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We all know the difference between "searching" and "browsing." When we search, we're looking for something pretty specific. Maybe not an exact item, book, movie, shoe, etc., but something within a specific set of boundaries. Browsing is more... serendipitous. You go into a store -- let's say... a book store, shall we? -- and you wander around, picking up stuff that catches your eye... moving somewhat aimlessly... following a trail or two or not.

It's fun. And we find unexpected things this way. In many cases, though, the freedom we feel due to the unspecific nature of our quest is somewhat illusionary. Whomever is creating the space in which you browse has had a lot to do with what you find and how. "Staff Recommends" shelves, end-caps, bargain tables, posters, positioning... all these things combine to guide your browsing experience. Of course you still are in control; that's not the point. But neither are you randomly choosing from among an infinite number of materials in a random, uniform vacuum.

I'll give you an example. For a couple months, a couple years ago, I ended up buying a number of books that all had only one major thing in common: they all had bright, almost neon green covers. This was a fashion in cover design at the time, and after reading one that was good, I somehow was attracted to that color. And while the books in question weren't related... neither were they entirely dissimilar. Only certain kinds of authors and stories will be comfortable with a cover the color of radioactive lime.

Online, browsing is both more unfettered -- you can follow links from page to page and site to site very easily -- and less free. You can't jump as easily, let's say, from a page about sketching to one that has blank sketchbooks, unless the link is built in. In a live store environment, there is a greater chance for serendipity, because the "links" only have to be provided by physical proximity.

So... how to build interesting, serendipitous browsing experiences online? One way is to create a set of materials that don't, on the surface, have anything in common... like my electric green books (though, I guess, they only had something on the surface in common).

For example, the American Book Review recently created an awesome list of the "100 Best First Lines from Novels." They're all novels, yes... and many of them would probably make a list of "best novels" in general. But it's very interesting to move from book-to-book based on a criteria like "best first lines." You don't browse the same way as you do when you go by subject, author, time period, etc.

It's a way to induce directional browsing... an opportunity for planned serendipity.

I liked this particular list so much, I added it as a WorldCat.org list:

100 Best First Lines from Novels

Fun stuff. Happy browsing.

You've probably already noticed...but full-featured ratings and reviews are now available and fully functional. All the list errors Bob mentioned earlier should be fixed. Let us know if you're still seeing something unexpected. Here's a rundown of the new stuff. You can:

• Quickly rate items on a five-star scale
• Create and save drafts of your reviews
• Write a review in your preferred language

On your profile page, you'll see links to reviews you've published--as well as draft reviews that you're still working on. To read other people's opinions, look right below the five-star rating area on an item’s detailed record.

We'll add reviews from additional sources soon. For now, though, write a quick review of your favorite movie, book or article. On its detailed record, look for the “Review this item” link under the “Add to It” section.

Also new: Cover art added to lists

You may have seen full-color cover art on individual detailed records. Now you'll find cover art for your list items, too. For some reason, seeing all the covers makes me so happy. It's like it brings the books to life!

We've had a long spate of grey skies and dreary weather in my part of the world, but this morning I woke up to sunny blue skies. Something about having sunshine hit your eyelids first thing when you wake up...it is almost guaranteed to make you feel good. Maybe it's spring fever, but I'll take it, I'll take it!

So I was already thinking about springtime and our long-since-planned, waiting-to-be-enacted landscaping project in the backyard this morning. Last night my neighbor and I were talking about whether the price of oil would affect the price of our planned asphalt drive. He was certain the cost would go up over last year's quote.

So I had home projects on the brain when I logged into e-mail this morning. And what a nice coincidence I found, when my friend Kelly sent a note about her green attempts as a homeowner. Now she lives in a warmer climate than I--her Spring has already started! But her entries inspired me to look again at green landscaping options for our project.

Maybe you, too, will find some inspiration from these green lists on WorldCat. At some point I will get to move my digging from online sources to the soil...but until then it is fun to see what inspiration others have found in WorldCat. What color are your dreams?