“So Blake,” you’re no doubt asking, “how have you spent this first week of summer vacation?” Well, I spent a lot of it at school, ironically enough, helping to get our ninth grade in shape to begin next year. I’ve also read a bit, I wrote a new short story, I got a haircut, I’ve been getting ready for Erin’s next visit (beginning Sunday!), I discovered the hard way that some places close early on Friday in the summer, and I finally got off my duff and joined Goodreads.com.
I was first made aware of Goodreads some time ago, but I never took the time to explore it until…. well, yesterday, actually. Goodreads.com, basically, is what MySpace or Facebook would be like if it had a professional appearance and a literate user base. It’s the social networking site for people who love to read. It’s Kanye West‘s worst nightmare.
I quickly became a fan.
The site has all the features you would expect: you can rate books you’ve read, you can mark books you want to read, you can even tell folks what page you’re currently on in a book you are reading. This could potentially be embarrassing, of course, if you forget to update: “He’s been on page 6 of The Monster at the End of This Book” for a really long time, hasn’t he?” You can also write reviews of books you’ve finished, and even give your impressions of a book in-progress.
And because it’s a social networking site, you can “befriend” people there, preferably people you really are friends with. You can label yourself as a fan of a specific writer and, if that author is a Goodreads.com member, you can get updates from them, read their blog, and participate in special events they may be holding.
And as I’ve got a couple of books listed there on Goodreads, I’ve been awarded my own author account. That’s right, guys — if you join Goodreads, you not only can be my friend. You can also be my fan.
And I know that’s what you’ve been waiting for all along.
Okay, all narcissistic reasons for recruiting members aside, it really is a cool site. If you love books — and I’ve got to assume that if you bother coming to my website you must — then it’s definitely worth checking you. And if you want to click on over to my Goodreads.com profile and declare yourself my fan and rate and review my two novels listed there… well, who am I to stop you?
Evertime Realms 
People are saying…