(AMZN) Amazon to Acquire Goodreads

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) has announced that it will acquire Goodreads, a book recommendation site that helps its readers to find and share books of their choice, for an undisclosed sum. Launched in Jan 2007 by Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Chandler, Goodreads allows users to freely search for books and other reading materials. It allows users to add books to their shelves and also write reviews. It enjoys a steady following on social networking sites such as Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and others. Currently, it has 16 million members with 525 million books added to their shelves and 23 million reviews written to date (as mentioned on the website). Goodreads brings a platform that will help Amazon understand what readers like to read, which could further help its book-selling business. The acquisition