I’ve recently been in one of those moods where I glance through the 100+ audiobooks in my Hoopla Favorites list and … just don’t see anything I want to listen to. I know that’s utterly ridiculous—there are so many fantastic books on the list! But sometimes you just don’t feel inspired to read what’s right in front of you.
I typically see my Hoopla audiobooks as “freebie” books. So often, my reading feels scheduled because I have to read review books by a certain time, but audiobooks feel like a bonus to me. I rarely listen to books that feel “required” and I almost always listen while I’m doing something else, so it feels like extra reading time. It’s very freeing! But, because of that, I definitely pick those books based on my mood, and sometimes I’m just not feeling anything on the list.
So, yesterday I decided to start stalking my friends’ Read lists on Goodreads and looking at their four- and five-star books. So many of them sparked my interest! I added quite a few of them to my Hoopla favorites books (if they were available there). I even felt a renewed urge to read some of the ones that were already on my list after reading what my friends thought of them.
It’s amazing how just that little boost of seeing that friends loved a book makes you want to pick it up as well.
So, I’m here to tell you that I’m probably currently stalking your favorite reads on Goodreads. Thank you for the inspiration! If we’re not Goodreads friends, we should be—please let me know in the comments (and send me a friend request – I’m Nicole M. Hewitt there).
Do you ever use Goodreads as a jumping-off point when you’re feeling uninspired to read? What other methods do you use to pique your interest?
I want to know!
This is me, all the time. I am the same exact way, but with physical books (or the rare ebook that I buy). Like you said, I usually feel like my reading schedule is set in stone, and then when I have free time, I have NO idea how to choose from the hundreds of books I could read! Like- I obviously wanted to read them all at some point, but when you maybe have one slot a month, it’s too hard to choose! I also use Goodreads- I’ll narrow it down to a dozen or so “maybes” and then head off to see what others thought. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes I’ll crowdsource it, because I don’t know how else to pick. It shouldn’t be so hard, and yet ?
I know when I am on the fence about a book, I will see if anyone I know has added or read it. If I follow you, I probably know how your tastes align with mine, and it gives me a good idea as to if I should give it a go.
I just got back into a reading groove, so I have plenty of books to keep me company at the moment! However, when I’m undecided on what I want to read next, I always stalk people’s Goodreads (that have similar interests/tastes) to see what’s been good for them! It’s why I bumped The Ex Talk up on my list and I’m LOVING it!
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? ?
I have not used this “stalking” technique, but I definitely look at the reviews that show up in my feed and they often lead me to pick up something one of my GR friends enjoyed. There is one who likes to recommend books to me through GR, and I recently read one of them and liked it a lot. Nobody else recommends books to me that way, nor have I tried it myself, but that could be another option!
Yep! If my friends really like a book, and it’s sitting on my TBR shelf, I’m more likely to pick it up. I’m always happy when social media gets me hyped for a book because then I don’t stare at my shelf of 50+ unread books and complain about having nothing to read. I want to read, but I don’t want to read anything I own!
I don’t think I’ve ever really looked through a friend’s profile, but I DO love seeing what friends rated books when I happen to be looking at a book on Goodreads. It’s always nice to see if they liked it or not. I do love browsing Goodreads in general though – great way to find (many) books that I want to someday read!
-Lauren
I am new to
goodreads and find that it’s just making my list longer! I have a stack of books to read at home, a list there, and a list on Google Keep of things to read – and that doesn’t even cover the ones in my head. I think what I need to do is browse for things I have read and give some feedback. It’s a really great platform!
Oh absolutely! I’m definitely a mood reader (when I’m not battling my ever-growing e-arc pile) but then I can never decide which of the 1838296128 books on my TBR I should read next. Stalking Goodreads friends always helps me, even though sometimes it’s a double-edged sword… that TBR has been known to increase after discovering some new books my friends loved and I hadn’t seen before!
I occasionally stalk Goodreads to find out if a book I’m on the fence about was liked or not by people who I know enjoy the same types of books as I do. I’m so picky about audiobooks though. Fun post!
I usually jump on Goodreads to check the reviews on a particular book I’m not familiar with, but I rarely stalk other people’s page for book recs. However, if I’m in the mood for a certain genre and if I know a GR friend of mine reads that particular genre, I will look for recommendations from them. So I guess from time to time, I do. 😀
Oh, there are several authors I stalk on Goodreads. But I also stalk people on NetGalley and Edelweiss!
Sometimes it does take a great deal of stalking to find books to read, and grab your interest. I’ve been in periods of downward spiral where I couldn’t pick up a book at all,but luckily I’ve made a few good choices these last few years, and its almost a knock in the head that says ‘damn girl, don’t mess up or you won’t be able to read a good book for a while.”
You’ll have to stalk my blog because I haven’t been on Goodreads in five years! 🙂
I FEEL THIS. I have so many audiobooks on my audible app and I neverrrr want to listen to any of them. I ended up getting one from my library instead lol I don’t usually use Goodreads to look at other people’s books. I use it as a way to keep track of what I’m reading. I use Bookstagram or bloggers as inspiration to read lol
I love seeing what my friends read on Goodreads and usually add a ridiculous amount of books that way. I also love looking at Amazon, under the Kindle version, at the people who bought this also bought xyz. I’ve found some of my favorite authors that way.
Even just randomer’s reviews on Goodreads can be worth a stalk I think! If i agree with what they said about one book sometimes i’ll have a nose at their favourites.
I haven’t been hanging out on Goodreads lately, but I find #bookstagram to be useful in terms of figuring out what sounds good to read because the book photos look so…it’s like seeing food that you wouldn’t typically eat, but the photos make you want to eat it? Haha.
I just find Goodreads overwhelming. It used to be amazing, but there’s a lot of pressure to read, and the pandemic just…I haven’t been in the mood that much.
I really enjoy scrolling through Goodreads to see what people are reading. Occasionally I’ll discover new books that I add to my TBR, but mostly I just find it interesting to see what people think about books I’ve read or plan on reading!