Another website!

Finally! I have found a way I might spare all y'all (that is, all three of you) from expansive book reviews. And the answer is Goodreads. It is basically a website for ranking/rating/reviewing books.

So, I can go through and give books stars, one through five, from "didn't like it" to "loved it." It then adds itself to my listing of books. I could also add a written review. Others can read and comment on said review. I could group books into specific lists, like "Best Books of All Time" or "Steampunk Books" or similar things (if I thought I actually had the knowledge to make lists like best books of all time. I don't). Based on the books I rank and my rankings of them, Goodreads can then recommend me other books. I can add the books I am currently reading and my progress through them. I can add a list of books I want to read.

And that last part, the "to-read" list, is pretty awesome because I can also get a Goodreads smartphone app and look up all the books I want to read while I am, say, at the library. It also has a barcode scan which I have not tested, but I assume it allows you to scan a book and add it to your lists.

The way I've been using Goodreads recently is that I rank some of the Steampunk books I liked, e.g. the Parasol Protectorate series, and Goodreads recommends other books similar. I can look at the covers, names, and so on for the ones that look interesting, then hover my mouse over them and see their ranking. I usually shoot for at least a three or above. If that is interesting, I can read part of a description, and even click on it for full description and access to other reviews.

The reason I got signed up for Goodreads in the beginning is because they had a book giveaway contest. I did not win, but the point is that they also have contests and the like.

I love books. I still have the nostalgic connecting to actually holding a book, turning the pages, flipping backwards to find a particular detail, stuffing it in my bag, curling up on the couch... I also don't own a Kindle Fire, so I have no other real choice. And the library is free. Even though there is a 78 hold wait on the Hunger Games.

Long live the written word!