Introduce Yourself to the Group - 2023

[Lisa]

Hi Jackie, and welcome to the group!
Good luck with your reading goals :)

[Elizabeth]

Hi Jackie, my name is Elizabeth Sofia, and I live in a small town in deep South Texas. I love your goal. I even wrote it down, so I can use a similar goal in 2024. In fact, I love it so much that I am going to tell the patrons in our small library about it. I volunteer there, and I am always looking for something to spark an interest.

[Anna]

Hi All!

I am Anna, currently living in Massachusetts.

I would say 2/3 of my reading is non-fiction (about food experience and food industry, about languages, history, animals, jewelry, travel, anthropology, biology, healthcare... occasionally psychology and business. In terms of fiction, I prefer historical fiction, I used to love high fantasy but not so much anymore. I do read some mystery and thrillers occasionally. The main thing for me is that the book 'make sense' and not feel like stock carton characters acting according to author's whims without any internal logic or motivation.

I was looking for a group where people support each other through the reading challenge. I have just increased my goal to 60 - started the year with 30, but I am at 43 already. I used to read 10-15 books per year for the last ten years or so, but now I have added audio books as I have a long commute, and then started to listen also when I go on walks and do things around the house, so I am really moving through my reading list. But I feel like I add 5 books for every one I read, so my reading list will never be done!

[Lisa]

Welcome, Anna!

You've certainly joined great group, if I do say so myself.
We're all really friendly and supportive here, and there's plenty of challenges, and other options that are conductive to plenty of conversation and discussion.

I always think it's so fascinating to hear other members' reading journey evolution, throughout time :)

Also, I can relate with the never-ending reading list, but I don't think it's a bad thing to have. I compare it to having watched everything of interest on [insert preferred streaming service here]. Then what ? I much rather have endless options :D

Best of luck with your reading challenge! I hope you have a great time in the group :)

[gladness]

hey everyone, what's up? i'm azie, a casual reader from germany. i devour all kinds of books, but my top 3 favorites would have to be fiction, romance, and horror. usually, i share my book reviews with my best friend, but lately, i've been feeling the urge to go a bit more public. so, I stumbled upon goodreads, and it seems like the perfect place to do just that! it's a shame i found this awesome app so late in the year, so, i'll set a reading goal of 5 books until the end of the year. next year, though, it's definitely going to be a 50+ book adventure! Feel free to add me; let's be friends!

[Jackie]

Thanks Lisa.

[Jackie]

Thanks Elizabeth.

[Anna]

Thanks, Lisa.

Welcome, Azie! And the year is only a bit past its midpoint... Enjoy your reading!

[Lisa]

azieyosabor wrote: "hey everyone, what's up? i'm azie, a casual reader from germany. i devour all kinds of books, but my top 3 favorites would have to be fiction, romance, and horror. usually, i share my book reviews ..."

Welcome Azie - We're happy to have you!
The good news is that it's never too late to join, and there'll be plenty of new fantastic challenges in 2024 aswell :)

As for 5 books - that sounds like a very doable goal! I discovered Goodreads in September of 2016, joined the group on the 15th of December, and was like "I'll read 5 books". I have no clue what I was thinking - needless to say I did not read 5 books before the end of the year :D lol

Have fun on your reading adventure! I hope you have a great time, and discover some amazing books along the way.

[Leo]

Hi, my name is Leo and I’m from Iceland but live in England. My favorite books to read are murder mystery, science fiction and science books. I really like to learn and discover new things and reading gives me the pleasure to do that. My goal this year is to read at least 26 books. Nice to meet you all.

[Lisa]

Nice to meet you too, Leo, and welcome to the group!

If you have any questions or anything, please don't hesitate to reach out.
Best of luck with your reading goals, and happy reading!

[Leo]

Thank you Lis.

[Matilde]

hello from portugal!! i am Matilde, i am 20 years old and i study chemical enginnering in uni 🫂📖 I love spending time in my bedroom, reading, cooking 🍲

[Lisa]

Welcome Matilde :)
Hoping you have a lot of fun in the group. There are plenty of challenges and other stuff to participate in, so have a look around and see if there's anything that tickles your fancy.

Happy reading!

[Dorothy]

Leo wrote: "Hi, my name is Leo and I’m from Iceland but live in England. My favorite books to read are murder mystery, science fiction and science books. I really like to learn and discover new things and read..."

Hi Leo. I love books set in Iceland. Never been there but would love to go.

[Anna]

Hi Leo and Matilde, welcome!

Dorothy - I just went to Iceland in June for my 40th birthday. The weather didn't cooperate (rain, drizzle or fog all the time) but it didn't stop me from exploring. It's a waterfall lover's paradise! And overall great hiking and great food. Ironically, to date the only books I have read that have anything to do with Iceland are the Eddas.

[Leo]

Hey Anna. The weather in Iceland can be so unpredictable at times but glad you stuck with it. It really is a beautiful country and has so much to offer. Waterfalls as you say,but also beautiful mountains and the occasional volcanic eruptions just to name a few.

[Leo]

Dorothy wrote: "Leo wrote: "Hi, my name is Leo and I’m from Iceland but live in England. My favorite books to read are murder mystery, science fiction and science books. I really like to learn and discover new thi..."
I love them too :D You should definitely go.

[Susan]

Hi Susan here, from Georgia USA. Trying to break out of my habit of reading mostly mystery/thriller/crime books. Not a real fan of romance, will dabble in non-fiction.

[Lisa]

Welcome, Susan! :) I hope you enjoy the group's offerings in terms of challenges, group reads and discussions.

Best of luck with expanding your reading horizons in 2023.
Have a fantastic year.

[Anna]

Hi Jojo, welcome to the group!

[Lisa]

Joelle wrote: "Hi, my name is Jojo
I am from Cleveland but am currently in Texas.
I like to read all sorts of books, I just like them to be well written for what they are. I like a well written and fun chick-lit ..."

Welcome to the group, Jojo!
I'm 150% a mood reader, so I can relate. I am definitely the type of person that uses challenges as a guide to figure out what to read next, and there's plenty of those to choose from.

We also have buddy reads and group reads, and if you enjoy readathons, I recommend checking out the upcoming Team Readathon :)

Have fun exploring! Don't hesitate to ask if you've got any questions or anything of the sort :)

[Tom the Teacher]

Hey, I'm Tom, an English teacher from the UK! Completed my challenge already but love to see what others are reading, and how they approach things! I often set months by 'themes' - for example Pride Month, Black History Month UK, East & South East Asian Heritage Month UK as it helps me decide what to read next (I'm definitely afflicted by tsundoku 😂) Would love to connect with fellow readers on here and share book recs and ideas 😊

[Lisa]

Hey Tom - Welcome to the group :)
Congratulations on reaching your reading challenge for the year!

I do the same thing at times, like for Women's History Month, Black History Month, and so on. It's such a great way to choose books, expand horizons, and perhaps ever find new authors.

I hope you continue to discover fantastic books throughout the rest of the year.
Have fun!

[Dorothy]

Tom the Teacher wrote: "Hey, I'm Tom, an English teacher from the UK! Completed my challenge already but love to see what others are reading, and how they approach things! I often set months by 'themes' - for example Prid..."

I am also afflicted with tsundoku. I tell myself it is a harmless addiction.

[Lisa]

Welcome Rowan, and congratulations on reaching your reading goal for the year!

What is your favorite book you've read this year so far?
Wishing you a fantastic reading journey during the upcoming months. Happy reading!

[Lacy]

Hi all - I'm Lacy. I live in Maryland, just outside of DC. I hope to read at least 30 books this year - mostly mystery or thrillers but I also like nonfiction (especially celebrity memoirs lately), historical fiction, magical realism, and the occasional romance novel. I like a book to grab me from the start - if it doesn't by about page 20 or 30 minutes to an hour in if I'm listening to the audiobook (more often these days), I'm out.

I found the group through a neighborhood and book club friend. Looking forward to connecting with others and hearing about some great books!

[Ramona]

Hi! I'm Ramona and live in The Netherlands.
I just recently joined goodreads. I love to read about others opinions after I read a book. Because I dont have much booklovers in my circle, goodreads is perfect voor me!
I love to read romans and mostly fiction.
My goal this year is 16 books and I now have read 15. I read on and off but I always reallyyy enjoy it so I now want to stick to reading consequently. :)

[Lisa]

Lacy wrote: "Hi all - I'm Lacy. I live in Maryland, just outside of DC. I hope to read at least 30 books this year - mostly mystery or thrillers but I also like nonfiction (especially celebrity memoirs lately),..."

Welcome to the group, Lacy!

It's always interesting to hear at what point in a book, people decide to put it down. Whether it's one chapter in, or 100 pages, or 50% in....
Personally, I think 20 pages in, sounds extremely early to have given a book a fair chance 🤷‍♀️ Good thing we're all different though.

Good luck with your reading goal. 30 books sounds pretty reasonable. I hope you have a fantastic time and discover some great books :)

Btw, cute black kitty 😍

[Lisa]

Ramona wrote: "Hi! I'm Ramona and live in The Netherlands.
I just recently joined goodreads. I love to read about others opinions after I read a book. Because I dont have much booklovers in my circle, goodreads i..."

Welcome, Ramona!
We're happy to have you. I joined for the same reason, and I promise you won't regret it.

Congratulations in advance on reaching your reading goal! What will your 16th book be?

I hope you have a great time in the group. Have a look around and don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.
Happy reading!

[Lacy]

Lisa wrote: "Lacy wrote: "Hi all - I'm Lacy. I live in Maryland, just outside of DC. I hope to read at least 30 books this year - mostly mystery or thrillers but I also like nonfiction (especially celebrity mem..."

Thanks, Lisa! I should have clarified that sometimes I don't give up on a book till I'm 75% in but if I'm not loving the writing or tone at all and the story isn't grabbing me, I'll give up early. Having said that though, sometimes I'll go back to a book I gave up on before. And many of those have turned out to be wonderful, but it wasn't the right time the first time I tried that story.

I'm so intrigued by people who never give up on books! I admire the dedication.

[Lacy]

Tom the Teacher wrote: "Hey, I'm Tom, an English teacher from the UK! Completed my challenge already but love to see what others are reading, and how they approach things! I often set months by 'themes' - for example Prid..."

Hi Tom, I am new to this group too, and having seen this word, tsundoku a few times now, I finally decided to look it up. Turns out I definitely have it too. However, trying to remedy it over time.

Love the themes idea!

[Susan]

Hi, this is Susan and I’m coming in from the mountains of North Georgia. I am hoping to broaden my reading interests. I mostly read fiction and mostly mystery/crime. I do read a bit of historical fiction and just a smidgen of fantasy and non-fiction. I frequently have a few going at a time, but that’s because I use my Kindle for some, my Audible for some and a real honest to goodness book for some. Looking forward to seeing what others are reading and liking or not.

[Lisa]

Lacy wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Lacy wrote: "Hi all - I'm Lacy. I live in Maryland, just outside of DC. I hope to read at least 30 books this year - mostly mystery or thrillers but I also like nonfiction (especially ..."

Aah, that makes sense, Lacy! I'm the exact same way. I'm a big advocate for putting down books if it just isn't the right fit for whatever reason. Nobody is to say that it has to be forever, afterall.

As someone who used to never-ever DNF (neither "soft, nor "hard"), it's not only a question of dedication. In my case, it was mostly stubbornness.

[Lisa]

Susan wrote: "Hi, this is Susan and I’m coming in from the mountains of North Georgia. I am hoping to broaden my reading interests. I mostly read fiction and mostly mystery/crime. I do read a bit of historical f..."

Welcome to the group, Susan, and good luck with your reading goals this year :)

[Jazz]

Hello, this is Jazz! I'm an Indonesian who lives in Tokyo, Japan. I have been pretty on and off with reading these past years, but I really want to be more consistent because I do really enjoy it!

Some of my first books were The Chronicles of Narnia and the Bartimaeus Sequence; I read them looooooong time ago, followed by the Eragon series, and the Percy Jackson series, mostly fiction, fun books for young readers...

Recently, I have a friend who is really passionate about sharing her favorite books, and now I want to broaden the kind of books I read. I will start easy for this year, and slowly read more as I go.

I set 5 books for this year's target, but I am very positive I could do more. Any kind of light, fun book recommendation will be appreciated! :)

[Lisa]

Welcome, Jazz!
The Chronicles of Narnia were definitely up there with some of the first books that really got me reading on my own.
I also remember lots of Enyd Blyton, Roald Dahl, and R.L. Stine.

Good luck with your reading goals in 2023 - 5 books seems like a great place to start :)

Hmm, I was trying to think of a recommendation, but could you exemplify what you consider light and fun? Like do you prefer contemporary, or romance, or something else entirely?
However, my first thought was a quintessential one: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Happy reading!

[Dorothy]

Jazman wrote: "Hello, this is Jazz! I'm an Indonesian who lives in Tokyo, Japan. I have been pretty on and off with reading these past years, but I really want to be more consistent because I do really enjoy it!
..."

Hi Jazman, If you like crime novels you might enjoy books by , Keigo
Higashino. They are set in Tokyo.

[groovyzee]

hello! im zee from new york. im sort of going through a change as a reader and have been trying out different genres, these days i read horror the most. i was scrolling through the groups and stumbled upon this one and figured i needed a good challenge to up my reading. my reading goal for the year is 50! feel free to friend me :)

[Jessica]

Hi Everyone! My name is Jessica, and I’m from Florida.

I love to read a wide variety of books but mostly fiction. I especially love the following genres: historical fiction, psychological thrillers, mysteries, and contemporary romance.

My goal is to read 40 books this year.

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Zee and Jessica! We are thrilled to have you join us.

Have fun, and best of luck with your reading goals :)

[Inge (Inge1990)]

Hi all!
I'm Inge, living in the Netherlands. I always do the goodreads challenge of reading x books in a year, and once in a while I like to join the seasonal readathon challenge. But I sometimes find it hard to join those.
I am always looking for challenges to read books from my way to big TBR. And this group was recommended by goodreads for me.

I like to read fiction, fantasy, young adult, cozy crime, romance, historical fiction, non fiction.
Actually almost all genres except for SF.

For this year my goal is to read 175 books and bring my physical TBR pile under 450 but as close to 400 as I can get.
For that at this moment I need to read 34 books without acquiring new books. And in the latter lays the problem ;-)

[Lisa]

A belated welcome to the group, Inge!
There are SO many fun challenges in this group! - We have plenty of monthly, yearly, and quarterly challenges to explore and dive into, as well as a monthly group read, and a plethora of buddy reads. And soon-ish the mods will start preparing for the new year, which just means even more challenges, and activities to look forward to in 2024 :)

The group has hosted three different readathons this year, and I'm certain 2024 will bring a few more aswell, so keep an eye out for those announcements, if you're interested.

Good luck with your reading goals in the coming months. I hope you have fun and find fantastic books along the way :)
Happy reading.

[marijke]

Hi everyone! I am Marijke, 37 years old and living in Belgium. Just picked up reading again after a break (life .... children 😀). I am a neuropsychologist by training and am now using this knowledge to help people attain a sustainable lifestyle.

I love reading books (contemporary, classics, and sometimes some fantasy/ya), dancing, autumn and the gilmore girls.

Favorite books of mine are: pride and prejudice, franny and zoey, last book from the wheen of time, the great gatsby, the sense of an ending, alias grace, ...

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Marijke!
Best of luck with your reading goals. If you have any questions or anything, please don't hesitate to reach out :)

Hope to see your name around on any of the challenges, or buddy reads, during the rest of the year.
Happy reading!

[Misty]

Hi!

I’m Misty, I’m from Illinois and I’m rekindling my love for reading! I stopped reading when I graduated but I’m back at it and am trying to be consistent. My goal this year is 50 books. I’m close to the end so I’m really proud of myself so far. Excited to join a group, happy reading everyone !

[Lisa]

Welcome back to the land of reading, Misty. We're happy to have you join us :)

I hope you have a blast in the group, and get to read fantastic books. Congratulations in advance for reaching your goals this year.

Which book has been your favorite so far?
Have a great weekend.

[Lauren]

Hello! I’m Lauren, from Lincolnshire. I’ve set myself a challenge to read more in 2023, I’ve read some great books so far but struggling to find some good page turners!

I love any kind of books that have my gripped from the first few pages! Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. Have a great day 🤭

[Lisa]

Welcome to the group, Lauren!

There are soooo many great books that hook you from the start, that I don't even know where to start. So it depends on if there's a specific genre you're looking for.

However, one of my favorite authors is John Marrs, so I tend to recommend anything written by him. He writes both speculative fiction, and psychological thrillers.

Good luck with your goals. I hope you continue to have a great year :)

[Kristen]

Hello Bookworms I’m Kristen, I’ve been married for 26yrs, I love to read, I’ve been an avid reader since college, it puts me in an entire different world. We have been blessed with four adult children. I’m looking forward to being a member of your club.