Find and Share Books You Love with Goodreads
“Our mission is to help people find and share books they love.”
01 | A Bit About Goodreads
What is Goodreads? And why am I writing about it? Part of the reason I’ve put together this project and this site is to learn, study, gather resources and share them. Is there a better way to do that than through reading? I don’t know of one. Goodreads is a reading tool designed to help you keep a record of books you want to read, books you’ve read and books you’re currently reading. It exists as a website as well as an app for mobile.
I like to think of it as a sort of Pinterest for readers.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”
02 | Ways I Use Goodreads
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been discussing a book with a friend, or have come across a book that looks interesting and thought to myself, “I really must make a note of that.” And then I don’t. Goodreads has been a wonderful way to keep track of the many books I want to read. On the app you can browse books according to author, title, genre and so on, then create your own lists called ‘book shelves’ where you can store those books. On my account, for example, I have a ‘To Read’ list, a ‘Creativity’ book list, a ‘Currently Reading’ list and a ‘2020’ book list. I also have a few others.
Before you read a book you can do some research: find out what the book is about, read a bit about the author, read a few reviews, and see which of your friends have completed it. You can even ask for their opinion on the book. When you start a new book you can mark it as ‘Currently Reading’ and track your progress as you go. As someone who likes to make lists and then tick things off the list, I find this very motivating!
If you’re at a loss for what to read next, the “recommendation engine” built into the app can provide suggestions based on the the information you’ve provided according to your literary tastes. Another great feature I’ve really enjoyed is the ability to create an annual reading challenge. Last year I challenged myself to read 52 books in the year. I unfortunately fell short by a measly three books, but I think that may be the most books I’ve ever read in a year!
Here are some of my favourites from 2019.
03 | A Few More Features
Link your Goodreads and Amazon accounts to access your Kindle notes and highlights on Goodreads.
Write a book review
Start a reading challenge
Review your “Year in Books”
View recommendations
Add a “Goodreads” widget to your website
Join a discussion
Take a quiz
Ask authors a question
Add your own creative writing for others to view
04 | Using Goodreads as a Research Tool
For the purposes of The Creativity Project, Goodreads is a wonderful tool to research books on creativity, make lists, read reviews, and to keep a record of books related to the topic at hand. I’ve started a ‘Creativity’ list on Goodreads which you’re welcome to have a look at. See if any of the books on my list jump out at you. Who knows, it might be your next good read!
05 | Books on Creativity I’d Recommend
Going through some of the books I’ve already read on creativity, I thought I’d pull out a few I recommend. I will be writing more in depth book reviews throughout the next year, but for now here’s a quick snapshot.
“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.”
06 | Books on Creativity I’m Looking Forward to Reading
07 | The Challenge Now
As wonderful as list making is, the real challenge is to read and really learn from the books on my list. I’m looking forward to diving into my next book on creativity. I might reread John Acuff’s "Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done.” It’s a brilliant read which I think, in the context of creativity, is well worth revisiting.
