(Hey Suzanne, I owe you that Jodi Picoult interview link: here ya go.)
Have you guys checked out the site, GoodReads.com? I'd think that anyone who is an avid reader would enjoy it. Basically, it's sort of like a Facebook for readers: people post objective reviews and comments on books and share those thoughts with their "friends." For some reason, I find the reviews there more objective than on Amazon, and I find the navigation a lot easier too - it's cool to see all the books someone has reviewed and their baseline for what they deem good vs. crappy, as well as what sorts of genre books he/she enjoys.
I only post about books I like, though plenty of people offer middling reviews. But as an author, I have no interest in eviscerating another author publicly, especially because I know that one person's trash is another person's treasure. I also suspect that it's a good tool for an author to reach readers, but I haven't quite figured out what tool that is yet. :) For now, I'm just enjoying the community.
Anyway, check it out. I'm curious what you guys think: is this just another time waster (for sure!) or a cool resource for readers who are always looking for recommendations? (Or my vote: both!)
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6 comments:
Allison, thank you for the link to the Jodi Picoult article. I will definetly go back to the guardian magazine website to read more author articles.
Great article, it cuts right to chase on three key elements to success: 1) focused ambition, 2)hard, consistent work, 3) a good marketing program, and then that good old fashioned 'lucky break' sometimes also known as word of mouth momentum.
As to Goodreads.com...sigining up was a bit of a pain when they asked for my email to send invitations to friends, I missed the 'skip this step' button at the bottom of the page...but as someone who hasn't really gotten the hang of Facebook, it may simply be that I just don't 'get it' yet.
That said, however, you are absolutely right about the reviews, they come across as more real and less snarky than some of the ones found on amazon (my usual go-to place for evaluating a book before I read it).
-suz
I think I signed up for it once, but then I kept forgetting to update it when I finished a book and it become one more of those "shoulds" - and I didn't need something to feel cruddy about because I wasn't doing it "right".
I like it! Every time I finish a book review on my book a week blog, I'll add that book to my library and post a link to the review. It's gotten me a few readers!
GoodReads was one of my posts last March just after it debuted and, though joining was a snap, keeping my reads updated has NOT been. *sigh*
Perhaps I'll change that this week by working backwards and adding The Opposite of Love -- a five star novel!
I like it...I'm always looking for book recommendations. However, I sure don't need another reason to be on the internet all day.
I love Goodreads.com. As for marketing, though, I don't know that it's particularly effective, though I have discovered a few authors on there because they used their books as their profile pics, and the books looked interesting. But it is nice in the sense that it makes the authors who are on there seem accessible, which I think many readers like.
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