Books
Say goodbye to Goodreads as we welcome its successor…
To all the bookworms: THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED!
With the rapid growth of popularity surrounding these fantastic and brilliant companions on social media, reading is officially trending! As someone who has had this passe-temps her whole life, I’m delighted to see so many captivating covers and characters as I scroll on TikTok, Instagram and so on. New debuts, new plots and even new readers who’re getting updated with the latest bestsellers, who little by little step a bit further into their journey!
With the development of technology nowadays, the classical paper-on-paper option has found its younger siblings: digital reading devices, levelling up the marvellous activity that is reading.
Whether you have a predilect reading style (classic or digital), it’s always good to keep track of the books: past, present and future. But what does this mean?
In 2013, Amazon acquired Goodreads, described as a “completely free book review and recommendation site”. It is, indeed, the biggest name when it comes to book-related platforms, and probably the first one that pops into your head. Now in app format as well, it has begun to see competition.
There are now multiple options to choose from, but the one I want to talk to you about is The StoryGraph.
The StoryGraph has been my holy grail for the past few months in terms of setting and storing my reading goals. Not only does it let you register the books you’ve read, you own, you’re currently reading and want to read (TBR), it gives you personalised recommendations while giving you stats about your reading history. The books fall into categories which makes them easier to find: not only their genre but also their moods. You can also start a reading group with live reactions to certain parts of the story while avoiding spoilers!
It has a ton of other cool features too:
- Custom tags & Lists: organize, search and filter books by your tags;
- Content Warnings: always check for possible triggering content;
- Half & Quarter star reviews: be honest with your reviews! No need to round up!;
- Reading journal: document your reading journey in an intimate and safe environment. Only visible to you!;
- Up Next Queue: what do you want to read next?
Not only it is a black-owned business, but it’s Amazon-free as well! It does offer a premium subscription, but it doesn’t really interfere with your experience on it. I’ve been using the free version and, honestly, it works great! Also, if you had a Goodreads account, no need to worry about losing your data since it can be directly transferred onto The Storygraph. It’s super intuitive and easy to use and, in my opinion, looks way better than Goodreads esthetically-wise, with such a contemporary interface which makes you want to read as many books as you can!
You can interact with other users and even enter challenges which align with your tastes (I’m doing a Dark Academia one, for example)!
Now, if you’re new to this whole bookish talk, remember that everyone has their taste. Not everyone will like all the books you do and vice versa. In my case, I can’t stand books by Colleen Hoover. I don’t own any of her work, but I’ve read some passages and, well, the best I can say is that it is mediocre. Not for me. But might be good for you! It’s a process of trial and error and don’t be afraid to share your honest thoughts. There’s a lot of content about this niche so, if you want, do your research!
Happy readings!!
