GoodReads: 5 Reasons you need the ‘Instagram for Book Lovers’
Those of you who love reading books must have heard of GoodReads, if not used at least once. I consider GoodReads to be a pre-eminent social media platform for anyone who has ever read a book. It’s like an Instagram meant for book readers(whether you are a bibliophile or not)!
Its available as a desktop site or you could download the GoodReads app from the App Store on iOS Devices or from the Play Store on your Android Devices.
I figured out 5 Reasons why I love GoodReads and I am sure if you already have an account (or decide to have one after reading this) you will get to know some cool features this awesome site has.
1. Being able to record when you start and finish a book
GoodReads allows users to record when they start a book and when they finished it. This is especially helpful when you are a part of GoodReads’s Reading Challenge where you pledge the number of book you want to read in that year and record the dates when you read them. By keeping a tab of when you finish a book, you can track your progress as to how many books you read in a particular year and share your ‘Year in Books’ with your friends.
2. Meet other members who have the same taste in books
With Groups on GoodReads, you can find your focus-group that wants to discuss just the books and genre you were always interested in. Also making new friends based on taste in books becomes damn easy! Once you add someone as a friend, you can then compare the books you both have read at some moment in time and see how compatible you are in terms of book taste. Once you start using these features on GoodRead, you will only wish you had started using them earlier.
3. Integration with Kindle/Amazon
This is one of the best feature on GoodReads. Their affiliation with Amazon allows you to integrate GoodReads on your Kindle e-Reader. It does not have the same experience as on phone/tablet or desktop but does pretty much the job. When you buy an e-book from your Amazon account that sync with your Kindle device, GoodReads updates the book into the ‘Currently Reading’ shelf when you begin reading the book. Updating status on a particular book is also a few clicks thereafter. GoodReads recommendations (from authors you follow, friends and other readers) appear directly on your Kindle device and allow you to buy it with your Amazon Pay credit. Also, all your Kindle Highlights sync to your GoodReads account so you can access all your e-book highlights and notes from just one site/app.
4. Get your favourite Author’s insight and review
A very under-rated feature is the ‘Ask Authors’ section on GoodReads that allows you to ask questions to some featured authors or any author you follow. Also updates from your favourite authors appear in a panel below giving you an insight into their current or upcoming work. Some authors even encourage and participate in their own book’s discussion happening on their page. I have found this feature to be very erudite as there is a lot you could learn from a book discussion explicitly started by your favourite author.
Also you could write reviews about books you have read in the post and this would only help you connect with more people with the same notion as you.
5. Recommendations, GoodReads Choice Awards and much more…
It does not end there. GoodReads has some amazing features, giving it a look and feel of a site meant for some Hollywood Show Night. They have their own ‘GoodReads Choice Awards’ that happen every year, allowing book lovers to vote for the best book released that year in different genres. A special Recommendation tab shows you books based on your previously (highly)rated books. There is Trivia related to books and stories you have read or from any random genre. The Quiz tab not only allows you take a quiz based on your favourite book or series but also make your own quiz, that you could share later with friends and GoodRead members. Also, if all the reading stuff was not enough there is a Creative Writing tab where you can write your heart out on any topic you wish — more look GoodWrites (pun intended).
Personally, I love the ‘Reading Challenge’ on GoodReads along with its seamless integration with my Kindle e-books. The interface is really intuitive and if you are anywhere between the age of 10 and 80 years old, you will be able to figure out how to make an account on GoodReads. Also, once you do, don’t forget to follow me on GoodReads: Aditya Darekar
~Aditya Darekar
