This weekend I joined Goodreads. It only took me about a year or so of thinking about it. Part of the issue for me is it’s a site about reading, writers are supposed to read read read, but because of the difficulty I’ve had reading since my brain injury, read read read is not something I do often enough. That would become obvious to any Goodreads member!
But my reading has taken a jump recently. This year, I’ve started remembering whodunnit in some of the Agatha Christie novels I’ve read several times over the past few years (I read a lot of Christie too before my injury); not yet though for those books I’ve read only once, maybe twice. So it’s time to take the next leap. I need to find a way somehow to try reading tougher books and to read more often. Prior to my injury, I kept myself on a diet of three mystery or sci fi books a week, five if I couldn’t stand it, each read in a gulp of one sitting. In addition, I read books in preparation to writing and marketing my book Lifeliner: The Judy Taylor Story; I usually had one work of literary fiction on the go. And it goes without saying, I read magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and anything else I could get my hands on. These last few years have been bitter, with my ability to process, understand, retain, synthesize with previous knowledge, and put into long-term memory so compromised. The web has exploded with reading materials; my pre-injury me would’ve been happier than a pig in a truffle patch. Me, it’s been a combo of yearning and failing and total exhaustion after only a short time of reading.
But I bet I’m better at it now than I think I am. It’s just that I need some motivation and a way to get me to practice practice practice. I’m hoping Goodreads is it. I already have uploaded all the books in my iPod library app and have begun adding to my friends list. The Goodreads iPod app will be better than my old library app at helping me find books I haven’t read when I go to the bookstore. The status updates from the friends list will hopefully inspire me not depress me. And knowing my status updates will be seen, even if only by one person, will hopefully get me to read more consistently. It’s like weight loss: track your weight and size, keep others informed, and the weight is more likely to come off. Here, I will have the tools to track my reading, even down to what page I’m on on any given day, to keep others informed, and so the reading is more likely to happen.
Plus I finally claimed my author profile! And I have a 5-star review for Lifeliner! Now that’s incentive to keep reading so I can keep on improving my writing. So go on, have a gander at my Goodreads profile and become a fan if you’re a Goodreads member!
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