The Goodreads Book Tag

Let’s chat about books.

I saw this tag floating around the interwebs ages ago but never got round to actually doing it. I use Goodreads quite a lot, so do feel free to add me as a friend; I always like to see what people are reading. It’s the only way to keep track of the never ending stream of books I want to read. And so I thought this tag seemed fun, and I like that you could answer the same questions every now and then and get different answers each time. So, let’s just jump right in.

• What was the last book you marked as ‘read’?

That was Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I really enjoyed the subtle approach it took to its thought-provoking themes and ideas. We follow a woman as she reminisces about her time at a strange boarding school and the relationships she forged there. If you think I’m being vague, I am. If you’ve read it, you’ll know why. I’m intrigued to try more of his work now.

• What are you currently reading?

I’m reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells as part of my ongoing goal to read more classics in 2016. It does have that ‘classic’ feel, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised as to how approachable the language is and it’s certainly interesting seeing where so much of modern sci-fi evolved from.

• What was the last book you marked as ‘To Read’?

I’m constantly adding new books that I hear about but the most recent is Human Acts by Han Kang, a piece of translated fiction that’s really making waves at the moment. It centres around the long-lasting impact of a student uprising that ends in brutality.

• What book do you plan to read next?

I’m hoping to read We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a non-fiction essay that’s also had a lot of buzz recently.

• Do you use the star rating system?

I do rate everything I read, but I have issues with Goodreads’ particular system. Firstly, I’m one of the many who wish they would let us use half-stars to better differentiate between reads, and using their guidelines, the only negative rating is one star, which seems a little disproportionate to me and encourages harsh marking, I think. Essentially I tend to rate along these rough lines:

5* = I loved it
4* = I really liked it
3* = It was okay, or, I liked it but had some issues
2* = I didn’t enjoy it
1* = I hated it or couldn’t even finish it (I very rarely use this)

• Are you doing a 2016 Reading Challenge?

I am! I’ve set my target at 100 books and have already passed the half-way mark, so I’m well on track, which is a nice feeling.

• Do you have a wishlist?

Not officially, but essentially everything in my ‘to read’ list is something I’m excited to get hold of.

• What book do you plan to buy next?

All the books. All the time… I am actually hoping to try and reduce my book buying a little, since I’ve been particularly indulgent in my spending recently and it’s my birthday next month, so should receive a few new books then. I am planning to buy myself some more Alice Thompson books soon however, having read and loved The Book Collector last month.

• Do you have any favorite quotes, would you like to share a few?

I had a quick look through the quotes I’ve saved on Goodreads and chose a couple to share:

“A book… it’s a world all on its own too. A world made of words, where you live for a while.” – Patrick Ness, More Than This.

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” – Neil Gaiman, Coraline.

• Who are your favorite authors?

There are many books I love and authors who I want to read more of, but those that already stand out and who I feel I’ve read enough of their work to consider them favourites are Kirsty Logan, Patrick Ness and J.K. Rowling.

• Have you joined any groups?
  

I did join a couple when I first created a Goodreads account but truth be told I haven’t explored them much. It’s a feature I should probably try out more.

• How many shelves do you have on Goodreads?

I currently have 11 bookshelves. I like to keep things fairly simple and general, with shelves for things like ‘poetry’, ‘short story collections’, ‘graphic novels’, ‘non-fiction’ and such like; nothing too specific and out there like some people prefer.

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There we have it. As I said, please feel free to add me on Goodreads to keep up with what I’m reading and so I can see what you’ve all been enjoying. If you’d like to do this tag, please consider yourself tagged.