You probably noticed the two new links on the sidebar.
Some time ago I received an email from a friend asking me if I was aware of Goodreads. At the time I was in the middle of an internal argument about books, libraries, and lists of books read and unread. The lists of books on the sidebar grew too long and tedious but if I removed them from the sidebar they would be harder to access. Of course, it would have made sense to make an annual post on books read but I had never quite managed to do that, and I was wrapped up in my internal dialog about whether or not posting the list was valuable or important or just an exercise in meaningless vanity.
I always have this weakness about lists. I love lists. I love to do lists, lists of books to read, things to do, places to go, lists of things I have done. But another part of me wonders about the point and questions my motives. Why do I need a list of books I have read?
Do I need a list so I can remember what I have read? Well, yes it is true that occasionally I forget I have read a book and it might be nice to know I already read it. Of course if I have forgotten reading a book it can't hurt me to read it again. Usually this happens with silly popular fiction books which are eminently forgetable anyway.
Do I need a list to prove something? Obviously that is a complex question as there is no reason to write a review, keep a blog, post books one has read to an internet list, or review them in any public forum if there is not some desire for sharing, showing-off, or perhaps just finding like-minded readers.
Does rating a book and writing a review help me coalesce my own thoughts on the book? If so something like Goodreads provides one place to keep all this information, rather than the random collection of books and journals that have served over the years.
Despite my misgivings I jumped right in and started entering my lists. This encouraged me to finally go back to entering my Library on LibraryThing.
So what have I learned?
* I like goodreads for lists of books read and to be read as separate entities from books I actually own. Although I have read most of the books I own, there are many books I have read but don't chose to own.
* I find the rating system to be frustrating, if not meaningless. Since I don't keep every book I read, it is likely that books I own would be highly rated. Now there are some books that I own which are not, on an objective basis, all that good, but even so I have saved them for a reason and this may affect the ratings. Even with books I have read but don't own, I can't say that I used the same standards to rate all books. I am not a professional critic, I am not really interested in critically reviewing most books. My ratings are subjective and based on my enjoyment of the book, not necessarily the quality of the writing. But sometimes the quality of the writing, or lack thereof does affect my rating. Sometimes I can get all intrigued with the technique of the writing, especially if the author is trying something daring or difficult. I may rate this work highly even if the author is not completely successful in his/her attempt.
* I do remember all the books I have read, often more clearly than I wold have thought.
* I am not good at reviewing books. It takes me sometime to put my thoughts about a book in words and even then I am not good at pointing out what I liked and why I liked it. I have let myself get too soft through the head. I never claimed to be or wanted to be an academic. I am far more interested in my reaction to and enjoyment of a book than it's objective merits. But I would like to be able explain what I like and why and I find this quite difficult.
The book lists on the sidebar will disappear by the end of the year.