Many times I pickup a book and start reading only to realise halfway through the first chapter that I’ve already read the book before. With the number of books I read, over the years keeping track has been difficult.

It was this problem that I solved 6 years ago when I first came across Goodreads. But GR does more than this, it gives me stats about my reading, helps me find like-minded readers, has groups that support and challenge me to read more, shows me genuine reviews to choose my next read, and much more.

As you can see I’m sold on Goodreads and a big fan. Amazon’s take over of GR had me a bit worried but they haven’t changed the essence of the site and I’m glad of it. Apart for the website which is hugely powered by the book community Goodreads also has an android app so you can update book info on the go.

What the Goodreads App’s supposed to do

The Goodreads app allows users to do almost everything that can be done on the website. You can mark the book you are starting to read or have finished reading. Mark books as to-read. Make book updates as you read. Write a review and rate the book.

Follow your groups and friends and stay up to date on what they are reading. Get recommendations. Find the best books of the previous year. Keep track of your reading challenge. You get the gist…

How I’m using the Goodreads App

 
The Goodreads app has a lot to offer but what I use it for the most is to mark books are currently reading or finished reading. i also review books quickly using the app when I don’t have access to a computer or when I want to write a short review and not post it on my blog.

I do use all the other various features the app offers but not so often as I find a lot of them cumbersome to use on the mobile. I prefer the website for detailed browsing.

My thoughts on the Goodreads App

 
Over all this is one of my favourite apps. It’s almost an app I can’t live without because I helps me keep my book list up-to-date and is a great way to track my reading.

This app is a must have for me. I used to use a third-party app to update Goodreads some years back but this app from Goodreads is way better and it gets better with every update!
 

App details and links

Stars – ★★★★★
Developer – Goodreads
Devices – Android, IOS
Size – Varies with device
Installs – 50,000,000 – 100,000,000
Link – Android Store | iTunes Store

I’ve already started with my reading for this year but thanks to being ill I haven’t done any major reading (I’ve been reading Harry Potter, the Enid Blyton of today) yet. Now before I start reading my lists for this year I thought I’d take a quick look at my book stats for 2012 and compare them to 2011 and see how I did fare in two years.

Here’s what I found –

Top Rated Books
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Books that stood-out for me in 2012
I experimented quite a bit in 2012 with books, genres and authors, especially since a lot of authors started to give away their ebooks on Amazon for free through the KDP program. Here are the books and series that were interesting finds for me in 2012.

Books –
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Indian Maidens Bust Loose by Vidya Samson
Sikander by M. Salahuddin Khan
The Loom by Shella Gillus
Bitch Goddess for Dummies by Maya Sharma Sriram

Series –
Little Blue Envelope Series by Maureen Johnson
A Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin
Ghost-in-Law Series by Jana Deleon
An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Series by Chanda Hahn
Chronicles of the Kings Series by Lynn Austin

Most Read Authors
George R.R. Martin – 5
J.K. Rowling – 7
Chanda Hahn – 2
Maureen Johnson – 2

Books Read each Month
May – 13
August – 12
January – 10
February and June – 6
March, July and September – 5
April and November – 3
December – 2

Last year I read the most number of books in February (11). This year in October I didn’t read even one book :O

Out of the 70 books I read 59 were eBooks! The Kindle has completely paid off; it’s officially the best gift I’ve got in a while. Another significant number is 11 – the number of books I read by Indian Authors. I’m hoping this will be a higher number in 2013.

Looking back my choice of books says so much about the year. I’ve read a large variety of authors this year and alot of Indian authors that I made a concsious effort to find. I didn’t always find good books but mostly the books I’ve read I enjoyed and would recommend. Indian Authors have gotten better over the years and so has publishing. I’ve seen some very nice book covers this year, specially the ones from Rupa Publishing.

I found some great books by chance trolling through Amazon. Don’t miss out on Indian Maidens Bust Loose and Sikander. If you are looking for something different yet enjoyable then read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and The Palace of Illusions.

What have you noticed in your reading in 2012? Which books stood-out for you? What would you recommend I read in 2013?

2011 was the first year I took part in the GoodReads reading challenge. I decided to read 50 books in the year and exceeded that target by reading 66. Feeling all motivated by my success I set my target in 2012 at 100 books. Sadly 🙁 I didn’t achieve it and read only 70 books but it is still more than 2011. Sticking to my guns I’ve set this years target at 100 again, I’m gonna try my best to beat it this year.

At the start of 2012 I looked at GoodReads and reviewed my year in books. Not breaking away from tradition I’m doing it again this year to see what did I do in terms of books through 2012.

So here’s the stats in comparison to last year (2011).

Unlike 2011, in 2012 all the books I read were published after 1995 and not earlier than that.

Last year I read 25,397 pages, thats 751 less than 2011. 🙁

I gave 6 books 5 stars!! (10 in 2011)
And 32 books got 4 stars. (32 in 2011)
A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin was the longest book I read with 1,177 pages. (Fall of Giants by Ken Follett, 985 pages in 2011)
And there were no books that I did not finish! (1 in 2011)

How many books did you read in 2012? Notice any trends in your reading?

Amazon seems to be getting very restrictive recently both towards authors and readers. It seems Amazon is trying to increase sales and monopolise the market by forcing authors and sites such as GoodReads to link only to them.

Amazon is forcing authors to restrict their books to only Amazon and I’ll talk about how they’re doing that in a few days.

With readers Amazon seems to be playing a different game. Its targeting sites like GoodReads that use the Amazon API for book data. The new terms of the Amazon API licensing agreement are very restrictive. Amazon requires that books on GoodReads link for sales only to Amazon.com. No other book sites are allowed. The other requirement is that the API data not be used on mobile sites and apps.

This may not impact GoodReads but it impacts us readers. Amazon in simple words is saying we can buy only for them and no one else. That is an infringement on our freedom to choose. GoodReads has chosen to not give in to Amazon and instead move away to other data sources. This means we can continue to compare prices across bookstores. This also means that we can continue to use GoodReads both as a website and an app on the mobile.

Good work GoodReads!

GoodReads has sent out emails to users telling them about moving away from Amazon and asking for help with book details. Here the email I received.

“Dear Freya,

All the best,
Otis & Elizabeth
Goodreads Founders”

I rescued two books and am happy and proud to be a part of GoodReads. Amazon monopolizing the book market seems so like what publishers have done for ages; it should be stopped.

What do you think? Should Amazon be allowed to monopolise the book market? Have you help out with books on GoodReads? Do you support GoodReads?

GoodReads has some neat book reader widgets for blogs. You can share information about the books you are reading, books on your shelf, your updates, your reading challenge and more.

To check out what widgets are available for your blog, click on the Edit Profile option in the drop-down next to your Profile Photo.

On your My Account Page select the Widgets tab.

You can now choose the widget you want. You can also specify which shelf would be shown in the widget and other details.

1. If the Preview shown matches what you want for your blog, copy the code.

2. Now go to the Widgets section in your WordPress blog. The Widgets option is in the Left Column under Appearance on your WordPress Dashboard.

3. Based on your Blog Template you will see your Sidebars listed on the right of the page. I have three hence they are listed as Sidebar 1, Sidebar 2 and Sidebar 3.

4. Choose which sidebar you want the badge to show in.

5. Now drag the TEXT widget into the Sidebar and paste the code into the TEXT dropdown. (You can use a few HTML codes to create space between plugins and to add comments). If you already have the TEXT widget in the sidebar you can go ahead and add the code. List the blocks of code based on the order you want the widgets shown on your blog.

6. Click the Save option in the Dropdown and you’re done. Now check the widget on your blog to make sure it’s showing as you’d like it to, else change the options you selected and replace the code with the new code generated.

And voila, you have a badge on your blog. I’ve added two GoodReads widgets to my blog – The 2012 Reading Challenge and The Most Reacent Books I’ve Read. Like them? Are you using a GoodReads widget? Which one did you like most?

Update (16/Jun/’13): WordPress usually gives trouble with javascript and flash and that’s what the GoodReads widgets are based on. I don’t remember clearly now but I do remember having some trouble when setting up my widgets. My Challenge widget doesn’t update for days sometimes, even now. So if you have trouble you could maybe just try another widget?
I came across this alternative way to set-up a Goodreads widget as a wordpress plugin. Maybe this will work for you. You could also complaint and ask for more help on the Bugs group discussion on Goodreads. It seems to be an active discussion with the guys at Goodreads helping out. You’d have to join the group first though.
Thanks to Gail Armstrong for sparking off this extra research with her question 🙂

If you read books and/or are a book-lover, you should be on GoodReads.com. Here’s why –

1. GoodReads is a networking site for book people. Doesn’t matter what type of book; you are likely to find someone who loves the same type here.

2. GoodReads is a great way to track the books you’ve read over the years. I sometimes forget which books I’ve read, especially after about 10-12 years. GoodReads is a boon for that; that is if it lasts 10-12 years!

3. You can check out the reviews and rating of books before you pick it up. The stats here are a great indicator of the quality of the book. GoodReads also has apps for the mobile to you can access it anywhere, even the book store or library.

4. You can rate and review each book you have read. The review or your book notes are useful when you look back and wonder about a book after a while. I’ve been reading a lot of romance and after a while I forget if I have read the book or what I thought of it.

5. GoodReads has 3 main shelves – Read, Currently-reading and to-read. I find the to-read shelf very helpful to track my future reads. The Read shelf is great to track all the books I have read. You can also create additional shelves to categorise your books. I have an eBooks shelf and a DNF (Did Not Finish).

6. You can take part in Reading Challenges, Win Books from Authors (First Reads) and Vote for Books.

7. GoodReads has a lot of groups and it’s quite easy to find one that suits you. In all my friends I can count the book-reading ones on my fingers. That’s how few readers I knew growing up. But GoodReads gives me the change to connect with people who love the books I do. In a group you can discuss books, authors, and even take part in reading challenges.

8. If groups are not your thing, each book has a discussion space where you can talk about the book with other readers.

9. I also like the Never-Ending Quiz. It never ends and you can play it whenever you feel like it!

On the whole GoodReads is a great site for readers. The trends and stats you see about your reading over time is interesting to put it mildly. I’m yet to give Shelfari a full trial and it maybe better (do you use it?) but for now I highly recommend GoodReads.

Before I get into the reading challenges I’m taking up this year I thought I’d take a look at the books I read last year.

So I did, and found some interesting stats and patterns from my reading last year. Here’s some of them –

Top Rated Books
Crooked House by Agatha Christie
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale
Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh
The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella
Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella
The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye

My Favourites for 2011

Books –
Crooked House by Agatha Christie
Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale
The Far Pavilions by M.M. Kaye
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Series –
The Belgariad by David Eddings
Bridgertons Series by Julia Quinn
Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
Shopaholic Series by Sophie Kinsella
The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

Most Read Authors
Nora Roberts – 9
Rick Riordan – 7
Sophie Kinsella – 6
David Eddings – 4
Eoin Colfer – 4

Most Read Month
February – 11
April – 9
May – 8
August – 8
March – 7
July – 6

Its interesting that the shortest month in the year has the most number of books read!

Most Read Genres
Romance – 29
YA – 29
Fantasy – 26
Paranormal – 13
Historical – 10
Chick-lit – 6

Looking back my choice of books says so much about the year. When I started out I wanted to read more Romance books. Not just the sappy romance but all the new genres I seemed to be seeing – Fantasy, Paranormal, Historical, Regency, etc. I think I accomplished that. I now know the difference between a fantasy romance and a paranormal one.

I found some exceptional books by chance. Don’t miss out on The Help and The Host. And not to forget my all time favourite that I now have parked permanently on my Kindle – The Far Pavillions.

I got the Kindle on June and since then I’ve read 17 books on it. I think that’s a good number. The Kindle has definitely increase the number of books I’m reading by making it easier to carry and access them.

What have you noticed in your reading in 2011? What were your favourite books? What would you recommend I should not miss reading in 2012?

My favourite book site is GoodReads for many reasons – here’s one.

I took up the Goodreads Challenge last year and aimed to read 50 books in the year. And yippee… I exceeded it. I read 66 books in the year and I’m trilled to have read so many books. 66 books less to read in the world 😀

2011 was one the years in which I have read a lot of books and GoodReads has been a huge contributor. The reading challenge was motivating and the groups and members have been such fun to interact with. Growing up only a few of my friends were voracious readers but on GoodReads I’ve met so many more who made reading so much more fun. If you’re a reader you should be on GoodReads.

Here’s some interesting stats Goodreads has about the books I read last year.

Most of the books I read had been published after 1995.
7 books had be published before 1984.
And one was published in 1932!!!

I read 26,148 pages in the year!

I gave 10 books 5 stars!!
And 32 books got 4 stars.
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett was the longest book I read with 985 pages.
And there was only one book I did not finish!

How many books did you read in 2011? Are you on GoodReads?
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