Week 4: Building Base Knowledge: Goodreads

I have not used Goodreads very much since I joined a few years ago.  For this assignment I added some books that I have read recently and look at the information on the Explore list.  One of the features that I did like about this process is the ability to assign a book to more than one bookshelf.  This really lets me think about the genres and subgenres that a book belongs to so that books that cross genres are grouped with similar titles.

The Goodreads Voice page had interviews with two authors I was interested in, Audrey Niffeneger and Lauren Willig.  I have read and enjoyed Willig's Pink Carnation books.  Her new book is a stand alone historical novel, The Ashford Affair.  Niffeneger's new book is actually a graphic novel called Raven Girl.  While I have not read her other books, this one appears interesting for the format and for the fantasy/fairy tale elements.  What's nice about the Goodreads Voice is the content given by the authors themselves, whether it is an interview or a list of favorite books.  

The lists provided on Goodreads are another way to get suggested titles, whether they are organized by genre, popularity or by categories on listopia.  I do find Goodread's lists somewhat confusing, however, because they are generally created by popularity on the website, instead of by a more critical review of the book.  While the lists might give a general place to start to look for titles of books to recommend, I would want to check the titles out more fully before recommending them.

I looked at Katy Troeschel's Goodread's page and saw Almost French, a memoir by Sarah Turnbull about deciding to visit Paris with a man she meets on her travels.  I recommended Paris in Love by Eloisa James, also a memoir about visiting Paris.  Paris in Love follows James and her family when they move to Paris after she has had treatment for cancer. The book is made up of entries from her Facebook page which chronicle their year.   The Facebook entries let the reader look over James' shoulder as she gets to know Paris.  The conflicts between American children and French culture, and the discoveries James makes about herself provide an entertaining story. James is a popular romance writer who is also teaches Shakespeare.  I posted this on Katy's Goodread's page and was frustrated that I could not find a way to edit what I had typed. 

I do not use social media, mainly because I'm an introverted person.  Goodreads was fun to look into, and I do think that the lists and interviews provided are useful.  I did like to see what other librarians are reading, because the patrons are likely to want those books.  I will probably try to use Goodreads to keep up with books that are popular.