Saturday, August 22, 2015

Do you use GoodReads?


I've been using GoodReads for a few years now and it has really expanded my reading horizons. I had tried (for a long time) to make LibraryThing work for me, but I kept coming back to the same problem - the website was unattractive, not user friendly, and not easily shared on social media. I didn't realize those things were as important to me as they are (well, user friendly yes). I thought I was just going to use it to keep track of books, but I was always behind in recording and tagging ... then I found GoodReads (insert angelic music here).

Reasons I love GoodReads

1. Follow my friends - it is easy to find friends from Facebook, email addresses, and simply searching in the website. I can see what they are reading, quickly add the books they like and recommend to my reading list, and we can have discussions about books. We've tried this in different formats and they are never very successful. It is a simple way to connect with existing friends over books.

2. Find new friends - this is one of my favorite and more recent developments, finding friend with similar reading tastes. This is the best way to get recommendations to books you'll like. My "real life" friends add books to my "To Read" list that challenge me to break out of my comfort zone, and my "online" friends help me find books I know I'll love.


3. Easy keep track of "To Read" books - I read book reviews ALL THE TIME for work, I get reading recommendations daily while at the reference desk, I'm always getting emails or adds for new books and it can be hard to keep track of it all. A coworker copies the front of the book and keeps it in a file, that works for her, GoodReads works for me. Plus many websites are integrating an "Add to my To Read List" button into their reviews and lists making it even easier to use from anywhere in the internet ... I hope to do this when I figure it out.

4. The App. I love my phone for so many reasons and my GoodReads app is a BIG one of those reasons. I can add books right when I start them, scan their ISBN codes to add them (LOVE that feature), I can add quotes that I find funny and update while reading. I don't read at my computer desk and never did book updates in the past, even when I really wanted to. The app has made using GoodReads so much easier.

5. Reading Goals - as a librarian I'd love to say I read all of the time, but I don't. Life gets busy and often times I'll go weeks without picking up a book. I hate it when that happens, but it does. However, having my Reading Goal helps me make reading a priority. Plus I can easily see what books I've recently read when updating this blog or BINGO.

6. Groups - I haven't used groups very successfully, but I did just find an awesome one where Ford (the car company) gives away audio books to start book discussions called the Ford Audiobook Club Group. The first book I got is really fantastic so far and totally free.

7. Listopia is indispensable as a librarian - with so many books and kids coming in with crazy requests, I'm always pulling up lists and helping kids find great books. I'm also always finding great things to add to my own reading lists ... what a brilliant tool.

8. Shelves - I don't use this feature all of the time, but it has been great for short reading lists, creating favorites lists for easy recommendations, and I see lots of people creating different kinds of shelves, it is something I plan to explore more in the future.

So come follow me, hang out, make some recommendations and be nerdy about books, because that is really what GoodReads is all about.

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