September State of the Thing

LibraryThing: State of the Thing Dear {NAME}, Welcome to the September 2017 State of the Thing. Today, join us for a treasure hunt, LibraryThing turned twelve, and help us decide what we'll be reading next for One LibraryThing, One Book. If you'd rather receive a plain-text version, [edit your email preferences](. You can also [read it online](. Our State of the Thing archive lives [here](. You can like LibraryThing on [Facebook]( and follow [@LibraryThing]( on Twitter for up-to-the-minute site news and updates. Ahoy, Mateys! LibraryThing Treasure Hunt the [treasure hunt](! As many of you know, September 19th is [International Talk Like a Pirate Day](. We're marking the occasion with a treasure hunt! The quest for the Dread Pirate Spalding's treasure is back on. Starting today— Tuesday, September 19th—the hunt begins. It will end approximately 48 hours later, on Thursday morning (9am Eastern). [» Go join the treasure hunt!]( Follow the link above to see the clues. Each clue corresponds to a page somewhere on LibraryThing. Visit one of those pages, and you'll see a message pop up indicating that you've found a piece of the treasure! Find 12 pieces before the hunt ends, and you'll be automatically entered into a drawing for some fabulous LibraryThing swag prizes (T-shirts! Tote bags! What a bounty!). So, if nautical nonsense be something you wish, brush up on your sea chanteys, and set sail for adventure! Come boast about your loot on [Talk](. For extra fun, our past voyages have included translating all of LibraryThing into [Pirate]( and lists of our favorite [sea-faring media](. LibraryThing's 12th Anniversary August 29th, LibraryThing reached the ripe old age of twelve whole years! To celebrate, a few of us got together for a little cataloging race, putting our three cataloging methods head-to-head-to-head: the [LT mobile app](, a [CueCat scanner](, and the human hand (via the [Add Books page](). See who won (spoiler alert: it's the dog) on our [blog post](, or join the celebration on [Talk](. One thing is for sure—however you like to catalog, we're happy you're here. LibraryThing wouldn't be the same without every single one of our members. Thanks for being here with us! Group Read Feedback Our One LibraryThing, One Book (OLOB, for short) discussion of [Homo Deus]( is on-going—that's the beauty of an online book club: discussion never has to end! But I'm always trying to look ahead to the next best thing for us all to read. To that end, I'd like your help! I've got a general feedback thread going [here](, where you can post your thoughts and reflections on OLOB as a whole. I've also created a few specific polls that I'll use to help guide the next steps of our selection process for the books to come: - Should we read [fiction](? - Should we read [non-fiction](? - Should we read a [particular genre](? Your thoughts are much appreciated! Talk of the Thing [One Hundred Sears of Solitude: Ruin a book in one letter.]( This meme has been running through all our various feeds for a little while now, but I'm continually impressed with what LTers have come up with. [This thread]( is good for a laugh, and a great place to exercise your wordy wit! [Legacy Library: Vivien Leigh](. Actress Vivien Leigh (of Gone with the Wind fame) has a number of her books going at auction near the end of the month. Luckily, the auction descriptions give us enough detail to do some cataloging! If you're interested in helping catalog Vivien Leigh's books, join the discussion [here](. [The ugliest book you own.]( They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but we know it happens. On this thread, members are sharing pictures of the ugliest, oddest book covers in their collections. There are some funny designs out there! Share yours on [Talk](. [Facebook: Favorite literary villains.]( Who are your favorite villains of the written word? Tell us all about it on [Facebook](. TinyCat News [TinyCat]() is the online catalog for small libraries, created by LibraryThing. It turns your existing LibraryThing account into a simple, professional, web-based catalog. We're here to answer your TinyCat questions via email at any time: [tinycat@librarything.com](mailto:tincyat@librarything.com). Stay tuned to our [Facebook]( and [Twitter]( pages for more announcements, or see a recorded webinar from July on our [YouTube Channel](. New Tiny Tutorials - [Your call number system]( Check out our [Tiny Tutorials]( and [LibraryThing for TinyCat Users]( series. Every other week, Kristi highlights a different feature, and walks you through how to use it in 30 seconds or less. Weekly Webinars We also offer free, weekly webinars giving an overview of TinyCat every Wednesday, at 1pm Eastern. Join us for our next one, this Wednesday, August 30th, at 1pm Eastern. Head over to [this link]( at that time, and look for the TinyCat Webinar. If Wednesday at 1pm doesn't work for you, let us know—we'll be happy to schedule a session for you. Free Books: Early Reviewers are not currently signed up for [LibraryThing's Early Reviewers]( program. You are missing out! Early Reviewers offers free books to members—about 100 titles a month! Since 2007, we've given out over 160,000 books. The catch? Publishers want your honest review. How you review a book won't help or hurt your chances of winning books in the future, but not reviewing your winning will. [» Sign up for Early Reviewers]( The September batch of [Early Reviewers]( books features 3,245 copies of 91 different titles. The deadline to request a free book is Monday, September 25th at 6pm, Eastern. Look for the October batch around the 2nd. The most requested books so far from the September batch: More free books: Member Giveaways any given time, there are hundreds of books available from our Member Giveaways program. It's like Early Reviewers, but isn't limited to select publishers—any author or member can post books. [Request books, or offer your own](! Hot titles this month - [Norse Mythology]( by Neil Gaiman - [A Gentleman in Moscow]( by Amor Towles - [The Fifth Season]( by N.K. Jemisin - [The Woman in Cabin 10]( by Ruth Ware - [The Underground Railroad]( by Colson Whitehead - [Hillbilly Elegy]( by J.D. Vance - [Homegoing]( by Yaa Gyasi - [Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind]( by Yuval Noah Harari - [Everything, Everything]( by Nicola Yoon - [Commonwealth]( by Ann Patchett That's it for this month. I'll see you all in October! Questions, comments, ideas? Send them my way. —Loranne (loranne@librarything.com) WHY YOU GOT THIS: At some point you signed up for LibraryThing's monthly "State of the Thing" email. If you'd like to unsubscribe, [edit your profile preferences](. This message was sent to {NAME}. Edit your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from future emails](.