Also a little something if good reads isn’t your thing (Amazon owned and all that) I’d recommend checking out StoryGraph, it was created by Nadia Odunayo so it is black and female owned. It used to have some glitches but now it’s working wonderfully for me (I also believe you can transfer history from good reads onto story graph if losing all of your history in there is a concern).
Yes! I moved to StoryGraph few months ago and I have much better experience and insight into books. It works smoothly and it has all the features we begged Goodreads for years, but seems no one wants to invest in this app. Goodreads is like a tourist trap, you thought it will be fun but it's only pure chaos.
I found this when I needed it the most.......and this isn't the first time that you have delivered something I really needed advice on.......it's lovely to see how you know what your readers want.....
this really made me reflect on how badly i need to deinfluence my reading. my first instinct when i step into a bookstore is to go on goodreads and see what i might want to read, instead of allowing myself to wander and find something that resonates with me. i think i need to start treating book shopping as a meditative practice rather than searching for what's trending. i'm starting to forget who i am as a reader because i'm so influenced by what kind of books are on my tiktok feed. this was truly the gentle reminder i needed <3
These are great! I'm sick of booktok and talking heads who know better what my next read should be. I completely agree with a tip "what is your favorite author favorite book" - that's how I started Brothers Karamazov (as a Murakami's favorite book, and many more for that matter). I also agree with other commenters, that Goodreads is an app of a past, and StoryGraph is the thing now.
This whole list and especially the favorites of favorite authors is absolutely spot on. I once wrote my favorite author while recovering from a car accident and she turned me onto a whole world that structured hers. Great post!
THIS. I often fearfully wonder whether or not anything people are or are not interested in is actually because that's who they are or because they're so deep in the algorithm. I've even had to step back and ask myself these same questions. I'm inspired by this! Great suggestions to revisit our own intrinsic interests!
Great post. This is a good idea from the one who knows. You're so right. I do that, too. What's the latest fashion, I mean book trend? It happens more than I know. I am stuck with Hemingway. I don't know why, but his writing style gets to me. It just flows, so that's my thing. Your work is valued here, and I love it. Thank you for the time you put into it.
These are great tips! And wonderful to read about ‘your favorite bookstore’. It happens that I’d completely stopped reading after college, and it was the staff of a wonderful pre-big-box era bookstore that reignited me! After the complete Conan Doyle, the spark, I was reading Kundera, Puig, Marquez, Eco and others in a wonderful period of my life enriched by books.
When word came that the book store was closing, I catered a big round tray of treats and unusual soft drinks at a specialty deli. Few employees had gotten to know me, and most were confused. We were all only guessing about how worthy of those morsels they all were, since things in the book retail world were about to change big time. Years later, my wife and I brought our early teens to the wonderful Strand in the City. Thank you so much for a great article!
i'm a personal fan of judging a book by its cover (but this only applies to books coming out in recent years-- I'll never judge a renowned classic by its cover). i feel like with the plethora of tools and digital art resources at our fingertips a lazy cover shows a lack of care by the publisher, which translates that the book just ain't that good.
"don’t be afraid to talk to the booksellers. they’re curators. ask them what they’ve been reading lately and tell them what you love, what you can’t stand, what kind of mood you’re in." -- Absolutely love this. I feel like it's one of my favorite things and one of the things that also scares me to do, but I've never had a bad chat with a bookseller, especially not at an indie bookshop spot! Definitely recommend.
Wonderful tips!!
Also a little something if good reads isn’t your thing (Amazon owned and all that) I’d recommend checking out StoryGraph, it was created by Nadia Odunayo so it is black and female owned. It used to have some glitches but now it’s working wonderfully for me (I also believe you can transfer history from good reads onto story graph if losing all of your history in there is a concern).
I love the data insights storygraph offer!
Yes! I moved to StoryGraph few months ago and I have much better experience and insight into books. It works smoothly and it has all the features we begged Goodreads for years, but seems no one wants to invest in this app. Goodreads is like a tourist trap, you thought it will be fun but it's only pure chaos.
FACTS I agree with you 100%
I let the books find me.
I found this when I needed it the most.......and this isn't the first time that you have delivered something I really needed advice on.......it's lovely to see how you know what your readers want.....
Thanks for the tips!!
soooo good , will def use this :)
i work in a public library and my absolute favorite thing is when patrons ask me for book recommendations <3
this really made me reflect on how badly i need to deinfluence my reading. my first instinct when i step into a bookstore is to go on goodreads and see what i might want to read, instead of allowing myself to wander and find something that resonates with me. i think i need to start treating book shopping as a meditative practice rather than searching for what's trending. i'm starting to forget who i am as a reader because i'm so influenced by what kind of books are on my tiktok feed. this was truly the gentle reminder i needed <3
These are great! I'm sick of booktok and talking heads who know better what my next read should be. I completely agree with a tip "what is your favorite author favorite book" - that's how I started Brothers Karamazov (as a Murakami's favorite book, and many more for that matter). I also agree with other commenters, that Goodreads is an app of a past, and StoryGraph is the thing now.
This whole list and especially the favorites of favorite authors is absolutely spot on. I once wrote my favorite author while recovering from a car accident and she turned me onto a whole world that structured hers. Great post!
THIS. I often fearfully wonder whether or not anything people are or are not interested in is actually because that's who they are or because they're so deep in the algorithm. I've even had to step back and ask myself these same questions. I'm inspired by this! Great suggestions to revisit our own intrinsic interests!
Great post. This is a good idea from the one who knows. You're so right. I do that, too. What's the latest fashion, I mean book trend? It happens more than I know. I am stuck with Hemingway. I don't know why, but his writing style gets to me. It just flows, so that's my thing. Your work is valued here, and I love it. Thank you for the time you put into it.
These are great tips! And wonderful to read about ‘your favorite bookstore’. It happens that I’d completely stopped reading after college, and it was the staff of a wonderful pre-big-box era bookstore that reignited me! After the complete Conan Doyle, the spark, I was reading Kundera, Puig, Marquez, Eco and others in a wonderful period of my life enriched by books.
When word came that the book store was closing, I catered a big round tray of treats and unusual soft drinks at a specialty deli. Few employees had gotten to know me, and most were confused. We were all only guessing about how worthy of those morsels they all were, since things in the book retail world were about to change big time. Years later, my wife and I brought our early teens to the wonderful Strand in the City. Thank you so much for a great article!
i'm a personal fan of judging a book by its cover (but this only applies to books coming out in recent years-- I'll never judge a renowned classic by its cover). i feel like with the plethora of tools and digital art resources at our fingertips a lazy cover shows a lack of care by the publisher, which translates that the book just ain't that good.
Great tips thank you for sharing.
"don’t be afraid to talk to the booksellers. they’re curators. ask them what they’ve been reading lately and tell them what you love, what you can’t stand, what kind of mood you’re in." -- Absolutely love this. I feel like it's one of my favorite things and one of the things that also scares me to do, but I've never had a bad chat with a bookseller, especially not at an indie bookshop spot! Definitely recommend.
Love this!