The revolution starts here, ladies and gentlemen; the revolution starts now. Or perhaps I should say that the revolutionary struggle in which we have all been engaged for some time has entered a new phase.

Today we're unveiling guardian.co.uk/books's latest incarnation, and with it the first of a set of new tools with which we'll hopefully be able to expand the discussion we've all been having about the books we love and the books we hate.

We'll still be covering the latest books news, interviewing the most exciting authors, featuring the best new fiction and – of course – the most thought-provoking blogposts and reviews. But from this point on we want to start a wider conversation. With our new books database, and our new lists and reader-reviewing tools, we're hoping that you'll help us open up new avenues into the wider, wilder world of literary culture – and launch us all on an adventure of discovery.

Our new search – powered by Nielsen Bookdata – will allow you to find the details of more than 8m books published in English. If we've already written about it, you'll find everything we have to say there. If we haven't, it's over to you: you can write a review; give a thumbs up or down with a star-rating; add the book to a list of your favourites. Or you can go to our tips, links and suggestions thread to tell us why it's a book we ought to be covering, and we'll see if there's anything more we can bring to the table. If you can't work out how to use any of the new tools, take a look at our FAQs page. If you're still unsure, go to our open thread and post your query, and someone in the books team or the community should be able to help. And if you remain baffled, drop us a line and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

A note of caution, and an appeal for help. This is the first time we've ever attempted something like this, and it is, of necessity, a work in progress; we're launching many new features today, but over the coming months we'll be adding more: forums, for instance, and places to talk about your favourite genres. In order for us to do the best we can with the new site, we need not only your thoughts on the books you're reading, but your thoughts on the site itself. If anything appears not to be working, or if your search is returning strange or unlooked-for results, please tell us. Equally, if you've any more general suggestions as to how we can make it better/make it do more, please email us, or post in the comments. As of now, and increasingly as the months and years go by, this will become a site we all build together. ¡Viva la Revolución!