Goodreads is a website where you can review books that you have read and you can also put books on a to-read list. The website will suggest books to read based on the list of the books that you have read, are reading, and want to read. The best part of the website for me is the groups. You can join groups that are based on the type of books that you like. Each group has a discussion page covering many topics, polls used to determine a book of the month, and a book of the month for the group to read and comment upon.
Summary
I update my reading progress daily on Goodreads, but there are tasks that I also do once a week or once a month. I check on new topics, vote in polls, and comment on the book of the month. Using Goodreads has changed how and what I read. My goal for this year is to read 24 novels. I have read 12 novels in less than 6 months so far.
Here are some statistics. The best that I can remember, I read 9 books in 2015. I would read maybe 20 pages a day at lunch five days a week. Five of those books were rereading the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. I wanted to reread them anticipating the next book’s release. I’m still waiting for book six. In the first six months of 2016, I read six books. So, 2015 was 0.75 books a month and the first half of 2016 was 1 book per month. I discovered Goodreads and I started to enter my books into the system in June 2016. From July 2016 to June 2017 I have read 29 books, which is 2.4 books per month. That is a significant increase. I have 613 books on my read list, which translates to about 12 books per year for my lifetime.
How Goodreads changed my reading habits.
Two things changed in June of 2016. I started reading 30 pages every day, making it a point to complete the reading every day. The other thing that changed my habits was setting a goal. I planned to read two books per month in 2017. My to-read list went over 100 books. There are some great books on that list. At 24 books per year, that list will take me four years to complete. Seeing the list focused me on what I wanted to read. I’m glad that I have put in the time to use Goodreads to help me in my search for books. Participating in group reads of books on my list has increased my enjoyment of the books that I have read. Using Goodreads has changed my reading habits.
This is a link to my review of The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which is a fun quickly-paced science fiction/fantasy adventure story. It has the lost world theme and an interesting method of alternative evolution included in this world. It is just the perfect story for that pre-teen boy to read.
Witch Post: Which Websites Do I Frequent Weekly? There are six websites that I frequent weekly. I detail why I have picked these six and what information I am looking for on each site.
Goodreads is a website where you can review books that you have read and you can also put books on a to-read list. The website will suggest books to read based on the list of the books that you have read, are reading, and want to read. The best part of the website for me is the groups. You can join groups that are based on the type of books that you like. Each group has a discussion page covering many topics, polls used to determine a book of the month, and a book of the month for the group to read and comment upon.
I update my reading progress daily on Goodreads, but there are tasks that I also do once a week or once a month. I check on new topics, vote in polls, and comment on the book of the month. Using Goodreads has changed how and what I read. My goal for this year is to read 24 novels. I have read 12 novels in less than 6 months so far.
Race for the Iron Throne is Steven Attewell’s website devoted to his commentary of George R. R, Martin’s Game of Thrones including all media sources. The main topic and longest-running series of articles are a chapter by chapter analysis of each chapter of the Song of Ice and Fire books. The articles are posted approximately once per week. The current chapter was posted on May 30, 2017, on Jon II of A Storm of Swords (Book Three).
Each article covers the political analysis, what-ifs, historical analysis, and comparisons from book to show. This series inspired me to re-read the series. Reading the articles increased my enjoyment of the novels. At the author’s current pace, his reviews may get to A Dream of Spring (Book Seven) before Martin completes it. Other current articles are a weekly tumbler roundup of his comments on tumbler, Politics of the Seven Kingdoms with a series on each kingdom (The Reach is the current Kingdom), and links to podcasts as a guest on other websites.
The makers of Extra History post a weekly video of about ten minutes once a week. The videos are animated and present history in a fun and educational format. The topics cover all types of world history before about 1950. I enjoy watching their series about historical topics that I know little about. Each series are about five videos long, but they also make shorter series about subjects covering less material. I know that I will always be entertained and enlightened.
There have been 157 videos posted so far. The current series completed was about the Articles of Confederation. Other recent topics were on Hunting the Bismark, Ned Kelly, Catherine the Great, and Simon Bolivar. I enjoy Roman history the most and what got me into this series was the first series posted, Rome in the Punic Wars. My favorite series are The Punic Wars, Justinian, The Brothers Gracchi, and the First Crusade.
K. M. Weiland is an author of historical speculative fiction and writing craft. She posts bi-weekly on topics of interest to beginning writers. Her website is informative, interesting, and helpful. I like her positive attitude and her mission to help writers become authors. She writes like she’s your best friend just trying to help you out. Recent posts were titled 5 ways to write a perfect first draft (or nearly), 5 misconceptions about writing that I used to believe, and how to take advantage of your 4 most important characters. I recommend this site for any budding writers out there.
Writing Excuses is a weekly fifteen-minute podcast. Their tagline is fifteen minutes long because you’re in a hurry, and we’re not that smart. The podcast is in its twelfth season and is hosted by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Taylor, and Dan Wells. They also have co-hosts and guests as well. Each podcast has a theme about a specific aspect of writing. Recent podcast topics were on Creating Great Outlines; Proposals, Pitches, and Queries; and Retrofitting structure into a First Draft. The podcast is always engaging, informative, and interesting. I began listening to this podcast because Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors and I wanted to hear what he had to say. I am glad that I did and remain a fan of this podcast.
Doux Reviews is a website that reviews mainly sci-fi and horror TV shows. It was created by Billie Doux and features many reviewers. There are thousands of reviews on the site. I started reading this site as I was watching Lost. The reviewer helped me understand that complicated show. I have also read the reviews as I watched the shows for Breaking Bad, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, Firefly, Rome, Sherlock, Person of Interest, and Orphan Black. I would also like to use the site when I watch The 100 and Westworld.
Conclusion
Witch Post: Which Websites Do I Frequent Weekly? I frequent these six websites every week looking for information about writing, reading, and watching Science Fiction and Fantasy. I hope to continue to frequent them for years to come.
This is a link to my review of The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which is a fun quickly-paced science fiction/fantasy adventure story. It has the lost world theme and an interesting method of alternative evolution included in this world. It is just the perfect story for that pre-teen boy to read.
