How Goodreads changed my reading habits.
Introduction
Goodreads is a website where you can review books that you have read and you can also put books on a to-read list. The website will suggest books to read based on the list of the books that you have read, are reading, and want to read. The best part of the website for me is the groups. You can join groups that are based on the type of books that you like. Each group has a discussion page covering many topics, polls used to determine a book of the month, and a book of the month for the group to read and comment upon.
Summary
I update my reading progress daily on Goodreads, but there are tasks that I also do once a week or once a month. I check on new topics, vote in polls, and comment on the book of the month. Using Goodreads has changed how and what I read. My goal for this year is to read 24 novels. I have read 12 novels in less than 6 months so far.
This is the link to my goodreads page.
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/58365344-gary-gillen
Statistics
Here are some statistics. The best that I can remember, I read 9 books in 2015. I would read maybe 20 pages a day at lunch five days a week. Five of those books were rereading the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. I wanted to reread them anticipating the next book’s release. I’m still waiting for book six. In the first six months of 2016, I read six books. So, 2015 was 0.75 books a month and the first half of 2016 was 1 book per month. I discovered Goodreads and I started to enter my books into the system in June 2016. From July 2016 to June 2017 I have read 29 books, which is 2.4 books per month. That is a significant increase. I have 613 books on my read list, which translates to about 12 books per year for my lifetime.
How Goodreads changed my reading habits.
Two things changed in June of 2016. I started reading 30 pages every day, making it a point to complete the reading every day. The other thing that changed my habits was setting a goal. I planned to read two books per month in 2017. My to-read list went over 100 books. There are some great books on that list. At 24 books per year, that list will take me four years to complete. Seeing the list focused me on what I wanted to read. I’m glad that I have put in the time to use Goodreads to help me in my search for books. Participating in group reads of books on my list has increased my enjoyment of the books that I have read. Using Goodreads has changed my reading habits.
Links
This is the link to my Goodreads page.
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/58365344-gary-gillen
This is a link to my review of The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which is a fun quickly-paced science fiction/fantasy adventure story. It has the lost world theme and an interesting method of alternative evolution included in this world. It is just the perfect story for that pre-teen boy to read.