Introduce Yourself to the Group - 2023

[Lisa]

Welcome Lilli and William! :)

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Becca. And best og luck with the GCSEs!

[Lisa]

Welcome Arzu! Goodluck with your reading goal. Hoping you find some fantastic books.

[Sara]

Hi! My name is Sara and I'm a college student. I really want to get back into pleasure reading and hit my 2023 goal but it's really hard with all those college reads. I move a lot but currently studying in the US. I like to read a bit of everything but my top three will always be fantasy, romance, and thriller/mystery. I love the classics too though. I found this group because I wanted to be part of a book club that would help me stay on top of my goal this year :) And my reading goal for 2023 is 6 books which is a bit less than previous years but like I said, college has made it hard...

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Sara!
I joined the group back in 2016 when I was writing my Bachelor's thesis, and had the very modest goal of 12 books (one per month), because I was just getting back into the groove of leisurely reading and wasn't sure how much time/headspace I would have to get any reading done. By the end of the year, I had tripled that.

Still though, the biggest advice I can give to college students (based on my own experience), is to start low and switch it up as needed if you so desire.

All that being said, we've got some great buddy reads and group reads, which often feature classics and popular books in the genres you named. It's lots of fun and worth checking out :)
Best of luck with your reading goals, and your studies!

[Clare]

hey im clare
i love romance, fantasy and mystery (once and awhile)

[ayesha 🎀]

Hi I’m Ayesha from Florida, I mostly read romance/mystery my reading goal for this year is 45 and I’ve read 15 so far ;)

[Lisa]

Welcome Clare and Ayesha :) Hoping you enjoy the group and find some fantastic books in 2023 :)

[Nina]

I´m Nina from the westcoast of Norway. 34 years old. I usually read Norwegian contemporary fiction. I joined this group to see what other people around the world read and get some inspiration. I´m looking to expand my horizon in literature other than authors from my own country :D
My goal for 2023 is to read 52 books.

[Lisa]

Welcome Nina! I used to have family in Stavanger, so fun to have yet another Scandinavian join the group (there are serveral of us here).

I'm the worst at reading literature from my own country, whether it's Denmark or Venezuela, both are equally bad. Looking forward to seeing what representative literature you'll be reading.

Best of luck with your reading goals!

[Tash]

I'm Tash, from Wiltshire in the UK. My goal is to read 24 books this year - 4 more than last year and an average of 2 a month. I read a mix of mostly fiction with some non-fiction. Currently participating in a year long readalong of War and Peace.

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Tash!
How are you liking War and Peace so far? If you enjoy Buddy Reads, you should check out what's in store for April :)

Good luck with your reading plans.

[Vi]

Hi! I’m Vi, I’m trying to get back into reading and writing. I read and write mainly fantasy or slice of life. I was looking for a group to see recommendations and perhaps make friends. My goal this year is to read 100 books!

[Roevardotter]

Hi i am Jasmin from Germany. Lina, who is also here, shared this group with me and after I almost forfilled my reading challenge in my other goodreads group, i thought why not join here and get a good overview over my reading and find some new challenges. Looking forward reading with all of you :)

[Lisa]

Welcome Vi and Jasmin!
There are SO many fantastic challenges in this group! And fun activities and buddy reads, and amazing, friendly people. If you're anything like me, where someone just has to avert their eyes in the direction of a new book, or author, your TBR pile will undoubtedly grow exponentially, as mine has.

Good luck with your reading goals in 2023 :)

[Jane]

Hi Everyone
I should have done this awhile ago but life got in the way! My name is Jane and I live near Stratford Upon Avon in the UK
I am a bit of a book addict and love most genres. I will read anything that looks interesting but my paricular favourites are classics, russian and native american literature, greek mythology and biographies
I love discussing books

[AvE]

Hi, i like to read YA books, and I found this group because of the buddy reads, and I was wondering how that worked.

[Ilona]

AvE wrote: "Hi, i like to read YA books, and I found this group because of the buddy reads, and I was wondering how that worked."

Welcome! We have plenty of buddy reads each month in this group :) You can read all about them here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... Happy Reading!

[Ilona]

Welcome to the group everyone! :)

[Kaushal]

Hi everyone!
I'm Kaushal, from India. I like fiction, historical, mythology-fiction, and graphic novels. I'm just getting back to the habit of reading; the goal is 12 and 6 done so far in 2023. :)
I'm also enjoying reading classics in Hindi, all of which I just skipped until now.
Looking forward to unique new recommendations and reading with you all!

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Kaushal.
That's fantastic! You'll surely more than surpass that goal before the end of the year. Do you have any favorites so far ?

Wishing you a fantastic reading year.
Happy Reading!

[Cindy]

Hello! I am Cindy from the Chicagoland Suburbs. I recently got back into reading and try to read everyday. I love both a good thriller and romance novels! I am up to read from other genre if the topic is of interest to me.

[sweet orange books]

Hi, I'm sweet orange from Southern California! I read all genres, and I have recently started reading romance novels, and they are a lot of fun! My favorite genres are non-fiction, classics, romance, and picture books.

I haven't read a lot in the last 6 months, but my bookworm mood is back, so I'm excited for all the new books I'm going to read this year!

I love challenges because they help me read more and read books I wouldn't have immediately picked. Challenges are like surprise gifts and I love them!

[Sam]

Hi, I am Sam and I am trying to read 52 books this year. I am a little behind but have already read more books this year than any year previously!

I mainly enjoy sci-fi and business books but the challenge is all about reading other books outside of my normal bubble so I am taking suggestions from far and wide to expand my library a bit.

I am also trying to write a little bit about each one I read, so I don't forget it all after the year is out! Blog is here: www.prospection.substack.com

Would love to discuss any of the books I've ticked-off already so please reply or leave a comment over on substack if you fancy joining in :)

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Cindy, sweet orange and Sam!

[Samina]

Hey everyone!

My name is Samina, from Nairobi, Kenya.
I created this account just recently.
I’m open to reading all genres, feel free to recommend me any reads you find interesting or enjoyable.
My goal is to read 80 books in 2023, much more than I did in 2022.

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Samina and good luck with your goal! :)

[Anna]

Hi all!

I'm Anna, half Greek, half Dutch currently living in the Netherlands.
The Man Who Died Twice got me out of a huge reading slump last summer, but I'm not limited to cozy crime.

I'd like to read more classics, contemporary fiction and fantasy.
Got more determined about reading consistently through booktubers like The Book Leo and Jack Edwards :)
Thus, I've tried to set an attainable reading goal; 40 books, 10 every quarter (I do hope secretly to surpass that).

Currently reading HP and the Half-Blood Prince (cuz I never read them when I was young and I'm always in my Harry Potter phase) and Eating Animals (plant-based girlie here :)

If you have any recs don't hesitate, shoot!

[Valentina]

Hi Everyone!
I'm Valentina, I'm Italian but lived in England for 10 years so I read mostly in English (in Italian if the author is Italian, of course).
I like to read everything, from historical fiction, to fantasy, to thriller...
I have always been a fan of paperbacks (well, hardbacks are beautiful but sooooo expensive and a little impractical), but during the lockdown I discovered the magic of a Kindle and I love to read eBooks also.
I found your group because I am constantly looking for new books and recommendations (which is not good for my finances) and I like to read together other people every now and then.

I set my reading goal to 50 for the year, but hopefully I can read more.

[Lorelai]

Hi! I am Lorelai from Alabama <3 I love dystopian, historical fiction, biographies, and classics (but I’ll read anything, I am not picky.) I have always loved reading but I have only had Goodreads for about a month, so I am looking forward to participating in challenges! Thanks for reading :)

[Eve &#x1f9f8;]

Hii I’m Eveline from Romania! I love romance, murder mistery ❤️
My reading goal for this year is 70 books, although I barely read 50 last year.
Hope we are gonna get along 🫶🏻

[Ilona]

Welcome everyone! :)

[Vanessa]

Hi everyone! My name is Vanessa & I'm from Orlando, Florida. This is my first major book club & I'm so excited to be joining!! I enjoyed reading for a portion of my childhood but did not find a passion for it until 2021, when I picked up Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and was forever changed. That book instantly sparked my newfound passion for reading!

I enjoy many different genres but my favorites include fantasy, thrillers, fiction, and young adult. Every once in a while I will pick up a cheesy romance too ;) I kept my reading goal this year pretty small, as I made the big move to Orlando very recently, but I am already two books ahead of schedule, so I may need to increase!! My current goal is set for 15 books, but I'm hoping to beat my previous year's goal of 20.

Here are a few of my favorite books if anyone feels the same & wants to reply!
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
- They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (I have the prequel but haven't read it yet!)
- A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
- Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

[Lisa]

Anna wrote: "Hi all!

I'm Anna, half Greek, half Dutch currently living in the Netherlands.
The Man Who Died Twice got me out of a huge reading slump last summer, but I'm not limited to cozy crime.

I'd like ..."

Welcome Anna,
It sounds like you've got a pretty sustainable, reachable goal!
If you're anything like me, and struggle to motivate yourself to actually read the classics, that you adamantly claim to want to read - I 100% recommend checking out our Buddy Reads section.

Based on the books on your TBR shelf, I can definitely recommend "The Great Gatsby" or "Little Women" - I honestly don't think you can go wrong with either of those, classic-wise.
"Mythos" is really entertaining - specially the audiobook, which is read by Stephen Fry.
Lastly, I remember really, really enjoying "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo",

Best of luck :)

[Lisa]

Valentina wrote: "Hi Everyone!
I'm Valentina, I'm Italian but lived in England for 10 years so I read mostly in English (in Italian if the author is Italian, of course).
I like to read everything, from historical fi..."

Hi Valentina, and welcome to the group :)

Welcome to the dark side! lol.
I loooove my Kindle Paperwhite! but yeah the struggle is real at times. Specially when it comes to e-books that you can literary get with 1- click of a button.

For the longest time, I've had a gift card that I reload every month, so I know I'm not going crazy, impulsively buying whatever I want, simply because it's at the tip of my fingers.

We've got a fantastic section for Buddy Reads, plus a Group read every month that offers great selections, you should definitely check out. In May, the group will be reading "Lessons in Chemistry" and you can check out Buddy Reads that are happening in May here.

Good luck with your reading goals and happy reading :)

[Lisa]

Lorelai wrote: "Hi! I am Lorelai from Alabama <3 I love dystopian, historical fiction, biographies, and classics (but I’ll read anything, I am not picky.) I have always loved reading but I have only had Goodreads ..."

Welcome Lorelai,
If you have any questions about anything at all, whether it be specific to the group or Goodreads in general, please don't hesitate to ask :) We're really friendly and helpful here.

I wish you the best of luck choosing what challenges you want to join. We've got some really unique and fun ones!
My favorite that runs all year, is probably "United in Reading", but other tried&true favorites are "Genre Bingo" or ""Popsugar Reading Challenge"

Q2 (i.e. April-June) also has some great options, both prompt based and more open-ended ones. And May will also have two terrific challenges, again both prompt based, and open-ended ones.

Good luck with your reading year and goals in 2023 :)

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, everyone!
Look around and join the fun! Don't hesitate to ask if you've got any questions or anything of the kind :)

Happy reading!

[Mary]

hi everyone! im mary from pasadena, and i love reading suspense novels and rom coms as well. i am looking to start reading different kinds of books and excited to join this group!

[kia]

Hi everyone! I’m kia from Illinois. I’m love dwelling into different genres , but so far I love rom coms and poetry. Hope you guys have a great day reading <3

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Mary and Kiki!

If you ever have any questions, don't hesitate to ask the group--everyone here is helpful. :)

[Sarah]

Hello everyone! My name is Sarah and I’m from Ontario, Canada. I love reading and will read most any genre. I find that my favourites change each year but I always love a good fantasy, historical fiction, or dystopian read. I’m interested in the twin and/or buddy reads. I may need to read about them again to understand how it works, but I am excited to here!

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Sarah!
Buddy Reads are so much fun :) Don't hesitate to ask if you need help with anything, or need to have something clarified.

We're happy to have you joining our group! Have a fun and fantastic reading year :)

[[deleted user]]

Hi my name is Nasra and it has only been like two months since I opened my Goodreads account.

[Naomi]

Hi, my name is Naomi. I am from Mauritius. I love fantasy, murder, and non-fiction. I used to be a big reader of the French version of Mills and Boons when I was 14 and gave up due to a lack of time and interest. Now at 26, financially independent, I can buy my own books and have more time to enjoy reading again. My goal for this year is 50 books.

Looking to connect with new people who have similar reading interests.

[Lisa]

Welcome Nasra!
Be prepared to watch your "to-read-shelf " grow exponentially :D And feel free to ask if you have any questions.

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Naomi!

I'm certain you'll find lots of people with similar reading tastes as you. We're a pretty eclectic group :)

I loooove challenges, but my favorite way to discuss books I wouldn't necessarily get to on my own, with new people is probably our Buddy Reads section. It not only motivates me to read outside my comfort zone, but also keeps me accountable.

Good luck with your reading goal this year! I hope you find some fantastic books.

[H]

Hello everyone!

Y’all can call me H or whatever my username is at the time in case I change it in the future.

I’m calling in from California and I’m 20 atm.

I’m honestly still figuring out what sort of books I like as an adult(took a very long break from reading in my teens)but right now I’m enjoying thriller and romance.

My goal for this year is to read 12 books, secretly though I’m hoping to breeze past that number this year.

I think that’s everything. Excited to be here and happy reading to all!

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

H wrote: "Hello everyone!

Y’all can call me H or whatever my username is at the time in case I change it in the future.

I’m calling in from California and I’m 20 atm.

I’m honestly still figuring out wha..."

Hi H, I saw on your profile that you are in Costa Mesa. I live in Long Beach, about 15 minutes away. One of my favorite bookstores is in your area - Book Off. They are a small chain but I like the Costa Mesa, Westminster, and Long Beach locations best. They have a lot of books for $1-2 each in fairly good condition, so if you like dead tree books it's a great way to find some good stuff. Welcome to the group!

[Amanda]

Hey!
I am from Michigan. I mostly read Thrillers/Mystery/Suspense books. I do also enjoy historical fiction now and again. I do not like romance at all. This year my reading goal is 50 books/audiobooks. And I am well on my way to making goal!

[&#x1fa76; April • A.M. Flynn • &#x1fa76;]

Hi, im April. I’m a 33 year old stay at home mom. Reading releases me from my anxious thoughts and depression. Do you think me wanting to read between 3,000-5,000 books this year is insane? 🤣😁