How to Read More Books Pt.1

 

Woohoo! Last post of the school year! Summer break is right around the corner and it’s the perfect time to pick up a new hobby and start some reading. For my final post I decided to do a two-part summer reading guide. I love to read (it’s literally all I do) and I want other people to enjoy reading too. In this first part I’ll be introducing a reading app and browser I use to help keep me motivated and organized while reading.

I use the app and browser GoodReads to help track my reading progress, keep track of books I want to read, have read, and enjoyed. You can interact with friends, see what they’re reading, and also create folders to sort your books into different categories. The one downside to the GoodReads rating system is that you can’t give half star ratings, which is why I resorted to creating folders and giving star ratings for enjoyment instead of book quality. GoodReads is much more than just a tracking app though. On GoodReads you can rate and review books that you’ve read. Based off of your ratings GoodReads will recommend you books. Under each book, GoodReads will also show “similar books” and “lists with this book in it”. I’ve found a lot of my favorite books this way. (excuse the bad picture quality)

If you’re part of a book fandom you also have the opportunity to join different reading clubs and discussion groups. You can also create book lists and take quizzes on popular genres, books, and series.

On GoodReads you can also set a yearly reading goal and the app will help track your progress by announcing whether you are “on-track” or “_ books ahead/behind schedule”. I especially like this feature because it can help motivate you to read more in order to achieve your goal.

Another feature of GoodReads is the end of the year voting of books. At the end of the year members of the GoodReads community, people who have an account, can vote for their favorite books. This is not only a chance for people to root for their favorite books but also to discover new ones.

I hope you found this post helpful and thanks for reading!

-       Bridget