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Simplest Ways to Make the Best of Goodreads

Are you on GoodReads?  If you're trying to learn more about a topic or advance in your career, reading can be the path to your success. Goodreads is the place to track your reading progress and keep a list of the books that you'd like to read.

What Is GoodReads? From their website:

“Goodreads is the largest site for readers and book recommendations in the world. We have more than 9,600,000 members who have added more than 340,000,000 books to their shelves. A home for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, GoodReads users recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they’ve read and would like to read, find their next favorite book, form book clubs and much more. GoodReads was launched in January 2007.”

Reading is essential if you want to be a writer. From Stephen King, “If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

What can you do on GoodReads? Let’s take a look, if you are a reader, you will love this! You can find just the right book easily if you are a reluctant reader.

1. Set up a profile on Goodreads

Very basic information, yes, however; a crucial thing that many overlook when joining a new site. I know how it goes, you go to check out a new website, don’t know if you will like it so you skip the profile step. Then you never go back to it. Break this habit and create your profile at the beginning, you can always update it later.

There are two kinds of profiles: reader and authors. This is my author profile on Goodreads.

goodreads profile

2. Find your friends or make new ones

This allows you to connect with your friends from any of these networks, or you can invite people via email.

3. Add your favorite books

Click “My Books” in the top navigation menu and add away! You can add books into read, currently reading, to read categories or edit your bookshelf to add your own categories.

There are additional categories of feature, sortable, sticky, exclusive and recommendations.

4. Find book recommendations

You can check many places for recommendations including a feature called “ask for recommendations” which sends a request to your GoodReads friends. Very cool!

5. Rate books to get better recommendations

Once you rate twenty books, GoodReads will begin making recommendations for you based on your own ratings. I need to work on this section myself.

6. Find awesome quotes

I love the quotes on GoodReads. You can sort by keyword or author and save your favorites.

7. Add some of your favorite quotes

You can add quotes that you like to share with others which is thoughtful.

8. Join or start a discussion group

They have recently active groups and featured groups such as The Perks of Being a Bookworm: A friendly place to discuss books and everything about them. We have monthly fiction group reads, bi-monthly non-fiction group reads, regular recommendation swaps between members and a bi-monthly ‘Broadening Your Horizons’ section, in which a genre is selected and we each read a book which fits the criteria. We always welcome new members.

And Book Junkies: A group for anyone with eclectic tastes. Really, we have no specific genre we like to adhere to. Join if you like to read anything and everything. I love Book Junkies rules:

9. Create a reading challenge for the year

goodreads reading challenge

I've set up my 2016 challenge with twenty two books. I challenge you to set a goal for yourself and track it for the year.

10. Be social

You can share information from GoodReads to Facebook and Twitter directly. You can also search the discussions tab and find interesting discussions. When I looked there were discussions on The Hobbit and The Four Agreements, The Hobbit had 87 different discussions going.

11. Add a widget to your website

There is a cool quote widget that you can add to your blog to display your favorite quote or GoodRead badges.

12. Enjoy the awesome app for iPhone or iPad

It’s free on iTunes and its perfect when you are reading in bed, finish your book and want a great recommendation for your next good read.

Have you tried out GoodReads yet? What are your favorite features? Do you think you might try it?

The Simplest Ways to Make the Best of Goodreads

6 Comments

  1. Hey Peg! I know GoodReads is really big, but I’m more of a Shelfari girl. Have you used it? It was the first book lovers community I ever joined, so I’m loyal to them. 🙂 After reading your post, I think it’s about time that I give GoodReads a fair try. I know I have an account with them from a few years back. I think I’ll log in and find a few groups to join!

  2. Hey Peg,
    I have been learning of GoodReads for a couple of years now but have never considered joining. I guess since good reading is equal to good writing I may have to reconsider my stance and make the most of this website. Thanks for explaining the processes with clarity!

  3. Goodreads is a fun social networking platform for bookworms and authors. The site helps me explore different books as well as genre and make it possible for me to communicate with other book lovers. If you are an author, this site is the perfect platform to promote your book/s.

  4. I am book lover use to read all kinds of small business articles and blogs which helps me to write content unique and easily. And here is the great advise to recognize it. Thank for the nice post.

  5. I think you linked to the wrong The Perks of Being a Book Addict group.

    I’m part of Nothing But Reading Challenges, which is another awesome Goodreads group

    One tip for authors looking to connect with readers in these type of groups – check out the groups policy before posting any self-promo. If you start a new thread somewhere inappropriate, the moderators will delete it (I know, because that was one of my jobs). At NBRC, we have a designated folder where you can post self-promo so that other members of the group don’t feel like they are being spammed.

  6. Hi Peg!

    You know my mom, Katherine Kotaw. I wanted to stop by your blog to say hi and introduce myself. And since I’m a book lover like you, I thought this was the perfect blog for me to comment on. 🙂

    I just finished reading “Luckiest Girl Alive” by Jessica Knoll, per my sister (and fellow KOTAW Girl Gang member!) Kelsey’s recommendation. Have you read it? I would highly recommend it. It intelligently delves into the societal pressure for women to “have it all” and what this really means. Is “having it all” checking off boxes of what society thinks women SHOULD want, or deciding to do what truly makes us happy, regardless of what boxes are checked off (and which ones we have no desire to check off!)

    My answer is definitely to live my life doing what brings ME joy and not caring what anyone else thinks!

    But back to your blog (since this isn’t a book club… though I think it’s so cool you have one!)

    I think it’s really good to know that Goodreads has evolved to be an actual sort of social network. I love that you can create your own profile there and make a list of all the books you want to read. Is there a way for me to see your particular list of books you want to read this year? I’d love to see what you’re reading/want to read because I’m sure you have great recommendations. Particularly since my mom says you share my love of Nancy Drew (which I still read every now and again because they remind me of my Granddad and how he bought all the original Nancy Drew books for Kelsey and me — there’s nothing like good nostalgia and happy memories!)

    You’re connected with my sister on Twitter. I’m not on Twitter (yet!) but would love to connect with you on Facebook.

    PS: Thank you for being so supportive of my mom and KOTAW Content Marketing, our mother-daughter-daughter-pit creative marketing and brand storytelling studio. My mom says you were one of the very first people to follow her on Google Plus when she was completely new on social media, and I think that’s really kind of you and very KOTAWesome!

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