Goodreads, aka heaven for avid readers

For my first article in this category, I’m going to tell you about one of my favourite websites: Goodreads!

It’s a social network that is centred on reading and books, so of course I love it dearly. You can find friends and see what they are reading and which books they liked or didn’t like. Personally, I find that the most interesting side of the website is that it helps you choose the next book to devour. Their slogan says it all: “Meet your next favorite book!”

How does it work?

When you sign up, you have to choose your favourite genres and grade a certain number of books in order for the website to make suggestions based on your preferences. You then create a series of book shelves: already read, to read, etc. I often add to my “to read” bookshelf but I less often get the chance to switch them over to the “already read” shelves.

I’m currently working on my 2015 Reading Challenge: 15 books in one year. I’ve actually read 14 books already and it’s only September so I THINK I’ll manage to achieve my goal, but honestly, I really feel like I’ve been reading more since I’ve been on the website. Why, you ask? Because as soon as I finish a book, all I have to do is take a quick look at my wish list before choosing a new novel to send to my ebook. I know, ebooks are evil and real books are better (no need to preach to the choir, as they say) but when your flat is about as big as a shoebox and you never make it to the book store (despite absolutely loving going to the book store), well, Kindles are practical. So there.

Virtual reunions

Back to business: the social element of this website is quite something to behold. Even though I hardly ever look at the other profiles on the website, I feel like you get to know a different side of people when you know what they like to read. And above all else, when you’re trying to decide what book to read next and you’re not sure about the dramatic young adult novel with a goblin as the main character, the user comments are really helpful. (Ps: I love drama, young adult novels and goblins.)

I also rediscovered a childhood friend that I had lost touch of thanks to Goodreads. I noticed that she had read and enjoyed many of the same books as me. I remember that we had bonded over our love of Harry Potter when we were about 9 years old. Apparently personalities and preferences don’t change much when you grow up after all!

I strongly advise you to sign up on Goodreads if you would like to:

• Have a personalized reading list fully available at all times
• Discover new authors chosen according to books you have already read
• Read more! A lot more!

I have nothing negative to say about this website. What about you, are you on Goodreads too? Maybe we could connect there. You can find my profile here.