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2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

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My Progress:


9 / 30 books. 30% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (1)
- North Carolina (1)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia (1)
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*

International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (5)
- France (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Scotland (1)
- The Netherlands (1)

My Progress:


12 / 51 states. 24% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


10 / 50 words. 20% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


15 / 50 books. 30% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


32 / 50 books. 64% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


27 / 52 books. 52% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


21 / 40 books. 53% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


13 / 40 books. 33% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


5 / 25 books. 20% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


17 / 26.2 miles. 65% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


15 / 100 books. 15% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


34 / 104 books. 33% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


31 / 52 books. 60% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


32 / 165 books. 19% done!
Tuesday, May 19, 2020

TTT: How Do I Love Thee, Goodreads? Let Me Count the Ways ...


It's Tuesday again and things in the world have changed a little bit.  Has your state or country started opening up?  What do you think about it?  Here in Arizona, a few more places (restaurant dining rooms, movie theaters, public swimming pools, salons, etc.) have been given the green light to reopen.  I'm still a little leery about the whole thing, but I'm not going to lie—I'm happy to have a hair appointment next week and to have been able to reschedule several doctor's appointments that had been postponed due to COVID-19.  I'm a homebody by nature, so I plan to stick close to home no matter what.  I just hope things can get back to a new normal that will feel stabilizing and safe.  This has certainly been a strange Spring, hasn't it?

On a lighter note, it's time for my favorite weekly meme.  This week's topic is a nice, open one that should lead to lot of interesting lists:  Top Ten Reasons I Love ______ (insert your favorite book, author, genre, etc.).  I'll tell you what topic I chose in a sec, but first I want to encourage you to join in the TTT fun.  All you have to do is click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read through some brief instructions, craft your own list, and then spend some happy hours hopping around the book blogosphere.  It's a great way to spread the love around our wonderful community!

I've always been a list-making type of person.  There's just something so satisfying about corralling my thoughts into neat columns, adding to it when needed, and then crossing out accomplished tasks.  I began keeping track of the books I read and those I wanted to read in the back of a paper journal in college.  When Google Docs became a thing, I switched to a spreadsheet.  While I've used Goodreads here and there since its creation, it hasn't been until the last few years that I've made it my number one tool for keeping track of what I read, what I want to read, and what I think about what I've read.  So, for today's list, I'm going to tell you why I love the site so much.  

Top Ten Reasons I Love Goodreads (in no particular order):

1.  I can keep track of what I read.  Yes, I could do this on a Google spreadsheet, but I like GR's interface.  It makes tracking easy and fun.

2.  I can rate what I read.  Like many, I have some issues with GR's limited star-rating system.  Half-stars should totally be a thing!  Still, I like being able to rate a book using a simple system.  I can always explain my reasoning in my review.  

3.  I can review what I read.  For the most part, I review every book I read on my blog.  However, sometimes it's months before I actually get around to doing it!  I'm good about ticking off the books I read on GR right away, though, and typing up a quick review on the site.  It's really nice to be able to look back at what I wrote about a book when my thoughts were fresh to remind me of what to write in my blog review.

4.  I can see ratings and reviews from other GR users.  As always, I take other readers' opinions with a grain of salt, but I still appreciate being able to see what other people thought of a book.  Both ratings and reviews help me decide which titles to add to my always-growing TBR lists and which to leave on the shelf.

5.  I can follow my friends and acquaintances.  It's fun to follow my friends on GR so I can see what they're reading as well as the titles on their TBR lists.  My favorite feature under the "Friends" tab is "Compare Books."  It's always interesting to compare/contrast my thoughts on a book with those of my friends.

6.  I can make endless "Bookshelves."  This is a GR feature that I should use more.  Right now, I have only three bookshelves:  Adult Fiction TBR, MG/YA Fiction TBR, and Non-Fiction TBR.  Originally, I only had one bookshelf for all genres, but when the shelf was loaded up with more than 5000 titles, GR would no longer let me organize them in want-to-read order, so I split my main shelf into three.  I could have organized my TBR list by genre or favorite author or setting or whatever, really.  Other people do this a lot more than I do and it's fun to see their lists, some of which are very handy, creative, and entertaining.

7.  I can organize my books in want-to-read order.  This is my favorite GR feature by far.  There are a number of ways you can organize your bookshelves in GR, but I like to have mine in order of most excited to read to least.  In fact, I'm a *tad* obsessive about this.  I spend a fair amount of time making sure the first 30 books on my shelves are in want-to-read order.  Because I can pull up GR wherever I may be, this prioritizing helps when I'm browsing for books at the library or bookstore.

8.  I can take GR with me wherever I go.  See above.  Bringing up a Google spreadsheet on my phone when I'm at the library or bookstore is not easy.  Firing up GR is simple.  The site helps me see what books are on my TBR list as well as find other authors/books when I'm on the go.  Super helpful.   

9.  I can participate in GR's annual reading challenge.  I love me a reading challenge, so I've had a ball with this GR feature.  The site makes it a cinch to set a personal reading goal and keep track of your progress.  GR even gives me a fun widget to put on my blog so everyone can see how I'm doing.  Who cares if I never actually reach my GR goal?  I still have a good ole time with it!

10.  Everything else.  GR has tons to offer book lovers.  You can follow favorite authors, interact with authors and other readers, enter book giveaways, join groups of like-minded bibliophiles, vote for your favorite reads in the annual Goodreads Choice Awards, etc.  There are tons of great features on GR, probably more than I'm even aware of.  It's an awesome website that I definitely recommend using.  If you haven't checked it out yet, do it!  And if you want to follow me, just click on the GR icon on left sidebar of my blog.  Easy peasy.

There you have it, ten reasons I love Goodreads.  Do you use GR?  What do you think of it?  What are your favorite features?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I'll return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT! 
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<i>Reading</i>
End of Story by A.J. Finn

Listening

<i>Listening</i>
My Contrary Mary by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand, and Jodi Meadows



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