Looking for some great new reads? Want to know what reviewers have said about the books you are thinking about reading? Want to find out what other people think about the genres and subjects you are interested in? You can do all of this and more on Goodreads, the largest social network for readers and book lovers. Here are some helpful tips on how to use Goodreads to discover the latest books and find reviews that interest you.
Sign Up For Free
The first step to using Goodreads is to sign up for a free account. Just click the button below.
You will have to verify your email address and then click the verification link that is sent to your email. After you finish verifying your email address, you will be able to fill out your profile entirely free of charge. This is also the place where you can find recommendations from respected writers and bloggers in your genre, as well as read reviews from other users.
Reviews Will Follow
Once you have signed up for a free account on Goodreads, you will be brought to the homepage. From here, you can either click on the Browse button to find a book you want to read or click on the See All button to find a list of the latest books published. Either way, you will soon be brought to a page with all the books that can be delivered to your Kindle, Nook, or other eBook reader. At the top of the page, you will see three horizontal dots. To the left of the dots, you will see a down arrow. Clicking on this arrow will bring you to a page of all the reviews for the books you see on the Home page. This is called the Explore page and is similar to the homepage but with all the reviews hidden until you click on the See All button or the three dots to the left of the Browse button.
From this page, you can read all the reviews for the books you are interested in. When you find a review that appeals to you, you can either click on the star next to the review to give it a rating of one to five stars or you can click the heart symbol to the right of the review to save it to your favorites.
Reading Reviews
When you find a book you are interested in reading, either from the Browse or See All pages, you will be brought to a page with all the reviews for that book. The good thing about reading reviews is that even if you have never heard of a book, you can usually find out if it is worth reading or not. Sometimes, especially with older books, the reviews can be a little confusing, but usually, it is a matter of following the instructions provided and comparing the results to the same.
Let’s say you found a book that sounds interesting, but you aren’t sure. You can either read the reviews for this book or go to the bookstore and see if they have anything else by this author. Sometimes it is helpful to read reviews for books you already know about, but haven’t heard of the author yet. This can give you an idea of what to expect and help you form an opinion on the book, even if you have never read one by this author before.
Book Recommendations
If you click on the three dots to the left of the Browse button, instead of the arrow, you will see a list of all the books the site recommends. These are usually books that the site’s algorithm determined are similar to the books you are currently reading. If you click on a book in the list, you will be brought to a page with all the reviews for that book.
Sometimes, you will find that the books recommended by the site aren’t exactly what you were looking for. If this happens, you can either click on the three dots to the left of the Browse button again or click on the See All button to get to the homepage and look for other suggestions.
As you can see, Goodreads is a fantastic way to find book reviews. Not only can you read all the reviews for the books you want to read, but you can also find book recommendations based on the genres you prefer or the authors you admire most. If you ever wonder about a book, you can either read reviews or go to the bookstore and see if they have anything else by this author or in this genre.
Goodreads is a wonderful site for readers and book lovers alike. For more information about the site, visit their FAQ section or contact them via email at support@goodreads.com.