Category: Book Musings (Page 27 of 31)
I have managed to read 21 books so far for my The World From My Armchair Challenge. Not as many as I hoped, but steadily working through it. I have at least another 21 books here that I will definitely be reading in 2018 towards this. One of the pleasures of the challenge is finding the books to match against a country.
Travel books are first on the agenda in January too as on the 10th the shortlists for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards are announced. They always manage to pick the absolute cream of a very good crop of books. I will be reading and reviewing all of the books for Nudge and can probably get some into my challenge.
I seem to end up reading a lot of prize shortlist and longlists now. The Wainwright is a particular favourite and I have three left to go from the 48 that have been longlisted. Will also be reading those that appear on the Royal Society, Wellcome and Ballie Gifford and this year as I want to back into reading more science fiction, then I will try to fit in the shortlist for the Arthur C Clarke award too.
I am intending on making inroads into my backlog of review copies.
I am very grateful to those publishers who are kind enough to send all sorts of books that they think would interest me. I am getting to them. The books that I really want to read in 2018 are here (Now Updated)
In 2017 I had intended to read the remaining Discworld books that I hadn’t read so far, but I didn’t read a single Terry Pratchett apart from Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. So this year I will be completing the Discworld ones that I haven’t read, starting with The Last Hero, and then going onto these:
The Wee Free Men
A Hat Full of Sky
Unseen Academicals
I Shall Wear Midnight
Snuff
Raising Steam
The Shepherd’s Crown
I did read ten Science Fiction in 2017. Not as many that I had hoped for, but I am now on the Gollancz reviewers list so fully expect to be reading more next year. I have promised for ages to read some steampunk! This year. I promise.
As there have been complaints from my other half, Sarah, about the amount of books piling up around the house, so I am going to make an attempt to reduce my library books, and make inroads into the books I have bought from charity shops too. But it is quite often like this:
Even though I haven’t finished all the great books that were released in 2017, I have been scouring the recently released catalogues and now have quite a list of books that are being released in 2018 that look like they will be really really good and that I really want to read.
Has anyone heard of these? Or do you have a list of your own for 2108 books?
4th Estate
Lament for the Ash by Lisa Samson
AA
Wild and Free by Dominic Couzens
Tiny Britain: A Collection of the Nation’s Overlooked Little Treasures by Dixe Wills
Londonist Mapped
Bloomsbury
Lament for the Ash by Lisa Samson
AA
Wild and Free by Dominic Couzens
Tiny Britain: A Collection of the Nation’s Overlooked Little Treasures by Dixe Wills
Londonist Mapped
Bloomsbury
A Shadow Above: The Fall and Rise of the Raven by Joe Shute
The Long Spring: Tracking the Arrival of Spring Through Europe by Laurence Rose
Catching Stardust: Comets, Asteroids and the Birth of the Solar System by Natalie Starkey
The Dark Stuff: Stories from the Peatlands by Donald S. Murray
Orchid Summer: In Search of the Wildest Flowers of the British Isles by Jon Dunn
All Among The Barley by Melissa Harrison
Outnumbered: Exploring the Algorithms that Control Our Lives by David Sumpter
A Black Fox Running by Brian Carter
Bodleian Library
A Library Miscellany by Claire Cock-Starkey
Bodley Head
A Spy Named Orphan: The Enigma of Donald Maclean by Roland Philipps
Speech Odyssey: The Story of Vocal Communication – from Neanderthals to Artificial Intelligence by Trevor Cox
Buried Light: The Hidden Connections that Illuminate the World by Lewis Dartnell
Canongate
The Valley At The Centre Of The World by Malachy Tallack
Duckworth Overlook
Pennyfarthing: The Great British Cycling Revolution by William Manners
Spaceport Earth: The Reinvention Of Spaceflight by Joe Pappalardo
Ebury
Walk Through History: Discover Victorian London by Christopher Winn
Built for Speed: Bikes, Beers and Balls of Steel by John McGuinness
Elliot & Thompson
The Almighty Dollar: Follow the Incredible Journey of a Single Dollar to See How the Global Economy Really Works by Dharshini David
Faber & Faber
The Messenger by Shiv Malik
Owl Sense by Miriam Darlington
Mrs Moreau’s Warbler How Birds Got Their Names by Stephen Moss
The Immeasurable World Journeys in Desert Places by William Atkins
Insane Mode: Inside Tesla and Elon Musk’s Mission to Save the World by Hamish McKenzie
The Messenger by Shiv Malik
Owl Sense by Miriam Darlington
Mrs Moreau’s Warbler How Birds Got Their Names by Stephen Moss
The Immeasurable World Journeys in Desert Places by William Atkins
Insane Mode: Inside Tesla and Elon Musk’s Mission to Save the World by Hamish McKenzie
Head of Zeus
Hadrian’s Wall by Adrian Goldsworthy
The Secret Surfer by Iain Gately
Painted Cities: Illustrated Street Art Around the World by Lorna Brown
The Seven Ages of Britain by Hywel Williams
Hadrian’s Wall by Adrian Goldsworthy
The Secret Surfer by Iain Gately
Painted Cities: Illustrated Street Art Around the World by Lorna Brown
The Seven Ages of Britain by Hywel Williams
Ikon Books
The Speed of Sound: Breaking the Barriers between Music and Technology: A Memoir by Thomas Dolby
Dear Fahrenheit 451: A Librarian’s Love Letters and Break-Up Notes to Her Books by Annie Spence
Astroquizzical by Dr. Jillian Scudder
Places I Stopped on the Way Home: A Memoir of Chaos and Grace by Meg Fee
Hello, Shadowlands: Inside South-east Asia’s Organised Crime Wave by Patrick Winn
The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal by David E. Hoffman
The Speed of Sound: Breaking the Barriers between Music and Technology: A Memoir by Thomas Dolby
Dear Fahrenheit 451: A Librarian’s Love Letters and Break-Up Notes to Her Books by Annie Spence
Astroquizzical by Dr. Jillian Scudder
Places I Stopped on the Way Home: A Memoir of Chaos and Grace by Meg Fee
Hello, Shadowlands: Inside South-east Asia’s Organised Crime Wave by Patrick Winn
The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal by David E. Hoffman
Jonathan Cape
Ground Work: Writings on People and Places by Tim Dee
Our Place: Can We Save British Nature Before it is Too Late? by Mark Cocker
Ground Work: Writings on People and Places by Tim Dee
Our Place: Can We Save British Nature Before it is Too Late? by Mark Cocker
Little Toller
Eagle Country by Seán Lysaght
Sharks by Martha Sprackland
Landfill by Tim Dee
Cornerstones
Hold Your Ground
Octavo
Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Constantly Changing World by Leonard Mlodinow
Paths to the Past: Encounters with England’s Hidden Landscapes by Francis Pryor
Eagle Country by Seán Lysaght
Sharks by Martha Sprackland
Landfill by Tim Dee
Cornerstones
Hold Your Ground
Octavo
Elastic: Flexible Thinking in a Constantly Changing World by Leonard Mlodinow
Paths to the Past: Encounters with England’s Hidden Landscapes by Francis Pryor
Oneworld
The Know It Alls: The Rise of Silicon Valley as a Political Powerhouse and Social Wrecking Ball by Noam Cohen
Weird Maths: At the Edge of Infinity and Beyond by David Darling & Agnijo Banerjee
It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree by A.J. Jacobs
The Prodigal Tongue: The Love–Hate Relationship Between British and American English by Lynne Murphy
Zapped: From Infrared to X-rays, the Curious History of Invisible Light by Bob Berman
Nine Lives: The True Story of an MI6 Operative on the Frontlines by Aimen Dean, Paul Cruickshank & Tim Lister
The Know It Alls: The Rise of Silicon Valley as a Political Powerhouse and Social Wrecking Ball by Noam Cohen
Weird Maths: At the Edge of Infinity and Beyond by David Darling & Agnijo Banerjee
It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree by A.J. Jacobs
The Prodigal Tongue: The Love–Hate Relationship Between British and American English by Lynne Murphy
Zapped: From Infrared to X-rays, the Curious History of Invisible Light by Bob Berman
Nine Lives: The True Story of an MI6 Operative on the Frontlines by Aimen Dean, Paul Cruickshank & Tim Lister
Penguin
The Old Man and The Sand Eel by Will Millard
Don’t Give Guns to Robots: The Next Big Disruptions and What They Mean for You by Adam Savage and Drew Curtis
Liquid: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives by Mark Miodownik
Agency by William Gibson
Underland by Robert Macfarlane
The Old Man and The Sand Eel by Will Millard
Don’t Give Guns to Robots: The Next Big Disruptions and What They Mean for You by Adam Savage and Drew Curtis
Liquid: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives by Mark Miodownik
Agency by William Gibson
Underland by Robert Macfarlane
Picador
Wilding: The Return Of Nature To An English Farm by Isabella Tree
The Genius Within: Smart Pills, Brain Hacks And Adventures In Intelligence by David Adam
The Crossway by Guy Stagg
Profile
Sounds Appealing: The Passionate Story of English Pronunciation by David Crystal
Rainforest: Dispatches from Earth’s Most Vital Frontlines by Tony Juniper
Water Ways: A Thousand Miles Along Britain’s Canals by Jasper Winn
Sounds Appealing: The Passionate Story of English Pronunciation by David Crystal
Rainforest: Dispatches from Earth’s Most Vital Frontlines by Tony Juniper
Water Ways: A Thousand Miles Along Britain’s Canals by Jasper Winn
Quercus
War Gardens by Lalage Snow
Random House
Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist by Kate Raworth
Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World by Michael Harris
Solitude: In Pursuit of a Singular Life in a Crowded World by Michael Harris
Royal Octavo
Beyond Supersonic: Bloodhound and the Race for the Land Speed Record by Richard Noble
Beyond Supersonic: Bloodhound and the Race for the Land Speed Record by Richard Noble
Square Peg
Bookworm by Lucy Mangan
Chasing the Ghost: The Wild Flower Map of the British Isles by Peter Marren
Bookworm by Lucy Mangan
Chasing the Ghost: The Wild Flower Map of the British Isles by Peter Marren
Summersdale
The Sea: A Celebration of Shorelines, Beaches and Oceans by Isobel Carlson
Eat Surf Live: The Cornwall Travel Book by Vera Bachernegg & Katharina Maria Zimmermann
The Sea: A Celebration of Shorelines, Beaches and Oceans by Isobel Carlson
Eat Surf Live: The Cornwall Travel Book by Vera Bachernegg & Katharina Maria Zimmermann
Tinder
The Last Wilderness: A Journey into Silence by Neil Ansell
Transworld
The Last Wilderness: A Journey into Silence by Neil Ansell
Transworld
The Wood: The Life & Times of Cockshutt Wood by John Lewis-Stempel
AIQ: How People and Machines are Smarter Together by Nick Polson and James Scott
W.W. Norton
The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams
Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth by Adam Frank
Limits of the Known by David Roberts
William Collins
Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Columba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe by Gordon Corera
From Wolf to Woof: A Genetic History of Man’s Best Friend Professor Brian Syles
Curlew Moon by Mary Colwell
Whalebone by Nicholas Pyenson
The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books by Edward Wilson-Lee
Yeti: The Abominable History by Graham Hoyland
Exactly! A Brief History of Precision by Simon Winchester
November was a busy month, with lots going on at home, and fighting the last of the woodchip off the walls of the lounge, but I still managed to squeeze in 14 books. Somehow. It is now all painted and looks really good. And here they are:
Following on a recommendation from Kim French and others on Twitter, I got two of Gillian Clarke’s poetry books from the library Five Fields and Zoology. I read very little poetry normally, preferring to wade through various non fiction tomes, but these were quite delightful. She has a mastery of the language that I envy and whilst I didn’t get all of them, the poems felt deeply rooted in her country and personal experiences. I am a huge fan of Robert Macfarlane’s writing and splashed out of a copy of The Lost Words that he has created with the artist Jackie Morris. It is a children’s book, but a finely crafted and richly drawn and imagined one as they seek to re-introduce children to the delights and wonder of the natural world. Peter Davidson’s book The Last of the Light: About Twilight looks at the artistic and literary response to the period of gloaming that happens every day. It is a finely produced book from Reaktion with high-quality reproductions of the art that he is discussing. I had reserved Ben Aaronovitch’s latest book from the library and was quite surprised when it came through really quickly. The Furthest Station find Peter Grant back in London trying to find out what has spooked the regular ghosts on the Metropolitan Line. Another cracker in the Rivers of London series and was just too short really!
It was #NonFictionNovember too, a social media tag run by Olive and Gemma. Most of my reading is non-fiction and in total, read a further nine non- fiction books. I had the last two or three to read on the shortlist for the Baillie Gifford Prize, and I am still wading my way through the largest, Belonging. I struggled a little with The Islamic Enlightenment by Christopher de Bellaigue which was a history of the way that Islamic countries have ebbed and flowed between having a strong faith and social change, Whilst there were elements that were interesting, it didn’t come across as a book for the general no fiction reader. Much, much better though was Kapka Kassabova shortlisted book, Border: A Journey to The Edge of Europe. In this she travels back to her home country to see what the border is like at the very edge of Europe. She has a wonderful considered prose and manages to tease the stories out of the people that live in this area.
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo was a very good book about the people of the slums in Mumbai and how they are eking a living out finding scrap materials that they can get a few rupees for, it was a well-written book about what could be a harrowing subject. Bonita Norris’s memoir, The Girl Who Climbed Everest, is as much about her expeditions climbing some of the highest mountains in the world as it is about the lessons that she learnt and made her the person she is today. The Anticipatory Organization by Daniel Burrus was a reasonable business book with an interesting premise about teaching us how to look for trends in the wider world and making the most of them.
Managed to read four natural history books too, the first was a wonderful book about the Orca, called Of Orcas and Men. In this David Neiwert tells us some the history and what we understand about their habits, the shameful act of keeping these magnificent creatures and describes his encounters with them when kayaking. Sooyong Park has spent two decades of his life tracking and studying the elusive Siberian tiger. He has written a book about it too, Great Soul of Siberia, which is as much about his obsession as it is about this huge feline. Last were two books on woodlands, A Wood of One’s Own is the tale of Ruth Pavey and the wood that she owns, quite a lovely book, and I have serious envy! Oak and Ash and Thorn is really lovely too, Peter Fiennes takes us round the country visiting some of our finest woodlands and ends it with a call to arms to save a rejuvenate our tree cover in the UK.
Didn’t have one book of the month this time but two, The Furthest Station and Border. Buy them and read them as soon as you can.
Went to See Professor Alice Roberts speak last night about her new book Tamed. This is a wander back through history looking at the animals and plants that have been tamed by humans and have made a significant difference to the quality of human life.
She spoke for about two hours in total, explaining when it was thought that wolves first became dogs, the first appearance of wheat and how farming and farmers had migrated across from the near east and the fertile crescent and how the horse was tamed and became an essential part of the lives of people of the steppe.
All these stories were supported by facts and details from archaeological evidence, the genome and historical records. Roberts spoke with authority and clarity all the way through and it was fascinating stuff. Really worth attending and I bet that there are very few writers who can command a sell out theatre. Naturally, I bought the book, and Alice kindly signed it for me.
As it is #NonFictionNovember I’d thought that I would do a Giveaway
I have a set of all three of the books by the late great Roger Deakin. He was a writer, environmentalist and founder of Common Ground. Waterlog is considered the book that sparked the interest in Wild Swimming. He is a beautiful writer with a keen sense of observation of the world around him.
They are second hand and are in good condition. This is a UK only giveaway. Just comment below and I will choose an entrant randomly next Friday Evening around 9pm
Well that was a busy month, didn’t seem to stop around the house, but we now have finished three rooms downstairs and have stripped the hall and I an half through the lounge. This didn’t leave much time for reading though, so only managed to read 14 in the end.
And here they all are:
I managed to read two fiction books this month, Exit West, one on the shortlist for the Booker Prize. I have read others of Mohsin Hamid so had high hopes for this one. It was good, as he is addressing the reasons behind emigration and the problems associated with people living in a strange city, but there were certain elements that I thought jarred with the rest of the book. He Said, She Said was a domestic psychological thriller, that was reasonable, but had the odd implausible moment, but it was fast-paced and twisty.
My least favourite books this month were travel and both about Russia, Molotov’s Magic Lantern was about Rachel Polonsky’s time spent in Moscow in the apartment block that Vyacheslav Molotov had lived in and there were the remenants of his library there. The Second was Black Dragon River, where Dominic Ziegler travels down the river Amur that is the border between China and Russia. Both have their fascinating points, but they were very heavy on the history of Russia in my opinion.
Read two books that had a title beginning The Secret Life of… The first was The Secret Life of the Cow published by Faber. It was a reprint of the book by Rosamund Young and was a fascinating little story of her farm and the cows and other animals growing up on it. The other was The Secret Life of the owl by the very talented and twice winner of the Wainwright Price, John Lewis-Stempel. A delightful book on the owls around his farm and the wider landscape with the quality of prose that I have come to expect from John, and a fine addition to my growing library of natural history books.
Read three books on the UK this month, the first of which was Watling Street where John Higgs follows the path of the ancient road that stretches from London all the way to North Wales. Along it he re-discoveres the long history and contemplates the state of modern Britain post Brexit. The second was by Charlie Pye-Smith as he travelled back and forwards talking to those responsible for growing our food. The final one was Ancient Wonderings by James Canton. In this he travels to various Neolithic sites in search of the traces that are still left over. It is a really interesting read and it shows that the more we find out the less we know of their lives.
Read my third book from the Baillie Gifford shortlist, The Odyssey. It is a touching story of a father and son as they look at the life lessons from this epic tale and the author learns more of what made his father the man that he was. I was on the blog tour for The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities by Paul Anthony Jones another fine book on forgotten words from our language, with a word for each day. Really good and a must read for any etmologists.
Finally two natural history books, Wonderland, where Stephen Moss and Brett Westwood take us through every day in the year with animals, birds, plants, trees, moths and all sorts of other things to see in the natural world. A really wonderful book, and one I will be buying in paperback. The final book was As Kingfishers Catch fire by Alex Preston and some stunning illustrations by Neil Gower. This is an utterly beautiful thing to hold and was my book of the month too.
Had been hoping to read quite a lot of books in September, but only managed 17. Quite a lot, but still have somewhat of a backlog! Bar the single book, they were all really good this month. Here they are in all their splendour:
September is the month where the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2017 is announced. I had already read two from the shortlist of six, read one in August and that left three to read. First was Beyond Infinity by Eugenia Cheng an exploration of the mathematics behind the largest numbers that humanity can imagine. For a maths book, it wasn’t bad, but she didn’t have the clarity of someone like Marcus du Sautoy. In Pursuit of Memory by Joseph Jebelli is his personal and professional story about the debilitating disease that is Alzheimer’s. In Other Minds, (thanks to William Collins for helping me out with a copy) Peter Godfrey-Smith looks at the way that our minds have developed when compared to an Octopus and how evolution has solved the same problems in two different ways. I thought that the best of the shortlist was In Pursuit of Memory, but the prize was won by Cordelia Fine and her book, Testosterone Rex and the exploration of gender.
I had quite a UK centric month in September. Mychael Barratt has compiled a book full of facts in London: Maps of Days. Each day of the year has an event or anecdote that has taken place and all are accompanied by his artworks. From Source to Sea by Tom Chesshyre is an account of his walk from the first place that the Thames emerges from the ground to the edge of the estuary where it empties into the North Sea. Surrounding London and other cities is an area of land that has been designated Green Belt. In Outskirts, John Grindrod looks at the way this has been developed from a Victorian idea to a fundamental part of our built environment. Woven in this social history is Grindrod’s own family history and the memories of his childhood growing up on the edge of urban Croydon.
I joined Jonathan Bennett on his surfing journey in Around the Coast in Eighty Waves. I can’t surf but really enjoy reading about the lifestyle and the vibe. That was one of my #WorldfrommyArmchair reads. The other was Travels in a Dervish Cloak about Isambard Wilkinson’s time spent in Pakistan. It is a wonderful set of stories as he tries to find if the original culture is still present after the draping of Islam over the country.
Coronet kindly sent me Megan Hine’s first book, Mind Of A Survivor. She is an outdoor adventurer who has scaled mountains and survived jungles and worked as a consultant on some of Bear Grylls TV series. In this book, he looks at the ways that a learning survival methods at a weekend can be applied to everyday situations in the home and office. Ruth Fitzmaurice has her hands full. Not only does she have five, yes five children, but her husband suffers from Motor Neurone disease and is wheelchair bound and can only communicate with his eyes. I Found My Tribe is a poignant account of her family life and the tribe of women that she swims in Greystones, Co. Wicklow with to maintain some semblance of balance in her life.
Only managed to read two fiction books this month. The first was sent to me inadvertently by Granta (thank you) and was the debut novel by Eli Goldstone, Strange Heart Beating. Seb loses his wife Leda in a freak accident and in the process of grieving realises that he knew less about her than he thought. He travels to Latvia to uncover her past and find the man who sent her the letters that she never opened. Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent is a story about an author who is not the person people think he is. The book starts with a brutal attack, and from this savage event, his own personal life unravels as we discover the history behind his deception.
Managed to read three natural history books. A Charm of Goldfinches and Other Wild Gatherings by Matt Sewell is an art book combined with the collective names we give to all sorts of animals. So if you want to know what a load of crows or sparrows is called, then this is the book for you. Every Little Toller Book that I have read so far has been with it for the time invested and the reprint of Island Years, Island Farm by Frank Fraser Darling is no exception. For each seaon on the equinox or mid summer and winter I have been starting the series of season books published by Elliot and Thompson. They are delightful collections of themed writings of classic and contemporary work edited by Melissa Harrison. On the 21 st September I started Autumn and it met all my expectations again. Buy them if you can.
The Internet Is Not the Answer by Andrew Keen is an an interesting take on the state of the net and some of the subjects reported in the book are quite eye opening, worth reading. My miss of the month was A Mile Down by David Vann, though the description of the two storms he went through read like a thriller, but his naivety was quite shocking.
Solid month of reading there, and October is shaping up to be great too and I am endeavouring to work my way through my massive backlog of review books (and the odd library one).
I have been a long time fan of the strange Discworld that came from the mind of Terry Pratchett. A place that was familiar at the same time. I was genuinely upset when he succumbed to the terrible disease of Alzheimer’s back in March 2015. It was a tragic loss for his fans and those that he had touched in his life.
Last week Salisbury Museum opened an exhibition to celebrate and commemorate his life and achievements. And what achievements they were; Knight of the Realm, Professor, collector of doctorates, OBE, blackboard monitor and honorary brownie. He used his position to raise necessary awareness of the tragic illness that is Alzheimer’s appearing on various TV programmes and talking to people about it and asking the important question about dignity in life and death. He said that this illness made him so angry, an anger that he said could have welded steel he still maintained his humour.
Even though I never met him, and regret not taking the opportunity to do so when he was with us, I miss him and getting the latest paperback each Christmas.
I am fortunate that I have two signed books by him, both have been found in second-hand bookshops
The exhibition was full of personal mementoes, the sword he made, the letter from Tolkien, the first typewriter he had and a remake of his office as well as art by the fabulous Paul Kidby. I didn’t take any photos, as I wanted to have the memories, but I did take one of this. I might have shed a tear at that point.
If you loved STP’s work, then this you must visit this exhibition, it is sensitively done and a fitting tribute to an author has brought much pleasure to millions of readers. I thought it would be rude to leave without buying anything, so got these.
This month the website, Good Reads, a place for book addicts and readers turned 10 years old. I have been on there since 2012 and it is a place that I visit several times every day.
There are several elements of the site that make it an essential place for all who love to read to use. It has a basic shelving system nominally based around three compulsory ‘shelves’ to read, currently reading and read. However what makes this an excellent book management system is that you can add as many shelves as you like and can call them what you want too. I have set up shelves for all manner of things, for example travel books and natural history, list of books that have been on the various book prizes that I am interested in as well as having a shelf for every year going back to 2002 listing in order (I know, I know) everything that I have read.
The to read shelf is most useful for recording everything, and I do mean everything, that I am either desperate to read or have a slight interest in. As I write this the total stands at 4583. No, I have not mistyped that number; it is 4583. Might take a while to get through those… I know that there will be some that will drop off, be deleted and actually never read, but it is a way of recording an interest in a book that I can find at any point later on. It is particularly useful when planning the next months reading, or working out a reading list for challenges and so on.
Talking of challenges, every year on the 1st January Good Read asks if you would like to set a reading target for the coming year and who can resist a challenge? For the past three years I have set a target of 190, and in 2013 set a target of 185. This year I might just scrape through the 200 barrier, might… It is not for everyone, I know, but I like having something to aim for when thinking about what that I want to read.
There is a more though. Good Reads has a great social side to the site too. As well as being able to connect with friends, and see what they are reading, every review written on the site is publicly visible and can be liked and mostly commented on. Like other social media sites, it can suffer from the odd bell end, but thankfully they are few and far between. There is also the ability to set up and join groups to link up with like-minded readers is great. I am currently a member of several who read all manner of things from sci-fi to natural history. I am also a moderator of one called Book Vipers which is a group that reads fiction, non-fiction and classics. I also design an annual challenge for the members which seems to go down well.
Support on there has been excellent, we had a sock puppet issue in the group that I moderate, and dealt with very swiftly by the team. There are flaws with the site though, it can occasionally crash which can be frustrating, it would be lovely to add half star ratings, something that they acknowledge, but with their owners being Amazon may not happen. I am also a librarian on there with the power to change book details. I once got chastised for amending the name of an author! Apologies were sent and I think that I was forgiven.
There are other sites out there, Library Thing and Book Likes are probably the most well-known. Whilst they do things slightly differently to Good Reads, they are not as popular.
So if you love reading, want to find like-minded readers and multiply your TBR tenfold, then you cannot go wrong by signing up to Good Reads. You won’t regret it, but your bank balance might…
You can find me here on Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/11951948-paul
Recent Comments