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Hi, I'm Pam and this is the first book discussion group that I have founded. However, I have been active on Goodreads since 2019. I am a co-moderator of one group and a member of several others.I've been reading for a long as I can remember. Throughout the early years, I mainly read mysteries, classics, science fiction and historical biographies. Today my reading preferences have diversified as so many gifted writers find outlets for their work.
Among my favorite fiction genres are mysteries, thrillers, suspense, fantasy, paranormal, historical fiction, horror and science fiction including most subgenres of these. Nonfiction favorite subjects include native gardening for pollinators, history, nature, and genealogy.
I read a lot of ARCs via NetGalley. About 30+ per cent of the authors I read have been new-to-me authors during the last couple of years. I read 150 to 200 books per year.
When I'm not reading, my husband and I enjoy birdwatching, hiking, gardening, and moth and butterfly photography.
Welcome to this new group, Kelly. Congratulations on being the first person to join. I'm happy you found the group.
Thanks! I’m so happy to have found the group! Actually, it’s ironic since I just finished a great ARC and posted a review. I actually remembered asking for suggestions a few years ago about how to catch up on my written reviews. You had mentioned (if I’m not mistaken) that it’s helpful to write the review soon after you read while it’s still “fresh”. I’m extremely behind again (partly due to unexpected medical issues) and came across your post after I posted my review! This really made my day!
I’ve been a member of Good Reads since 2008 but only a serious reviewer since about 2016 or so. It took me several years to finally discover and eventually receive the wonderful honor of the ARC! I now primarily have a TBR list that is 95% ARC novels that I receive from NetGalley, Edelweiss, Book Siren or publisher widgets. I tend to read about 100 books a year although my count has slowly risen over the years. Like you, my reading preference has evolved over time due to the exposure to “new” authors and sometimes “indie” authors. I don’t tend to gravitate toward sci-fi and fantasy but it seems that even some of my beloved authors have ventured into the genre. I am mostly attracted to historical fiction, contemporary fiction, rom-com, detective, legal drama, horror, suspense, mystery, psychological thrillers and more recently cozy mysteries. I also enjoy nonfiction biographies, memoirs, historical, gardening, self help, mental health.
I enjoying audiobooks while I’m outside doing yard-work and gardening! I am also interested in nature and taking pictures of my garden and birds that visit my yard.
Kelly wrote: "Thanks! I’m so happy to have found the group! Actually, it’s ironic since I just finished a great ARC and posted a review. I actually remembered asking for suggestions a few years ago about how to ..."You're welcome. Even though I take notes, I find it easier to write my reviews within 24 hours of finishing a book. I don't always make that times frame, but that is my target.
Kelly wrote: "I’ve been a member of Good Reads since 2008 but only a serious reviewer since about 2016 or so. It took me several years to finally discover and eventually receive the wonderful honor of the ARC! I..."We have a lot of similar interests, Kelly in both books and our personal lives. Although, I do read sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal and don't tend to read self-help books. I only read a very few nonfiction books each year.
Yes! I always take notes since I have fallen so far behind that I need to make sure my notes are clear when I do review the book. I’ve honestly had to re read books if it’s been too long! How embarrassing! Yet, sometimes I find my opinion has changed! I don’t like the anxiety of knowing I have more reviews to write than books to read!
Agreed! I am a nurse by profession so hence my interest in self help and the like!
Welcome to Book Thoughts, Eileen! Please feel free to introduce yourself and join the activities and discussions as we get started. I believe you read mysteries and thrillers, but I think your reading interests may be wider than that.
Welcome to Book Thoughts, Cheryl! Please feel free to introduce yourself and join the activities and discussions as we get started.I believe you enjoy historical fiction, psychological thrillers, and police procedurals. We also have several of the same books on our TBR shelf.
Welcome to Book Thoughts,, Danny. Please feel free to introduce yourself and join the activities and discussions as we get started.What genres/sub-genres of books do you enjoy reading?
Welcome to Book Thoughts,, Chelsea. Please feel free to introduce yourself and join the activities and discussions as we get started.It looks like you enjoy reading historical fiction and mysteries. Is that right?
Welcome to Book Thoughts, Foxy. It's great to see you joined as we get started with the group.
Thanks for joining Book Thoughts, Elizabeth. Please feel free to introduce yourself and join the activities and discussions as we get started.What genres/sub-genres of books do you enjoy reading?
Thanks for joining Book Thoughts, Chris. Please feel free to introduce yourself and join the activities and discussions as we get started.If I remember correctly, you enjoy mysteries and thrillers. Which subgenres do you prefer?
Welcome to Book Thoughts, DeAnn. Thanks for joining! Please feel free to introduce yourself to the group.You've read a lot of books that are on my long, long TBR that I haven't gotten to yet. Please share the genres/sub-genres you enjoy with the group.
PamG wrote: "Welcome to Book Thoughts, Foxy. It's great to see you joined as we get started with the group."Wishing you the best with your group. Have Fun and Happy Reading!
Foxy Vixen wrote: "Wishing you the best with your group. Have Fun and Happy Reading!"Thanks, Foxy!
Hello Fellow Book Thoughts Members,First of all I want to thank Pam for inviting me to join her inaugural book group.
Having joined several groups on GR I find myself active in only one and that is Literary Fiction By People of Color.
In January I moderated my first month long discussion of the incredible historical fiction novel, Happy Land 🌼 by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.
This month I find myself moderating my second month long discussion of The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai. This book is billed as Literary Fiction and was short listed for the Booker Prize as well as being on Barrack Obama's Reading List for 2025. Since first publishing his reading list in 2019, I make sure I read 2-3 of his choices yearly. I have found it a great source for great reads.
My virtual book club is The Philly Book Club. Joining approximately two years ago it has been a great addition to my reading life. We are a group ages 30-70 with myself being one of the two in their 70s. We read a lot of contemporary fiction which is additionally almost something published within the previous 3-6 months. We are an open minded group of fun gals and 1 great fella who is a semi-retired Barnes and Noble employee.
My favorite genres tend to flip flop but recently I find myself with three books at a time...one literary or contemporary fiction read, one historical fiction novel and I read at least one thriller of some sort a week that being psychological, police procedural, murder mystery, etc. Under that umbrella I love the sub-genre of dark academia 📚 🏛️.
Having read a lot of dystopian fiction in my 20s and 30s I have found myself drawn back into the sub-genre after reading I Who Have Never Known Men with my book club. I also find myself fascinated with magical realism.
Often I find myself reading books that take me to other places where I can learn the customs and traditions of other people. Also I have found myself drawn to books about marginalized groups such as our American indigenous Indians.
It was my decision this year to read classic books as well. The most recent tome I have committed to reading prior to years end is Larry McCurty's Lonesome Dove.
My husband and I are semi-retired and have run a farmers market on the edge of Houston for well over 15 years. We have so many vendors as well as customers who have become beautiful friends.
Container gardening is another subject I am especially interested in flowering plants and most recently have added herbs and vegetables into my repatoire.
Looking forward to reading along and sharing book thoughts with all of you.
Hi everyone. Thanks for the invite, Pam.Like everyone else here, I’m an avid reader, although I have slowed down a little bit this year due to heavy work life and just really not having the time or energy to read like I usually do which was about 150 books a year. I have been reviewing books for at least 13 years or so. I mainly do that through my website and I would say at least 98% of them are publisher invites. That’s another reason I’ve slowed down some on the reviewing, because I do sometimes like to read in other genres than what is offered. I’ve become very picky over the last few years.
I read multiple genres but lean heavily into the romance arena. I do like Espionage, suspense, mystery, and thrillers but again this needs to be balanced somewhat because my first love is romance and I do read all types of that genre. I’m not huge into dystopian or sci-fi, fanfic. But I do love a strong leading man.
Anyway, great to meet everyone and share some conversations and reviews on some fabulous stories. Chris
You're welcome, Chris. Thanks for sharing.
Cheryl wrote: "Hello Fellow Book Thoughts Members, First of all I want to thank Pam for inviting me to join her inaugural book group...."You're welcome, Cheryl. What an exciting book life! You must be enjoying moderating the book discussion since you're now doing your second one.
Welcome to new members Chewable Orb, Dee (in the Desert), Chris C - A Midlife Wife, Cassia Sanchez, crystal niche, and Davide Smith Borrelli.Feel free to introduce yourself and let us know the types of books you read.
Davide, as an author, please check out the author promotions threads. Check comment 1 here first.
Welcome to new members Dan and Deborah.Feel free to introduce yourself and let us know the types of books you read.
Dan, as an author, please check out the author promotions threads. Check comment 1 here first.
Welcome to new members Briony, Wendi Flint Rank, Amanda, AJ, and Alia.AP,We’re glad you found us. Feel free to introduction yourself and let us know the types of books you read, as well as delve into our conversations and activities. We hope you find great recommendations and experience some fun along the way.
PamG wrote: "Welcome to new members Chewable Orb, Dee (in the Desert), Chris C - A Midlife Wife, Cassia Sanchez, crystal niche, and Davide Smith Borrelli. Feel free to introduce yourself and let us know the ty..."Thanks for the invite Pam - looking at the challenges as that's my jam:) I most read brand-new books that are popular - usually mystery/thrillers & romance/women's fiction, and a few fantasy or horror here and there. I also volunteer at my local library.
Hi There - My name is Valerie. My handle is The Midwest Book Mom because I live in the Midwest, I enjoy books, and I'm a Mom of two kiddos ages 7 & 5. My go-to genre is historical fiction. I like reading it because a story oftentimes will lead me to historical references I didn't know about. I do like exploring other genres like mystery or even science-fiction. I've read some fascinating science-fiction novels I never thought I'd like, such creative world building or "what if" scenarios. Thank you for the invite to be here!
Dee (in the Desert) wrote: "PamG wrote: "Welcome to new members Chewable Orb, Dee (in the Desert), Chris C - A Midlife Wife, Cassia Sanchez, crystal niche, and Davide Smith Borrelli. Feel free to introduce yourself and let us..."Thanks, Dee and thanks for supporting your local library. If you have some challenge (or other) suggestions, please add them here.
Val : The Midwest Book Mom wrote: "Hi There - My name is Valerie. My handle is The Midwest Book Mom because I live in the Midwest, I enjoy books, and I'm a Mom of two kiddos ages 7 & 5. My go-to genre is historical fiction. I like..."
You're welcome, Valerie. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome to new members Tugba, Ange, Megan, Ashley, Val, Kimberly, Gina, and Susan. If you haven't already done so, feel free to introduce yourself and tell us what genres of fiction you enjoy.
Hi everyone, and thanks for the invite Pam! I set up a Goodreads account years ago but recently decided to actually utilize it ;) So far I've been reviewing some old favorites and recent reads, and overall just enjoying the discussions. Like many of you, I'm an avid reader and love chatting about books. I gravitate mostly towards fantasy and science fiction, though sometimes mix it up with romance and horror. I'm a Mom of 3, so I sneak in reading whenever there's a break in the action!
Thanks for sharing, AJ. I love that we have such busy lives but still find time to read and talk about books.
Thanks for the invite, Pam. Hi everyone! I like to read for escapism so I mostly read fantasy and romance, but if I'm in the mood I'll pick up just about anything. My favorite authors include Stephen King, Christopher Moore and Jasper Fforde (none of whom writes fantasy or romance 🤣). I'm currently obsessed with the Dungeon Crawler Carl series which has a new book coming out on the 12th. Nice to meet everyone!
Pam, thanks for the invitation!I’ve been a member of Goodreads since 2010, but did not actively participate until around 2013/2014. I’m a retired corporate librarian and have loved reading for as long as I can remember . I’m kind of a finicky reader. I read almost all fiction with the occasional memoir or non fiction book. I mostly read literary and historical fiction. I don’t read fantasy , horror , mysteries or crime as a rule, but I do read a variety of books. I read a lot of ARCS from NetGalley and Edelweiss and I love discovering authors new to me. I belong to a few groups and enjoy engaging with other readers . I write reviews for pretty much every book I read. I’m not much of a challenge reader, and will read a group selection if it’s one I’m interested in.
Some of my favorite writers are Maggie O’Farrell, Colum McCann , Elizabeth Strout, Richard Russo, Frederik Backman, Ann Patchett , Alice McDermott, Geraldine Brooks, Alice Hoffman among others.
Look forward to connecting with friends - old and new.
Hi Angela,Just read Patchett's Bel Canto about 2 weeks ago. Absolutely LOVED it. This was my second novel of hers I've read. The other was Tom Lake which I listened to for my virtual book club. So far I find myself intrigued with her writing style. Both of these novels IMHO had a slow and meandering style.
Going to give The Dutch House a go. Will not however, be listening to Tom Hanks, I will read it on my Kindle. No shade intended for Mr. Hanks just don't think I could listen to him for that long. Don't want to liken it to his movie Castaway!
It is my intention to read more Bachman. Again I have read 2 novels the first being his very devisive Anxious People which I really, really enjoyed. Loved the quirky characters as well as all the hijinx.
My second was his recent My Friends. All I have to say is... beautiful beautiful book!
Mike drop! 🎤
Looking forward to see what else you are reading as well as your thoughts on books we might read together.
Enjoy all your reading!
Angela M wrote: "Pam, thanks for the invitation!I’ve been a member of Goodreads since 2010, but did not actively participate until around 2013/2014. I’m a retired corporate librarian and have loved reading for as..."
You're welcome, Angela. That's a great list of authors. I'm happy to see someone else loves to find "new-to-me" books.
Welcome to new members Werner, Angela M, Claire, William, and Belles. If you haven't already done so, feel free to introduce yourself here and let us know what genres/sub-genres you enjoy reading.We hope you find great recommendations and experience some fun along the way.
Cheryl wrote: "Hi Angela,Just read Patchett's Bel Canto about 2 weeks ago. Absolutely LOVED it. This was my second novel of hers I've read. The other was Tom Lake which I listened to for my virtual book club. S..."
Cheryl, Bel Canto was my first Patchett book and is still my favorite of hers. Her memoirs are wonderful as well.
I’ve read and loved all,of Backman’s novels and I think Friends is his best yet.
Look forward to see what you are reading as well .
Pam, thanks for the invitation, and the welcome!I've been reading independently at least since the age of six (and I'll turn 74 this summer) and have always loved books. Most of my working life (I'm still working full-time) has been spent in Christian higher education, and I've been one of the librarians at Bluefield Univ. in southwestern Virginia for 34 years. My wife Barb and I have three grown daughters and seven grandkids (two of the latter in Australia --our oldest daughter married an Aussie).
Though a busy schedule doesn't allow me as much time for reading as I'd like, I've always got at least two books going, one I'm reading by myself and one I'm reading aloud to Barb. (That doesn't count the Bible, which we read together a chapter a day, and start again at the beginning whenever we finish.) Mostly I read in paper format, and typically read 30 or 30+ books a year. I joined Goodreads in February 2008, and am pretty active here (I try to do a book review every week, some of them of books read pre-Goodreads).
Besides this group, I already belonged to 16 other public groups (though two of them, Goodreads Librarians and What's the Name of That Book?, aren't really discussion groups), and wasn't actually looking for another one. But Pam is a valued Goodreads friend, and since she was kind enough to invite me, I joined to support her initiative in creating the group. I probably won't join in the group reads or challenges (I already take part in a few ongoing or annual challenges in other groups, which are plenty for me to keep track of; and I don't take part in many group reads, because if I did I'd never have time to read anything I picked myself! :-) ). But I'll follow the discussions, and contribute where I can.
I'll share about my favorite genres//authors/series on the other thread!
Thanks for joining, Werner. I knew you were busy, but thought I would reach out anyway.
Welcome to new members Aniruddha, Bean, Babbie, Troy, Ankit, BiblioPeeks, Alessandra, Anmol, Toonasa, Zanna, Dimitris, Dozelina, and Bam cooks the books. We’re glad you found us. If you'd like to, please introduce yourself here and let us know what genres/sub-genres you enjoy reading.
Feel free to delve into our conversations and activities. We hope you find great recommendations and experience some fun along the way.
Hi to all and thanks to Pam for the invite. I've been part of Goodreads since 2011 and joined NetGalley in 2016 in order to get a book I had won. I try not to let arcs take over my reading but it's not easy, is it? My love of mysteries started with Nancy Drew. I still remember the thrill of finding a new one at the bookstore. From there, I moved on to Agatha Christie but also classics like Jane Eyre, Rebecca, Wuthering Heights, Gone with the Wind and I went on to major in English Lit at university. My favorite book of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird.
Now as an adult, I'd say my reading tastes are fairly eclectic. I'll try just about anything if it sounds interesting. My least favorites are chic-lit and rom-coms though.
I read 150+ books each year. I'm a member of our library's afternoon book club and my daughters and I have a Zoom book club of our own, started during Covid.
My other hobbies include gardening and birdwatching, doing literary jigsaw puzzles. and cooking. I'm known as the cookie lady. 😋
I feel my greatest success in life is that I helped mold my grandson into a big reader. I read to him constantly as a baby and toddler and now at 11, the best gift he can receive is a book. 🤩
Looking forward to discussing books with all of you!
Hi everybody and thank you very much, Pam!I’m Italian, so please forgive my English, because even with the help of artificial intelligence, what I write might still be worse than what I can imagine...
I’ve always been an ‘omnivorous’ reader, although since I’ve been reading mainly in English, I’m not quite as quick as I used to be.
I read to feel good and to enjoy myself: that’s why I like there to be a touch of irony and humour.
I read to broaden my knowledge, so I also read essays of various kinds.
For years I read mainly crime novels, developing a passion for Scandinavian, Swedish and Icelandic crime fiction.
Now I can no longer read books where violence and deliberately inflicted suffering play a prominent role: they make me feel unwell, so I look for other kinds of reading material, turning to romance novels, for example, which I enjoy provided they aren’t too sentimental and, above all, if they’re also fun.
My cult book is *Jane Eyre*, but the author I’ve read and reread the most is Jane Austen. I love Tolstoy and Dickens, but I also enjoy reading Anne Tyler, Lily King, Maggie O’Farrell, Katherine Center, Abbi Jimenez, Beth O’Leary and many other female writers. One of my favourites is Alice Basso, who hasn’t yet been translated into English.
Bam cooks the books wrote: "Hi to all and thanks to Pam for the invite. I've been part of Goodreads since 2011 and joined NetGalley in 2016 in order to get a book I had won. I try not to let arcs take over my reading but it's..."Thanks for joining. We share some similar hobbies as well as reading a wide variety of genres/sub-genres.
Alessandra wrote: "Hi everybody and thank you very much, Pam!I’m Italian, so please forgive my English, because even with the help of artificial intelligence, what I write might still be worse than what I can imagin..."
You're welcome, Alessandra. I hope you find great recommendations and experience some fun along the way.
Welcome to new members Angie, Adar, Adrian, and Richard. Thanks for joining. Feel free to introduce yourself and let us know what genres/sub-genres you enjoy.Happy Reading!
Welcome to new members Bobby, VenneD, and Cheryl. Thanks for joining. I hope you find great recommendations and experience some fun along the way
Welcome to new members Heidi, Lisa, Gali, Elizabeth, and Cori. Thanks for joining. Feel free to introduce yourself and let us know what genres/sub-genres you enjoy reading.
Welcome to new members: Christopher, Anita, Deacon Tom, Aly, BiblioGrrl, Heidi, Lisa, Gali, and Elizabeth. I hope you find great recommendations and experience some fun along the way
As always, please do not use this thread for self-promotion. Use the promotion thread for that.