I've never used Bibliophil so can't answer any questions about it. However, I started entering my books on LibraryThing a while back. It is a great site with lots of information but I have too many books and didn't want to take the time to continue. Maybe someday.....

Anyway, you might want to look at LibraryThing just in case.

Here is a link that might be useful: LibraryThing

Sheri, I haven't used Bibliophil in several months because when I've tried to enter new books I get nothing but a white section. Like you, I tried emailing to notify the moderator of the problem, but got no response.

I have a LibraryThing account. At first I liked it but lately it seems too complicated -- too fragmented, too compartmentalized, just too much of everything. I like Bibliophil when it's working right because it's relatively simple...and FREE! I especially like the Bibliophil feature of keeping a yearly running count and what years in which I read certain books. I think you can do that on LibraryThing, but I haven't been willing to climb the learning curve as to how to use it.

I also tried goodreads, which is free, but it hasn't pleased me as much as I hoped. It seems no one site has everything I want!

Sheri, I have followed your reviews on Bibliophil for years now. I will miss them if Bibliophil goes poof! If you migrate to another site, please let us know where to find your reviews if you continue to write them!

Friends, I used to use Bibliophil but switched to goodreads at www.goodreads.com I like it because it is easy to navigate and easy to see what others are reading and I can place books in any number of folders for cross-referencing plus I can review them and see what others have said about the book.

If you want to give it a try, I'll put the link below. This link will take you to my page on goodreads, not the home page.

PAM

Here is a link that might be useful: My page on goodreads

Rats! Frieda, I was afraid of that. I'm getting that white screen too, and nobody replies to my emails. I love everything about Bibliophil, it fits my needs perfectly, so I was desperately hoping it might just be *me* and not be broken across the board. Drat and double drat! (And thank you for your kind words about my book reviews -- I really enjoy that part of it.) I've found that I can add books to my account if I find them in other people's libraries and add from there, but nothing else works. Given my reading habits it would be almost impossible to work it that way, anyway. *SIGH*

PAM and Frances, many thanks for the recommendations for GoodReads and LibraryThing -- I will have to check them out.

I used Bibliophil for several years, but eventually gave up. The site just seemed too inconsistent and unreliable. I am interested to hear that there are other similar sites which are easier to use.

Sheri, I thought it was just me, because I noticed that you were still entering new books and writing reviews for several months after I started having the problem. I can read and access most everything else, but without the ability to add books to my own library the primary purpose is defeated.

It makes me sad to lose Bibliophil, if indeed it's sputtering out. It was the pioneering site, but for some reason the developers let it slide (I gather it was a sidecar project for them). Then when LibraryThing was started there was a mass exodus, it seems, from Bibliophil. LT is more sophisticated, no doubt about it, but I guess it depends on what you want: lots more bells & whistles and slickness but, also, with all the complications those features add versus relatively simple and modest. If, as timallan says, Bibliophil's managers were more consistent and reliable, it would be all that I need.

Goodreads has some nice features, and it's easier than LT, in my opinion. I use it, but not as much as I have Bibliophil. If you choose to use goodreads, let me warn you about accepting "friendships" with goodreads authors. Their importunate requests for me to consider reading and reviewing their books made me delete those so-called friendships.

PAM, your link takes us to your page but it says your account is private and only "friends" can view it.

Frieda, Bibliophil continued to work for me through the end of August. After that, I could no longer add books. I did manage to find the Dan Brown book on another user's library page and added it from there, but other than that, nothing.

They did go through a rough patch a few years back, then pulled it together again. I guess I'm hoping that happens again. I do see that other users have added books recently, so it must still be working for some people. I was even able to register a new account today, though once it was established I still couldn't add any books to it. I guess I'm just not ready to give up yet, despite the loss of functionality (lots more sighing!).

Thanks for the heads up re the goodreads author friendships -- if I wind up there, I'll let you know.

Frieda, thanks for the goodreads update. I forgot that I had changed the setting. The setting has been changed back so the link should work so anyone can view my page should they be interested or curious about goodreads.

I am a former bibliphil user and I switched to goodreads as soon as I found it. I've found it to be fun, user-friendly, and most importantly, it seems to be set up by a reader for readers. I've never used Library Thing so can offer no opinion nor comparison. Good luck to all who are searching for a new site.
PAM

I visited goodreads for the first time yesterday, after reading this thread. I liked it immediately. I will check out LibraryThing.

For a while I was addicted to answering the Trivia questions at goodreads. But after forty-three jillion questions about the Harry Potter and Twilight books, my enthusiasm waned. I started skipping those questions, not realizing that when I did it was bringing my average down.

I contributed several questions of my own and it was fun to create them, but the feedback was not good: it seems that many thought my questions were about too obscure books and were difficult, very difficult, or really really difficult. One of my questions is about the setting of Joe David Brown's novel Paper Moon: Was it set in Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, or Missouri? The answer is Alabama because I am referring to the book -- after all it's a trivia quiz at a book-reading site -- but most people choose Kansas because they have only seen the film where the setting was changed to that state. I knew it was a bit of a trick question, but I didn't know that people could get so irate when tricked! Then I learned that some participants have learned a way to cheat, and that's how they can answer 20,000 questions (roughly) with 99% accuracy. Sheesh! I gave up.

I also liked the group "What's the Name of That Book?" -- at first. I was able to identify nine or ten books for people and it thrilled me that I could help and the queriers were pleased. However, I have gotten very little response to my own queries. I guess that once again it's the too-obscure thing. Most of the questions seem to me to be about fantasy/sci-fi/romance and YA titles -- genres that I know very little about but are obviously the most popular.

Every site has its good and bad points. I was quite thrilled with goodreads in the beginning; but once the newness wore off, I began to go days and weeks and months without visiting it. I haven't yet got my library fully catalogued, and it's in a state of chaos -- unlike Pam's neatly tagged and well-reviewed library -- so I won't provide a link so you all can view it until I make it presentable. :-) I'd still say, though, that goodreads' good points outweigh its bad.

Well, after I tell you all that you can't see my goodreads library, I remember that I keep running up against that very thing, "Private" libraries, at goodreads; and it quite irks me! I'm guilty of hypocrisy. I understand that some folk may have books that they don't want others to know about it; or they make their libraries private so they won't get unsolicited comments and friendship requests; or, like me, their catalogue is a work in progress; or maybe they're just shy...I don't know. But I like to look at other people's libraries and I'm disappointed when I can't. And when I read a review that impresses me, I like to look up that person's library; so when I hit that stone wall that says "Private," I sigh.

I have never heard of Bibliophil, but I can vouch for goodreads. It is a good site. It has some screwballs but then what site doesn't.

Friedag-you are too funny. I suspected the trivia game was rigged so I do not compete. I play it for my own edification. Some silly people will say only the questions that are easy and that they know the answers to are good. Your question about "Paper Moon" is a very good one, even if it is tricky. You showed them up and that is why they were irritated.

The Potter and Twilight people take over every site until a newer one comes along. I am surprised that Reader's Paradise does not have Potter/Twilight cliques. Did it at one time?

When you get your library in order I hope you will let us see it. I know what you mean about the private libraries at goodreads; there are a lot of them.

Oh, yes, we had load of Harry Potter threads for a while; that was a good few years ago. The trick was to just ignore them. I don't think we've ever had a bunch of Twilight nerds - though there is a thread discussing Twilight here.

I personally don't use an on-line method to keep my books indexed - I use Readerware, which I find very satisfactory.

Martin, thanks for the mention of Readerware, it looks like it might fit my needs quite nicely. I've only just skimmed the website, but I will take a closer look when I have more time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Readerware