So on Sunday, Leena of JustKissMyFrog, uploaded a video explaining why she doesn't really use Goodreads and it really made me realise why I struggle to use Goodreads in the way it was intended and as often as I should for it to provide the use it's trying to provide.
Essentially Goodreads is a website where you can keep track of the books you're reading, have read and want to read. You can create as many different shelves as you want to categorise all the different books in your life in whichever way suits you. It's also great for readers to communicate, share views and just generally allow reading to be a more social experience - undeniably this is a great quality.
However, the problem for me starts when it comes down to the idea of challenges. I know perfectly well I can read fifty books in a year, I've done it. However I don't really like the idea of reading being competitive so getting to the end of the year and finding I read only thirty five books and Goodreads telling me I failed my challenge wasn't great.
Reading is, and always has been, a stress free experience for me. It's the place I go (with a cup of tea, obviously) to wind down after a long day. Making reading a challenge, or making it competitive, instantly removes the stress free part of reading for me. Now, I know you don't have to set up a challenge and it isn't really a big deal if you meet a challenge, but once you've set yourself a goal you're not human if you don't try and reach it. I set myself a reading goal every year, but this year is the first year I've set a goal in relation to reading that involves numbers. By telling myself I want to read fifty books this year, it feels like something I have to do, not something I want to do. In the past fifty books has just happened and it was easy because it wasn't something I'd set myself up to do. This year it's already harder.
Also the idea of constantly tracking my reading progress takes away the sense of fluidity for me. I don't read a set amount of pages or chapters each night, or each bus journey or whenever. I read what I can when I can, and what I want when I can, whether it's two pages and fifty pages. By tracking my progress it feels more like a race and less like a thing that just happens, perhaps more forced but not really.
I guess the general sense I get from Goodreads is that it makes reading more competitive and generally for me hasn't enhanced any of my reading experiences. Many times it only serves to remind me that too many books have been sat waiting to be read for too long, a depressing thought. I understand completely why so many people enjoy it so much, and although I won't deactivate my account as I do like to see what other people are reading for recommendations, I don't think I'll be using it as much.
As Leena said, it feels like a very surveyed experience. I want to share my reading experience with people because I've enjoyed a book, not because I've finished it and therefore must publish it onto a site, with a very broad review, because I finished on a certain date.
Reading is a very relaxing part of my day, when I get it into my day, and anything that makes it stressful or even slightly unenjoyable is not wanted.
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