Sitting back and reading a great book is one of life's pleasures. (Dudarev Mikhail / Shutterstock.com)
As the weather cools down in the Northern hemisphere, curling up with a book seems like the ideal way to kick off the winter season. There are millions of quality books to read out there, so how do you go about finding your next best read? You can start by taking the Goodnet quiz to help you discover the good doing book that you must read today; or you can read below and get to know these quirky and creative initiatives that are determined to feed your inner bookworm.
1. WHICHBOOK
THE LOW DOWN: This unique website helps you find the book to suit the mood, emotion, book length or literature style that you're after.
IN DEPTH: WhichBook offers a combination of dual factors like happy vs sad and long vs short, complete with a gradient slider to accurately gauge which book will tickle your fancy. After filling in your exact preferences, the results page offers an array of different titles, plus short synopses to satisfy any book craving. What makes WhichBook stand out is that it offers the option to borrow books from the local library or purchase via Amazon.
2. ZOOBEAN
THE LOW DOWN: Geared to the kiddies, Zoobean is a busy parent’s best friend, helping find the books that exactly suit kids' tastes.
IN DEPTH: The books on the site are gathered by a team of experts-slash-parents, and recommended by Zoobean users. What makes the site particularly intuitive is that it filters books by format, age, genre, language, topic and even character background.
3. CALL ME ISHMAEL
THE LOW DOWN: Inspired by the iconic opening line of American writer Herman Melville’s book Moby Dick, the website offers a platform to celebrate books and the spoken word in a simple yet original way - by leaving a voicemail.
IN DEPTH: To experience the site, dial up Ishmael and leave an anonymous voicemail about a book you love and a personal story. Ishmael then transcribes and shares at least one caller’s story every day resulting in a collection of intimate book reviews. Browse the diverse reviews to find some inspiration about which book you should delve into next.
4. BOOKS AS THERAPY
THE LOW DOWN: Founded on a strong belief in the therapeutic benefits of reading, the website aims to put you in touch with books that will be helpful when facing specific challenges.
IN DEPTH: Book selections are broken down into six categories – anxiety, work, self, love, politics and free time. Books as Therapy prompts you to pick a phrase that applies to you, and then suggests a "therapeutic" book.
5. UNBOUND
THE LOW DOWN: Taking crowdfunding to a different level, Unbound is the place where writers pitch ideas for books and supporters get to choose which ones get written.
IN DEPTH: Putting power into the hands of book lovers, Unbound users can not only see their favorite books get published, but can also reap the benefits of going to launch parties or having a tete-at-tete with their favorite author. For those searching for the best books out there, the site offers recently Unbound published books which can be purchased in ebook form or hard cover.
6. THE RORY GILMORE READING CHALLENGE
THE LOW DOWN: The hit TV show The Gilmore Girls featured brainy girl Rory and her wacky mother Lorelai as they both experienced life’s ups and downs. One hallmark of the show was that Rory was a studious bookworm - she was filmed reading 339 books over the course of seven seasons. The user-generated online quiz, The Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, wants to see how many of Rory’s books you have read.
IN DEPTH: Rory’s book range is vast with classics like Jane Eyre and Gone With the Wind to modern best-sellers like Everything is Illuminated and Kitchen Confidential. Have fun testing your literary prowess, or glean some inspiration from Rory’s extensive book selection.
