Amazon

Amazon announced today it was acquiring popular book-centric social network Goodreads. What does this mean for the 16 million users and 30,000 book clubs currently on Goodreads? In a letter posted to the site's blog, founder Otis Chandler says the active community that created book friends and fans around the world isn't going anywhere, though integrating the Goodreads platform with Amazon's Kindle is now a "top priority."

For ebook readers, that could mean the possibility of seamlessly posting book reviews through Kindle or adding just-purchased books from Amazon to bookshelves. Not all are excited by the prospects, though, as several Goodreads users commented on the blog post to express their disappointment with the corporate ownership.

Member Mustafa said, "I get it, you need money. But I hope Amazon does not hinder the ability to buy books from other sites and prevent competition." On the literature website BookRiot's Facebook page, many Goodreads users had a negative reaction to the news. "Yes, it does affect how I feel about Goodreads. How can it continue to be objective regarding book reviews?" said Marjorie Wertz. However, several posters did greet the news with excitement at the chance to have the Goodreads experience on Kindle.

Whether or not you care who owns Goodreads or how it'll change with this acquisition, there are several other book social networks we've come to love as well. Discover them below, and share with us which is your favorite (and, ahem, some sci-fi book recommendations are always welcome!).

• Anobii — Latin for "bookworm," Anobii allows you to embed your virtual bookshelf from the site to a personal website, so you can share your current reads without even having to worry about social media plug-ins.
• Bookish — Need a book recommendation? Bookish is your source. As you would fine-tune a music station on Pandora by adding more musicians or specific songs, Bookish lets you input up to four books when making its next literary reference to you.
• Shelfari — Already owned by Amazon, Shelfari allows users to sign in with an Amazon ID to add notes to a book's page. We love the "Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis" and the option to hide spoilers.

The excitement of the Oscars nears, and while predictions are pouring in, you still have time to catch the honored movies online before they go down in film history. Though many best picture nominees, including Amour, Les Misérables, Django Unchained, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, and Zero Dark Thirty aren't yet available for digital purchase, there are plenty of other Oscar-nominated flicks to watch before Sunday's event.

• Argo — Nominated for best picture, Argo follows Ben Affleck's CIA agent character as he must free American diplomats from Iran during the Iranian Revolution. Watch the film on Google Play ($4 rent), Amazon Instant ($15 buy), or iTunes ($5 HD rent, $20 HD buy).
• Anna Karenina — Based on the classic novel by Leo Tolstoy, the film adaptation of Anna Karenina is nominated for best costume design. Available on Google Play ($5 rent, $13 buy), Amazon Instant ($5 rent, $13 buy), and iTunes ($6 HD rent, $15 HD buy).
• Brave — The Scottish princess who refuses to follow tradition and pick a suitor is up for best animated feature. Watch the Pixar film on Google Play ($4 rent, $15 buy), Amazon ($4 rent, $15 buy), and iTunes ($5 HD rent, $20 HD buy).
• Beasts of the Southern Wild — This fantastical bayou tale of a 6-year-old girl with a wild imagination has snagged best picture, best director, best actress, and best adapted screenplay nominations. Watch on Google Play ($5 rent, $13 buy), Amazon Instant ($4 rent, $13 buy), and iTunes ($6 HD rent, $15 HD buy).
• Flight — Denzel Washington is up for best actor for his role as a pilot that makes a miraculous landing. Available on Google Play (45 rent, $13 buy), Amazon Instant ($5 rent, $13 buy), and iTunes ($6 HD rent, $15 HD buy).
• Life of Pi — The surreal tale of survival based on a bestselling book is in the running for best picture, best director, and best adapted screenplay. Watch the film on Google Play ($15 HD buy), Amazon Instant ($15 HD buy), and iTunes ($15 HD buy).

Where to watch more films being honored on Sunday, including James Bond and a video game bad guy turned good after the break.

Independent films were once rare, obscure gems reserved for select theaters in big cities — but, alas, it's 2013 and times have changed! Ahead of this Saturday's Film Independent Spirit Awards, which begins at 10:00 p.m. EST on the IFC channel, catch up on the best feature, best director, and best screenplay nominees on iTunes or Amazon Instant Video.

Digital high-definition copies of these artist-driven films can be rented (iTunes users have 30 days and Amazon rentals range from 24 to 72 hours) or bought, and viewed on a computer, tablet, or (if you're really dedicated) smartphone. Take a look at these independent titles that will tug at your heartstrings, make you laugh out loud, and provoke your thoughts, and then tell us your predictions for this year's Spirit Awards.

• Beasts of the Southern Wild — This fantastical bayou tale of a six-year-old girl with a wild imagination will move you. Available on iTunes ($6 to rent, $15 to buy) and Amazon ($4 to rent, $13 to buy).
• Moonrise Kingdom — The summer of 1965 changed the lives of two outcast twelve-year-olds who, off the coast of New England, run away into the wilderness. Available on iTunes ($5 to rent, $20 to buy) and Amazon ($1 to rent, $15 to buy).

Watch more indie films, including a movie from the directors of Little Miss Sunshine and a story starring one very handsome Gael Garcia Bernal.

If friends and family are requesting your last-minute gift wish lists, help them bypass the stress and pass along a digital wish list of dream presents. Have them use these tools to ensure the gifts they're jonesing for this year end up in your e-shopping cart. Of course, they work for hinting at what you'd like to see under the tree as well.

• Pinterest — Already spending hours on Pinterest? Pin with purpose and make a personal wish list board filled with ideas to direct moms and loves ones. While you're at it, track products and DIYs a boyfriend, parent, or friend might like with individual boards for each.
• Etsy Wishlists — For the DIY and vintage enthusiast, use Etsy's gift recommendation app, which plugs into Facebook, to discover the unique finds your friends are hearting.
• Amazon Wish List — As one of the biggest stores on the Internet, you're likely to find everything on Amazon. Search for lists by your recipient's name to see the electronics, DVDs, and books they're craving.
• MyRegistry — Add a MyRegistry button to a web browser and add items from around the web to your registry account. It works just like a normal store registry you might use for a wedding, and items are checked off as they're purchased. That way, if grandma already bought you the coffeemaker from Crate & Barrel, mom can move onto another gift.

Still haven't decided which tablet or ereader is best for mom and dad? Amazon's offering a sweet little deal today hoping to win you over on the Kindle Fire HD side. Today only, take $50 off any 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD, including both the WiFi version and the 4G device.

The WiFi 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD starts at $299 for 16GB, and the 4G tablet starts at $499 for 32GB. Drop that price by $50 using the promo code FIREHD89 during checkout.

If the battle of the seven-inch tablet has you leaning Amazon, the Kindle Fire is seeing a sweet little price drop this Cyber Monday. The Kindle Fire with ads is down $30 to $129. Enter FIREDEAL at checkout.

The 8GB Kindle Fire holds up to 80 apps, plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books, with unlimited backup in Amazon's cloud storage. Still deciding which tablet to buy? We weigh the pros and cons of the Kindle vs. the Nook.

Five years ago today, Amazon pushed reading into the digital age with the release of the Kindle. It certainly wasn't the first ereader to hit the market, but thanks to the online retailer's huge online book library, it became, arguably, the most popular.

As the Kindle moved from its e-ink basic edition to keyboard model to touchscreen, and then to an app and later HD color display tablet, it's become a ubiquitous accessory during a morning commute, amid airport travel, or even on a lazy Sunday morning. So what's happening on the screens of all those Kindles? In celebration of its fifth birthday, take a look at the bestselling Kindle books of all time.

5. Fifty Shades Darker
4. Mockingjay
3. Catching Fire
2. The Hunger Games

Think you know the top-selling Kindle book of all time? Follow the break to see the number-one Kindle book.

Shopbop has revealed plans to start a menswear retail website early next year that will cater to the "cool" guys who are underserved by the current spectrum of men's sites.

A Shopbop spokeswoman told WWD that the site would be "both approachable and serve as a destination to educate and engage guys on fashion and style. While others are serving the fashion converted or the super straightforward, we believe there is an opportunity to serve the guys who live in between these polarities.”

The menswear blog Fourpins broke the news when it discovered a listing for a men's divisional merchandise manager on the Shopbop careers page. The listing describes the target customer as "modern, cool guys who are looking for the fashion that works in his individual style." This means offering an "appropriate mix of designer" options, with high-end contemporary labels and premium denim brands sprinkled in. WWD nodded to Rag & Bone and Alexander Wang as brands that could possibly be featured on the site, so it wouldn't be surprising to see brands that operate in the same forward-thinking ethos, like A.P.C., Mark McNairy, Levi's Made and Crafted, BLK DNM, and John Varvatos, in the mix.

But whatever the site's offering will include, that Shopbop is starting a men's site speaks to its parent company Amazon's desire for a greater market share in the fashion space. Amazon recently started featuring high-fashion model Chanel Iman in its seasonal campaigns, and this month the company announced that it would set up a 40,000-square-foot fashion studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Photo via Alexander Wang

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• Erin Heatherton and Leonardo DiCaprio have called it quits. "There's no bad blood," the source said. "They still care about each other a lot." In the 10 months they were together, the duo weren't photographed together much, but they did vacation in Australia late last year. [Us Weekly]
  

• French actor Gaspard Ulliel has been cast as Yves Saint Laurent in a biopic that will be directed by Bertrand Bonello. The yet-to-be-named film apparently does not have Pierre Bergé's approval, but another YSL film about Bergé's relationship with Saint Laurent, directed by Jalil Lespert, does. [Vogue UK]
  

• Karl Lagerfeld will release a line of watches, priced between $150 and $595, on Feb. 28. [Design Scene]
  

• Producers for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, which is being held in a National Guard building in New York this Wednesday, helped the Guard respond to Hurricane Sandy by letting the guardsmen use their generators and rented space and even setting up an Internet connection. [Fashionista]
  

• British label Ossie Clark is set for a comeback. It's been renamed Ossie Clark London, and its first new collection — with pieces priced between $80 and $300 — will appear in 45 Debenhams stores across the UK starting in February 2013. [Vogue UK]
  

• Amazon is setting up a 40,000-square-foot fashion studio in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood, where it will shoot clothing for its main website as well as for online retailers Shopbop and MyHabit, which it also owns. [Racked]