If you haven’t yet heard of Goodreads…where have you been?! All kidding aside, Goodreads is a social media platform for readers. Users have the opportunity to rate, review, and find great book recommendations—and that’s only the very basics of what Goodreads has to offer.
I’ve been a user of Goodreads for a few years now (if you haven’t seen my author profile, check it out here). I can honestly say it is one of the greatest inventions for authors and readers alike to connect the books we love to the people who love them too! Here are some reasons I love using Goodreads, and why I think you’ll love it too.
Goodreads gives everyone a voice. Every user has the opportunity to rate and/or review the books they read. It’s no longer critics and professional reviewers who give the final say on whether or not a book is worth reading, the people who are reading them get a say too! I prefer Goodreads ratings and reviews to platforms like Amazon because you know the reviews are coming from honest readers who love books—and if you’re really curious about a bad or excellent review, you can see the reviewers profile to get a sense of what their usual taste in books is.
Goodreads creates your own bookshelf. Have you ever remembered loving a book you read awhile back, but can’t for the life of you remember what it was called? Do you ever get a recommendation from someone about a book to read and forget all about it? On Goodreads, you can create bookshelves for books you want to read, and books you’ve already read, and they’re available for you to look back on anytime your memory takes a hit! Another really cool feature is that you can scan the barcode of a book with your phone, and it’ll automatically get added to your bookshelf. Impressive.
Goodreads encourages you to hit your reading goals. The platform encourages setting a yearly goal for how many books you want to read, and keeps track of your progress as you go. Was your New Year’s Resolution to read 100 books by the end of the year? Let Goodreads help!
Goodreads allows you to interact with authors. If your favorite author is on Goodreads, go sign up for an account right now. You can keep track of what they’re reading, you can send them questions, and occasionally they’ll do Q&A sessions or giveaways that allow you to get to know them on a more personal level! Before the literary community was separated by readers and authors, but on Goodreads you’re all in one place, on one platform, together.
Do you have a Goodreads account? Make sure to add me as your friend and let me know in the comments below!