an updated discussion on how i use goodreads

Hello, friends!

Recently, I was going through a few of my old posts and stumbled upon this one, all about how I use Goodreads. I thought it was really interesting to look back on and figured I should probably do an updated version, as the way I use Goodreads has changed a lot.

For once, I should start by saying I still exclusively use Goodreads. I know many people have migrated to Storygraph or use both platforms together, but I really do not have the desire or patience to import my current GR database to another website. I am definitely a bit old school and while I do agree Goodreads needs MANY improvements, I guess I’ll be sticking with it for now.

ONE. REVIEWS

In my old post, I talked about how I barely really did any reviews on Goodreads. And for the most part, it’s true, I do use Goodreads as a Letterboxd, meaning most of my reviews are funny one-liners. (I am particularly proud of my Call Down the Hawk one, albeit my forever favorite is my History is All You Left me one).

However, I’ve also been trying to use Goodreads to share slightly lengthier reviews. Mostly because I have a lot of thoughts, but not enough patience to format an actual review on my blog. Oops. I also don’t care that much if I get zero views on my Goodreads review, although this 2-star review for Counting Down With You got seventeen likes and made me feel like I was Goodreads-famous for a while there.

TWO. TRACKING TBR

I never use Goodreads to track my TBRs, it’s true. To this day, I have like five books on my TBR shelf because I find weird to have nothing there, lol. But there’s no rhyme or reason as to why those are the five books there, it is a very random selection.

The way I track my TBR these days is through Notion! I find it the most convenient, especially when coming up with monthly TBRs, as I have the option to filter through genre and tags. So, let’s say I want to read an adult romance with queer rep: I can easily filter and find out which books in my current TBR fit the bill!

It is also convenient because you have the gallery option and I can also easily see which books would fit prompts as “blue cover” or “trees on the cover”.

THREE. TRACKING TIME TO FINISH A BOOK

This was something that changed since the first time I wrote this post. I used to only add a book to Goodreads once I had finished them, so hardly ever the time showed on Goodreads was accurate to how long it had actually taken me to read the whole book.

Now, I’ve gotten a lot better about adding the book to Goodreads as soon as I start it and marking as “read” as soon as I finish it. However, I still hardly ever remember to log any updates. I want to be better about that as well, but I am too forgetful and I also don’t want to unnecessarily spam anyone.

FOUR. GOODREADS CHALLENGE

I still take part on the Goodreads Challenge every year. It’s something I shouldn’t take so seriously, but I kinda do, lol. I know it’s not the end of the world if I don’t complete a challenge, but it still makes me feel unproductive if I am not as close to everyone else.

Currently, my goal is 70 books and I am 7 books ahead. I will probably increase the number if I reach 70 by September/October. I do wish I could read 100 books in a year, but sadly with my current schedule, I can’t make this happen yet.

How do YOU use Goodreads? Do you use Notion to track any reading-related things? Do you remember to log in updates as you’re reading a book or not? Let me know in the comments!