SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
All About Goodreads
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Has Goodreads made you a better reader?
I think the feedback you get can make you a better writer
I imagine that is true. I'm not an author, but I am busy writing my thesis and between that and writing reviews on Goodreads I have noticed an improvement in my writing. That's not quite the same as what you're saying since in my case it's without direct feedback, but rather my (perceived) improvement lies in the fact that the more you do something the better you get at it.
Penny wrote: "Between group discussions and reading and writing reviews I've become far more aware as a reader. I was wondering if anyone else has noticed this or if it's just me? "I found this is true for me, particularly since I've made my goal to review every book I read. Because I'm putting my thoughts out there, I find that I am more aware of when I don't like a book because of writing versus mood versus characterization. It does delay my reading rate, though, because I often go back and re-read to see if my first impression was really the lasting one, or just governed by other circumstances at the time.
Most group reads I've been involved in (across GR) don't add as much to my understanding of the book, because people often give their emotional reactions to a book more than an analysis. Its definitely interesting, but often speaks more to what a reader's personal preference is.
I don't think I'm a better reader per se, but I do think that I read a lot more, and I have broadened my horizons when it comes to what I read. I've tried many books that I never would have picked up otherwise, and I've re-read several oldies that I had forgotten about.
Definitely. I know what readers hate and how smart you all are!
It absolutely helps me as a reader. More to the point, it helps me analyze why I like something, instead of just saying I like it. This helps me write a better review. I was more glib when I began reviewing. I also see that my reviews are read by so many different people that I have to be more precise in what I say.
I think I've become a better skimmer, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing.
I don't know if I'm a better reader, but I've certainly read a lot things I wouldn't have otherwise picked up. And that's a bonus.
Jason you hit it on the head for me! That's what I mean by being a better reader. I mean that I get more out of books now that I've seen how many more layers there are that I hadn't noticed before. You don't have to see them to enjoy a book or know that it's brilliant, but it can help you understand why you prefer one book over another. I'm by no means saying that I can unravel any book or see everything at once, but I see more than I used to and I attribute that to this website and the reviews I've read here.I'm not sure if I read more because of goodreads or if I started using goodreads a lot because I was reading more... Either way, it has introduced me to a lot of books I wouldn't have come across otherwise and I'm very grateful for that.
Carol I agree that often in book discussions we don't get more than personal preference out of people. I think it sometimes is just a case of either you like the author or you don't, for example (though I'm sure I'm going to regret this) Gene Wolfe. The group was split into those that love Wolfe and the books he writes, and those who don't. The issue here is that now a discussion about the themes like does growing up around torture make you immune to violence or less empathetic aren't interesting because everyone is too busy shouting Wolfe is amazing, no he's not, yes he is. That's how the discussion felt to me anyway. I'm a bit off topic now, but in a group discussion I find the conversation is much more interesting if the basic opinion of thumbs up or down isn't too split among those joining in.
Kathryn wrote: "I don't think I'm a better reader per se, but I do think that I read a lot more, and I have broadened my horizons when it comes to what I read. I've tried many books that I never would have picked ..."Ditto Kathryn. And I like that I keep track of what I've read too. I've been wanting to do that for decades.
I've always been an analytical reader, wondering why I like some books and not others. I just assumed that for people who weren't naturally inclined to do that had it thrust upon them in school when forced to write book reports.Were you guys not steered to analyzing (and perhaps defending) why you preferred a story? Or at least taking it apart and examining its components? That sort of thing was so common to my education it never occurred to me other schools wouldn't do it, too.
I would say I'm a very analytical person as well, but there are some books that I read like candy; quickly, disposably. Some books are not meant to be literature with meaning and symbolism that academia loves so much (talking to you, Toni Morrison). Some are meant to be fun and entertaining. Writing a review makes me think a little more about those books. Also, academic writing usually ignores the emotional and circumstantial nature of the experience, so GR gives me a chance to include a significant part of the experience.
I definitely have enjoyed goodreads as a place to learn about new series, authors...discuss what I am reading. However, goodreads is so much fun at times that I end up spending less time reading and more time on goodreads.
Penny wrote: "I've been pondering this question for some time because for me the answer is a resounding yes. I've only been here a few months, but I certainly enjoy the lively discussions, and (being from a somewhat older generation) I am encouraged to find so many people are still reading, in this age of the TV "Reality Show" and the 10-second "Sound Bite."
But what I'm REALLY hoping is that Goodreads will make me a better writer. :-)
I definitely understand myself as a reader much better now, after I've been on GR for over a year. I can formulate what I like and dislike in books much more clearly. Writing my reviews as well as reading others' reviews help with that. And I discovered so many good books through GR! I don't think discussions contributed much but they are fun - places to express myself and to argue with others while sitting safely at home - an online Agora.
John wrote: "But what I'm REALLY hoping is that Goodreads will make me a better writer. :-)"Same here. Writing reviews and participating in discussions have certainly helped.
For me personally, I think GR has made me a better reader by introducing me to books and authors I'd otherwise not know about or wouldn't even think about trying if it weren't for recommendations or friends' reviews.
I've always been a big reader. I like that I can keep track of my reading and post the reviews, which I've always done in some form, but it's more organized here. I can say it's helped in my job as a librarian because I'm more aware of books that are popular and new authors and when books are coming out.
I like the idea of posting more reviews and fostering more discussions of recently read books.
indeed. I'm always lacking in good people to discuss books with. and I like the organization. If I find a new book or author I can come here and look it up, add it to my bookshelf, then I don't have to go searching for it later when I'm ready to read, it's all in one place. That definitely helps when you're a book addict.
Yes, I like the structure of this site too. On Amazon, you can never see the original date of publication, but here, you can see the dates of all the editions (well, at least many of the editions). It's useful in some cases. I like to know when a book was published first, not just the most recent edition Amazon puts up.
Echoing the Yes here as well. I joined back in November last year, and since that time, my book consumption has gone from 1 book a month to 1 or 2 books a week. It has been wonderful seeing what other people are reading, hearing their thoughts on it, reading honest reviews and finding so many books I probably would have never found without GoodReads. The best part, though, has been the discussion groups I've found. After leaving university, I found myself missing the book clubs and discussions. GoodReads has turned out to be a good replacement where I can discuss books with people from all over the world.
I already over-analyze books (and movies), because if I'm not sufficiently entertained, my internal shenanigans editor kicks in and sucks all the fun out of it. If a story can grab me by the arm and take me for a ride, I am a happy panda. I can analyze it later, if I want, but sometimes taking it apart to see how it works destroys the magic.BTW - I raised my hand and said something similar in a college freshman lit class. The professor was not impressed.
I only joined good reads last year, and I must admit that it has opened me up to new books I would not normally have read and the review help me decide which ones I shall go for, and I also like keeping records of the book I have read, and want to read. I also find the discussions interesting as it does make me think more about the way a story is written and I do find my self looking at them more in depth. I do need to get more involved with good reads though as I dont think I have scratched the surface of it yet.
I also love being able to keep track of what I've read so easily! It'll also be nice to be able to see what I thought of books by reading old reviews, but I haven't been on GR long enough to do that yet :PTrike, I did have to write book reviews for school, but that was school. The books we were assigned were "proper" books and I read them with the report in mind and not just for the sake of reading. When I was reading for pleasure I didn't pay the same kind of attention I had to in high school English. That said there are a lot of aspects of my education as a younger person that I didn't let spill over into my life that I wish I had. What can I say, I was a teenager.
I also read a lot more since discovering GR than I used to. I think it's partly because I get excited about all the books I want to read, and partly because my to-read list is too big!
Ed wrote: "goodreads is so much fun at times that I end up spending less time reading and more time on goodreads."
Me too! :) I think many of us suffer from this problem!
Ed wrote: "goodreads is so much fun at times that I end up spending less time reading and more time on goodreads."Penny wrote: Me too! :) I think many of us suffer from this problem!
Agreed! I now spend more time on GoodReads than I do on G+, Facebook and Twitter combined...
Penny wrote: "I also read a lot more since discovering GR than I used to. I think it's partly because I get excited about all the books I want to read, and partly because my to-read list is too big!"I think having a choice in what and when you want to read also adds to the excitement of reading, at least it is for me. Books I choose are usually ones I'm already interested in, and there's no pressure to read what I'm "supposed" to be reading. There's also no pressure to finish a book if I don't enjoy it.
Mimi wrote: "I think having a choice in what and when you want to read also adds to the excitement of reading, at least it is for me. Books I choose are usually ones I'm already interested in, and there's no pressure to read what I'm "supposed" to be reading. There's also no pressure to finish a book if I don't enjoy it. "I agree. I don't finish books if I'm not enjoying them (with a few exceptions), life is just too short and there are too many awesome books out there to waste time on the ones I don't like. However since becoming a mod on this group I do try to read the book club books every month so I do sometimes read books I wouldn't otherwise have picked up. I'll still give them up if I don't like them after 50 pages or so.
Trike wrote: "I've always been an analytical reader, wondering why I like some books and not others. I just assumed that for people who weren't naturally inclined to do that had it thrust upon them in school whe..."lBook reports and book reviews to me are totally different things. What my teachers wanted to know about a book, to me, is different from what I as a reader want to know. I hated book reports as so much of the time they distracted me from reading and enjoying a book. My book reviews could be better but I also tend to prefer less technical reviews. Ones that say I loved or hated it because... Which don't contain technical words and objective/distanced reviews.
How many people here find that their reading time gets reduced by the Internet and TV? I find that I struggle with balancing times a lot.
I'm not sure GRs has made me a better reader but it has challenged me to read books I might not have otherwise. I've always been a prolific reader but now my reading is more scheduled and my TBR list is constantly growing. Prior to GR I was not much into discussing book unless it was to rant to my husband or close friends about what was wrong with a book. Now I'm more likely to find things I enjoy or to be less sarcastic in my comments about what I dislike.. I have notes on what I've read and will read them and go "umm nope that won't do for a review".
Tasha wrote: "Book reports and book reviews to me are totally different things"You make an excellent point Tasha, although personally I think part of what I've come to notice more in books is actually the technical stuff and the big picture themes and all that. So there is some crossover from my point of view. However I agree that a book report and a book review aren't the same thing.
Ed wrote: "How many people here find that their reading time gets reduced by the Internet and TV? I find that I struggle with balancing times a lot."
I used to spend the vast majority of my free time watching films and television, but in the last year I spend almost all my free time reading. Now rather than making time in my watching stuff schedule to read, I make time in my reading schedule to watch stuff. I find now that I can get very distracted watching tv and that happens much less when reading a book. The opposite was true a few years ago.
Trike wrote: "Were you guys not steered to analyzing (and perhaps defending) why you preferred a story? Or at least taking it apart and examining its components? That sort of thing was so common to my education it never occurred to me other schools wouldn't do it, too."
Oh, yes ... started in grade school for me, with book reports and then in college, as a literature major it was definitely what we were supposed to focus on. Nobody cared if you LIKED the book, you were just supposed to analyze it!
I hated it! I don't watch TV and I've always read avidly, but for entertainment. I don't care about the 'whys' of a book and if I don't enjoy it, I go on to something else. I haven't finished reading something I didn't find entertaining since I left college, I'm afraid.
Goodreads ... and a Kindle ... has given me more options but I can't say it's changed my reading habits.
Ed wrote: "How many people here find that their reading time gets reduced by the Internet and TV? I find that I struggle with balancing times a lot."I've pretty much stopped watching TV. I used to read with TV on in the background. Post my car accident I've found that I can no longer split my mind and keep track of both so I went back to my 1st love of reading.
Tasha wrote: "Ed wrote: "How many people here find that their reading time gets reduced by the Internet and TV? I find that I struggle with balancing times a lot."I've pretty much stopped watching TV. I used ..."
I've never been much of a TV watcher. I grew up on a remote ranch in MT, didn't have TV until I was in my 20s and moved to a city. I did, then, follow a few series but later just found I preferred books for entertainment. I spend some time on the Internet now, though I've only had access to that for the last 12 years (MT ranch country again) but mostly on book/art/horse forums and on a fairly limited basis.
Books are still definitely my entertainment of choice.
I find it so enjoyable when I've spent several hours reading due to being stuck at an airport, etc but once home it's so easy to do other things. I definitely like the idea of making reading first and other things can then be fit in.
Ed wrote: "I definitely like the idea of making reading first and other things can then be fit in."I really like this idea. I think I will have to borrow it.
I don't think GR has made me a "better" reader: I've always read books but I do have personal preferences, and they dictate the majority of what I read.However, GR HAS introduced me to books I would never have picked up by myself!!
So, yes. GR has broadened (somewhat) my reading preferences and opened me to other people's thoughts (not necessarily agreeing with), and yes, I have read stuff I probably wouldn't have touched 3-4 years ago :)
I could probably be described as a philistine, beause I know what I like; I won't be persuaded to read something "just because"; and I admit to not having read some "classic" stuff - mainly beause it never appealed :)
BUT, I read for enjoyment; not because someone told me to!
I don't know that I'm really a better reader because of GR, but it has certainly helped me discover a lot of great books. When I joined, I was having a hard time finding good book. Now, I not only read more books, but I also read more good books.
I don't know if it has made me a better reader, but it has opened my eyes to a number of authors. Also when I take work home or get to wrapped up in video games, it reminds me there is still the pleasure only a book can give.
Considering the insane ratings some books receive I think Goodreads mostly just enhances my despair at the stupidity of the human race. No offense.
Libromaniac wrote: "Considering the insane ratings some books receive I think Goodreads mostly just enhances my despair at the stupidity of the human race. No offense."
It's not stupidity to have a different opinion to someone else. It is perhaps stupid to like the Twilight novels though...
It's not stupidity to have a different opinion to someone else. It is perhaps stupid to like the Twilight novels though...
Libromaniac wrote: "Considering the insane ratings some books receive I think Goodreads mostly just enhances my despair at the stupidity of the human race. No offense."I do sometimes wonder myself, but then I also realize that everyone has different preferences. When I'm looking for something new to read, I tend to depend primarily on the info in 3 and 4 star ratings for a particular book ... I look at a couple of the 5 stars and 1 and 2 stars, but the most balanced information seems to be in the 3 and 4 star reviews. You pretty much know the 5 star ratings are going to be nothing but praise and the 1 stars mostly "I hated this"' The 3 and 4 stars are more likely to be 'I liked this part, didn't like that so much'and that tells me a lot more.
And no, I don't see the attraction of the Twilight books either ... but the same is true of the World of Time series as well.
Interesting, I tend to read the 5 star and 1 star reviews to get the exaggerated pros and cons of a book and I've put a number of books on my to-read shelf because someone I knew I shared nothing in common with taste-wise gave them 1 star ratings. ;)I don't know if GR has made me a better reader, I've been on GR for 5 years, but I've been reading voraciously all my life, and I have studied Literature, so the analysis aspect isn't new to me. Sometimes the discussions on GR have been very enlightening and interesting to partake in, but first and foremost GR has made me a more organized reader. I didn't use to keep a reading diary or even a to-read list, and it's very handy for those kinds of things.
I don't only read for entertainment, I also read to broaden my mind and improve my education. I had a professor claim that we'd never be able to read for mindless entertainment after studying Literature, but she was wrong or I'm very good at disconnecting parts of my brain at will.
Evilynn, it's so refreshing to hear that you are still able to enjoy good stories as well as being able to step back and ponder their artistic merit. I think either extreme can lead to terrible results. With the one you may end up stuffing your mind with drivel and trash which leaves you empty (though you may not know or care) and the other can lead to over analysis and the inability to appreciate the work for what it is. I strive, like you, to walk between these two poles.For myself, I would not say that Goodreads has had much impact on my reading other than to help me form my thoughts and write them down in a review. This is not something I otherwise would do.
I usually do not give a book a star rating unless I can leave a review. I actually like that on Amazon you have to write something with your review, even if it's just one line. I think with Goodreads it's too easy to be a book consumer and just leave ratings for five hundred books at a single sitting. I prefer a more thoughtful approach.
id say its definitely made me a better reader, in fact i doubt id read as often without GR.I barely read prior to joining on here and had just began reading constantly when i joined up. I like being able to find out about the book im about to read and other users thoughts, hopefully avoiding spoilers.
I used IMDB like i used GR but with the change in IMDB i rarely use it now so i hope GR doesnt make any untoward changes like IMDB has.
Ed wrote: "I definitely have enjoyed goodreads as a place to learn about new series, authors...discuss what I am reading. However, goodreads is so much fun at times that I end up spending less time reading an..."Have a similar problem. When I'm too tired to read, I just jump on goodreads now and read reviews for my "to-read" list.
GR has definitely made me a more consistent reader, and helped me a lot in making good book choices. But the original reason I joined was to track what I had read. It's too easy to forget when you borrow books.
Now I find myself checking GR more than facebook!
I'd say I am on Goodreads about 90% of the time with Facebook getting 10% and that's usually just checking for birthdays.
I'm a more diverse reader now, although that has been helped by my Kindle as well, and I've been introduced to some great books I wouldn't have picked up otherwise.
No. If reading the reviews and boards has taught me anything, it's that, when it comes to fiction, I'm definitely a reading for entertainment sort of guy and must be sleepwalking thru some of the books I've read. After a long day at work, Mr. Brain doesn't want to be asked to do any heavy lifting, so I pretty much rely on the reviews of others to do the heavy lifting for me. In fact, while reading another's review of a book that I've already read, I'm often being educated and illuminated to the point that I'll wonder if I read a different book--Lord Voldemort a bad guy? How the heck did I miss that one! You get the idea. Anyway, there are a lot of smart pups in here helping me out by doing a hefty amount of deep thinking, and I hope that they keep up the good work.
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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I discovered this site about a year ago and although I wasn't very active at first, that gradually changed. I remember being impressed by the detail in many of the reviews I read back then because I thought the attention to detail was quite remarkable. Early exchanges with new friends here showed me how many deeper aspects of novels (fantasy and science fiction in particular) I wasn't paying enough attention to. Magic systems, world building and style of narration to name a few. Consistency of motivation and character development are aspects I've always paid attention to along with plot, but I realised through activity on Goodreads that I was only seeing about half a book has to offer. I'd like to think that I see more of it now, though I'm sure I still have lots left to learn.
Between group discussions and reading and writing reviews I've become far more aware as a reader. I was wondering if anyone else has noticed this or if it's just me?