An Ode to Goodreads

Have you heard about Goodreads?

If you have, sorry for this little moment of explanation for the non-Goodreaders. Goodreads is a site where you can keep track of the books you have read, create to-read book lists, follow authors, review books and read reviews, etc. If you haven’t checked it out, you should now.

So why do a post on Goodreads? Goodreads has changed my book loving life.

Flashback to 2009, here sits Moreland having finished a wonderful book, but angry because again she has read a series out of order.

Not again!

Blast it!! I read book three instead of book one because this series listed their book in alphabetical order on the inside of the cover instead of numerically! Why does this keep happening to me? Why must I constantly be troubled by reading books out of order and getting confused as to what book comes next! If only there was a way to find this out, a place I could go to…

Ugh, if only…

[Narrator voiceover] And as she sat in her room contemplating this, little did she know that her whole book loving life was about to change, in an instant with a click of the mouse.

So all dramatics aside, I don’t know about you but this has been a serious book problem with me growing up. I don’t know why publishers have to make it so ever-loving hard for us. The publisher decides to list them alphabetically, I end up reading book three or four first.

Not again!

They decide to do it by most recent publishing, same thing. It is so stinking annoying.

Why?

I don’t remember exactly how I came upon Goodreads, I think I was looking for a book and clicked on the link and came upon it, (I’m not 100% sure as this happened almost ten years ago), but whatever brought me there has made the last 10 book loving years fantastic!

With Goodreads I haven’t read a series out of order and actually get to understand the characters, the plot line, and the direction that the author intended to go.

With Goodreads I can track authors and see all they have written and get updates on what is coming. There are books my favorite authors have written that I had no clue about until I went on this site.

Since then I’ve been able to keep track of what I have read as well. And that is so helpful. I know it sounds weird, but everyday I’m at work-I work at a library-I run into people complaining about these same issues. What order to read it, what else has been written, did I read this already?

We have people “brand” books, make some kind of note or symbol to show they’ve read it and I tell them all about Goodreads.

Maybe you’ve finished a book or series and don’t know what to read next? I have parents ask me that all the time, and the answer? Goodreads. For every book in the upper right hand corner there is a suggestion of 18 others that people who have read that have liked. AMAAZING!

You never have to feel this way with Goodreads!

Plus the reading challenge? I started in 2011, and love creating a book reading goal and reaching it!! And I love how it lists out how many books you’ve read that year, the longest, shortest, most read by others, least, etc.

Plus, you can enter cool giveaways for awesome books. One of my favorites I won in a giveaway, Theft of Swords: Book One and Two of the Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan.

You can join groups, connect with other readers, make friends, etc.

So I was not paid to do this, or receiving any compensation at all. I just was feeling nostalgic and grateful and wanted to just let Goodreads know how I so very much appreciate all the work they have done.

For more book loving posts, go to Literary Tea Parties

For more Goodreads, go to A Quest of Swords and Wizards: The Crown Conspiracy

My Go-To Juice

Some people run on coffee

Some people run on chocolate

I run on books!

They help through everything:

Whether sad or stressed:

Bored:

Yep:

For more book-filled posts, go to BYOB: Bring You Own Book

 

It’s 5 O’ Clock Somewhere

 

After all:

Yep:

For more book-filled posts, go to Period Days are Reading Days

For more on L. M. Montgomery, go to Should We Pity Miss Bates or Strive to Be Her?

You Can Never Have Enough

That is false:

You can never have too many books:

You have no more room? Just make more space! Get creative, artsy, more shelving!

Only if they are bookshelves, Mr. Collins.

Yes, book lovers are never satisfied with what they have, they always need more.

But we book lovers wouldn’t have life any other way.

 

More book-filled posts, go to Rainy Days Are Reading Days

For more on Mr. Collins, go to You Put the Jedi in Pride & PreJEDIce

I Must Stay Strong

So the other day I went to the bookstore, and you know how much I love that.

But this time I had a plan. I had far too many books at home that I had yet to read; so I wasn’t going to buy myself anything, just birthday shop for my friend.

But then when I started looking I found all these books half off.

So I grabbed a bunch I liked along with some potentials for my friend. But then I looked at the bargain books. They were beautiful hardcover classics and oh, my I wanted them all.

So there I was with stacks of books, looking and wanting them all.

Nothing else I seem to have this problem, except with books.

But then reality hit me. I already needed more shelf space, and really have books spilling everywhere.

So I did one of the hardest things, I had to put some of the books back.

Instead I bought one book, a selection of stories from One Thousand and One Nights, in a beautiful hardcover book for only $8.

I then bought a copy of Tarzan of the Apes for $2.50; a steal of a deal.

But then I had to do something with all the books I wasn’t taking home. So I stacked them on top of each other and carried them around the store putting them back. One of the employees saw me and asked if I needed a cart, but said no I was putting things back. He was worried about me carrying so many. But I was like I work in a library, I do heavy lifting like this all the time.

Because you know, that’s how I roll.

For more book-filled posts, go to One Hot Date

For more on bookstores, go to Walk My Way