Though I have used Goodreads briefly in the past for a quick book review, this week provided me the opportunity to make the site more interactive in several ways:
1) Join a community centered around reading
2) Test my knowledge with quizzes and trivia
3) Keep track of all the books I've read (at least that I can recall...) and all of the books I would like to read in the future in one place
4) Create challenges and reading goals to accomplish in 2016.
5) Curate content for myself, and others, based on common interests or themes such as genre, decade, author, recommendations, etc.
According to the information I have provided to Goodreads, these are my "most read authors"
I would not have guessed that David Sedaris would be at the top, and that may be because I could not remember all the material I have read by other authors. Curated lists such as these, no matter how surprising, could serve several purposes, and provide me with insight into what groups I may be interested in joining within the Goodreads community. (They could also tip a loved one off about what isle they should head down, should they intend to buy me a book for my birthday, just saying...) The most helpful thing about a list I can think of, is that it may give hints to where I should look next.
Goodreads has information about what other readers who also liked Kurt Vonnegut are reading: https://www.goodreads.com/author/similar/2778055.Kurt_Vonnegut
These are the books I am reading at the moment. I have set set a 2016 challenge for myself of reading 12 books (that's just one per month) and books for school or work do no count. I think I may actually reach this goal for the first time in a long time, and having a list of what I want to read next will hopefully help me to keep this momentum going.
If I keep this up long enough, I plan to join a book club. Goodreads has over 7000 to choose from, so if you like the idea of being part of a book club, but the local clubs don't seem to share your literary interests at all, this might be a better option for you. Let me know what you thought of Goodreads, what you're reading. If you have any recommendations please send them my way! Do you belong to a book club, or have another way of keeping track of what you're reading? Let me know in the comments below!
I was using the Goodreads app on my phone (before I became bogged down with grad school and no longer had time for pleasurable reading). I wasn't aware that the web version offered so many social tools and tricks. I'll have to look into it further when I get the time!
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the list above shows you like fantasy novel! Have you ever been interested in Warcraft novels?
ReplyDeleteTaehyeong,
ReplyDeleteI haven't read them, but I did just see the new film, and I felt like I was probably missing A LOT of information, so now I might just have to check them out. Thanks!
Jonathan,
I have not checked out the app yet, but I might be more likely to keep using it if I do, Thanks! I hope you get the time soon. I'm hoping to cross a lot of these off my list in the middle of August when school is out.