You've finally found an author you really like and head to the library to check out her other books. Unfortunately, she was a once-in-a-lifetime genius and only wrote the one book before moving to an island and setting up a holistic retreat for unfulfilled writers.

What's a starving bibliophile to do? If you trust the tastes of other readers (and really, who are you not to? Jonathan Franzen?) then head on over to What Should I Read Next.

Type in the name and author of that book and you'll be presented with lists from other readers who included that book among their favourites. You can then set up your own list of suggestions, which will in turn generate more accurate lists through cross-referencing. If it all sounds terribly complicated it isn't - even I managed to generate enough suggestions for a weekend of unbridled literary cavorting. Ahem.

The site won't replace the New York Times Review of Books as there are no actual reviews, but that's part of the DIY spirit. Log on and influence people's reading decisions and feel what Michiko Kakutani (head reviewer and arbiter of all things literary in New York) feels every time she scribbles on a napkin.

Thom Wong is a law student who spends an unreasonable amount of time online. His 40 bLinks column runs every Monday and Thursday on The Tyee. What's he all about? Click here.

For previous 40 bLinks, click here.