LibraryThing was featured in The New York Times two days ago. The article includes words from a LTer, Kathryn Havemann of Dayton, Ohio.

The article reveals that AbeBooks is a part-owner of LT. It happened that today I also received an e-mail from AbeBooks announcing a new feature on their Web site. BookHints uses data stored in LT to provide AbeBooks visitors with suggested reading prompts. From the e-mail:

We've got a new feature! It's like shopping for books with a personal literary advisor! Now when you search for a book, AbeBooks with the help of LibraryThing, will also drop you a hint - a BookHint that is!

BookHints are recommendations for similar and related books based on what you're looking for. By clicking on a book title from the Search Results page, you're taken to the Book Details screen where you'll see the BookHints icon letting you know that there are recommended titles. One click on a BookHints title and you're automatically taken to the search results for that book!

Currently, not all AbeBooks listings offer BookHints recommendations but you'll see more and more recommendations appearing throughout 2007!

Who are these "Book Lovers" recommending books? They're real people who love reading and who catalog and share their personal libraries on LibraryThing (www.librarything.com) and BookHints are taken from these personal libraries! BookHints generates recommendations based upon titles found on the bookshelves of like-minded readers who also own the book originally sought. This means that all BookHints are based on what others have read and are collecting, not simply on what you've bought or looked at. You may never need to ask for a book recommendation again - searching for books on AbeBooks can do it for you!