is a tag?

A tag is a single word descriptor that describes a book. You can give a book as many tags as you like (well, just about!). You might choose tags to describe the genre of the book, major themes, the setting of the book, why you read it, etc.

Tagging is the 'glue' that helps make the content on BooksWellRead accessible. Although you are free to tag your book with whatever terms you like, you might want to choose tags that you have submitted for other books, or choose tags that others have submitted for that book. That way, the content on BooksWellRead.com is that much more connected.

How should I enter a tag?

Separate tags with a single space (no comma or other punctuation). For multiple word phrases or terms such as 'New Brunswick' or 'Post 911', combine into one word - for example, 'NewBrunswick' or 'post-911'.

What are spoilers?

Spoilers are clues about a book's plot or ending. If your entry gives away the ending, you should check "major spoilers" when you save your entry so that other users are forewarned about what they are about to read. Spoilers typically apply only to fiction books.

Can I use HTML?

Yes, you can use HTML to spice up your entries, comments, profiles, etc. HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. Among other things, you can use HTML to easily bold, italicize or underline your text, and create hyperlinks. There are many online tutorials on HTML, including this one provided by W3Schools.com.

Can I add more than one entry per book?

You bet!

Privacy/Policy

What do you do with my email address?

BooksWellRead will not share your email address with anyone. Your email is required as part of registration so that we can send you a confirmation email with your username and password. We might also email you to update you about major site upgrades or problems the site is encountering. But don't worry, email from BooksWellRead will be very limited and non-soliciting.

Can I keep my entries private?

You sure can. Just save your entry as 'hidden' and only you will be able to see the entry - although other users will be able to see the entry title on certain pages.

What do you do about indecent content?

BooksWellRead will not not take responsibility for not hosting content submitted by any of its members that some users find offensive or indecent. However, if you come across any such content, please do not hesitate to notify us through tell us. BooksWellRead reserves the right to remove such content without prior notice to the member who submits it.

I've forgotten my password. Can I get another one?

If you've forgotten your password, click here.

Friends

What is BooksWellRead's friends system?

If you come across an entry that you like, you can add the writer as a friend. Members you choose as friends will be listed on the home page when you're logged in.

Feeds

What is a feed?

Wouldn't it be convenient if the latest content from all your favourite sites got compiled for you, instead of you having to surf from site to site to find it? This convenience does exist through the use of feeds.

Here's how it works. On www.bookswellread.com, like on many sites, you will see a little orange box like this on many of its pages. These are pages that are updated as new content is added by users. If you find a page that you would like to keep track of -- say, for example, a page about a particular book -- you can create a feed for this page by clicking on the orange box. When you click on the orange box, you are brought to a page with some funny looking text. What's important about this page is the url, or web address, at the top of the page. Copy the url and add it to your newsreader (also called an aggregator). It's your newsreader that compiles your feeds. There are many different versions of newsreaders, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications. Here's a list of aggregators on Wikipedia.org.

Once you have your newsreader up and running and have added feeds from your favourite sites, you can open up your newsreader and link to the latest content on these sites -- our mission accomplished!

What is RSS?

RSS is a family of web feed formats. There is some discussion as to what RSS stands for, but it most likely stands for 'Really Simple Syndication'.