In the beginning of this year, my fellow Cecile’s Writers recommended Goodreads to me and I recall looking at them thinking Good-what? After a thorough explanation I could completely understand why it would be right up my alley. So I signed up, familiarized myself with the platform and before I knew it, I was checking every morning to see the latest updates of friends that would often inspire me to read more or to discover new literature. More importantly, I finally had a place to track my own reading and rate all the books I’ve read… fantastic! If you’re a bookworm or neurotic organizer like I am, Goodreads is basically heaven.
Fellow Bookworms
All that aside, I have managed to make many friends on Goodreads – both readers and writers – who have enriched my literary life. Every time I have a new friend I race to check their books and what we’ve read in common so I can measure up where I stand in comparison and how similar our reading tastes are. This in turn helps me to decide whether their recommendations or reviews will be of particular interest to me. Fortunately, I have many such friends (you know who you are) and all I can say at this point is that I’ve never had such a long reading list in my life… to think I use to grumble about not being able to read enough when the list was just a quarter of the length!
The Challenge
Then again, I’ve also never read as much as I have in the past 2 years. I was very proud to take up the Goodreads 2012 Challenge and put down 50 books for the year. I managed to have 56 books read (although 4 of them I couldn’t finish, but more on that in my next post) and I’m currently reading 6 books. I actually accomplished the goal yet I have Goodreads friends that have accomplished goals of 120 or 180 books! That is beyond me sadly although I do envy them.
So it is with an optimistic feeling that I begin 2013 with Goodreads, the friends I’ve made there who motivate me and, of course, books books books. I don’t know what magical number I’ll choose for the 2013 Challenge, but I can’t imagine it’ll be much different than 2012. I have much writing and editing to do and this often takes up the bulk of my time.
A Glimpse Down the Rabbit Hole
There are some books that I can’t wait to read and I’m hoping this’ll be the year I get around to some of them. Here’s a peak at a few titles in fiction:
Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe
Point Omega by Don DeLillo
Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Famished Road by Ben Okri
The Ghost of Sani Abacha by Chuma Nwokolo
The Whispering Trees by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
The Beach Café / The Voice by Mohammad Mrabet
and much more. And a peak at some titles in non-fiction:
There Was a Country by Chinua Achebe
Due Considerations by John Updike
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
The House Has Fallen by Karl Maier
Nichomachaen Ethics by Aristotle
and much more.
Yup, it’s going to be another busy reading year… I couldn’t be happier. If you’re on Goodreads, drop me an invite.
Happy 2013 and Happy reading everyone!
Samir
