In late 1997, a man named Doug (no last name ever confirmed) posted a message in a public library suggesting the creation of a “booktrovert zone.” No one responded. But that didn’t stop us.
Within weeks, the first version of this website was launched from an upstairs bedroom next to a snake terrarium. We were told at the time that “everyone needed a homepage,” and this was ours. The mission was simple: bring readers together. Maybe offer them a badge.
Over the years, we added features: a blinking button, a sound file of someone turning a page, and the legendary Ghost of Mark Twain. Some of those features are still here today. Others were lost in the server migration of 2004, which we do not speak of.
Booktrovert.org has never been funded. It has never gone viral. It has never been fully indexed by Ask Jeeves. But it has survived. And in its own quiet way, it has continued to try.
We still believe in the idea: that books can bring people together. That a website doesn’t have to be perfect to be sincere. That sometimes the oldest dog in the pound knows the way home.
You may be looking for booktrovert.com, the new and professional site with proper marketing and user accounts. We admire them. We truly do. But this is booktrovert.org. And we’ve been here a long time.
Thank you for visiting. If you’d like to help, please sign our guestbook. Or just whisper a book title softly into the air and walk away. We’ll hear it.
Booktrovert.org — Still live. Still listening.