Amazon.com has agreed to acquire Shelfari, a social network for book lovers, for an undisclosed sum.
Shelfari allows users to build a virtual book shelf to display books they have read or want to read, along with the ability to provide reviews and ratings for viewing by others. The site also helps users connect with each other to form groups or provide book suggestions.
Josh Hug, Shelfari's CEO, says the site will benefit from Amazon's additional resources and expertise in building a platform where users can share ideas.
Richard McManus, a blogger at Read Write Web, notes that Shelfari has an "innovative" user interface that allows users to display and read contextual data about individual books.