Love how this mixes nostalgic stories with thoughtful (and new to me!) titles. Like you, I’ve been struggling to find enough personal time for reading and would love to get back into it. I’ll try to start the new year with a few of your picks and keep track of my notes!
"At the beginning of this year, I finally deleted most of my social media accounts, after deactivating them on and off for a few years. I felt the need to reclaim my inner life and gaze, to escape the inkling to perform my life that I was falling pray too very often, to experience doing everything just for me. Getting off platforms like GoodReads was a part of this effort. This is also why I decided to not include any numbers and statistics in this intro."
It felt like I need to rediscover how and why I want to read if there is no one watching my choices, and how the make them if they are not part of a socially-incentivised whole. I didn't rejoin any of those accounts after the experiment, things are good as they are now :)
I only use Goodreads to keep track of what I’ve read (poor memory!) and to check book ratings before picking up something new. I usually stick to 4+.
I did the same as you and left social media for good—something I’ve written about—but I didn’t think of Goodreads as being in that bucket!
I really like your idea of jotting down thoughts about a book right after finishing it. I’m going to start doing that too—it’ll help me give better recommendations when friends ask.
Wonderful read, so many books to add to my own list for next year <3
Aw thank you!
Love how this mixes nostalgic stories with thoughtful (and new to me!) titles. Like you, I’ve been struggling to find enough personal time for reading and would love to get back into it. I’ll try to start the new year with a few of your picks and keep track of my notes!
Oh wow honored that you have found some titles to take with you ☺️ I hope you enjoy them and looking forward to hear your thoughts :)
Wow! You read a lot! Thanks for sharing these picks.
I’m curious. How has Goodreads spoiled your experience?
It felt like a part of a larger shift in thinking, I wrote this in the intro of the diary of the previous year(https://holophrase.substack.com/p/reading-diary-2023):
"At the beginning of this year, I finally deleted most of my social media accounts, after deactivating them on and off for a few years. I felt the need to reclaim my inner life and gaze, to escape the inkling to perform my life that I was falling pray too very often, to experience doing everything just for me. Getting off platforms like GoodReads was a part of this effort. This is also why I decided to not include any numbers and statistics in this intro."
It felt like I need to rediscover how and why I want to read if there is no one watching my choices, and how the make them if they are not part of a socially-incentivised whole. I didn't rejoin any of those accounts after the experiment, things are good as they are now :)
Hi Tamara,
Thanks for sharing—it’s much clearer to me now.
I only use Goodreads to keep track of what I’ve read (poor memory!) and to check book ratings before picking up something new. I usually stick to 4+.
I did the same as you and left social media for good—something I’ve written about—but I didn’t think of Goodreads as being in that bucket!
I really like your idea of jotting down thoughts about a book right after finishing it. I’m going to start doing that too—it’ll help me give better recommendations when friends ask.
Have a great day!