I spent yesterday afternoon building my "Goodreads" profile.
I'd heard about the site from both customers & coworkers, and I finally joined, myself...which I have to admit, was a lot more fun than I expected. Goodreads reminds me of a Facebook for readers, and I was startled to see how many friends were already members. When I think about how much fun it is to socialize about books, I'm not quite sure if I'm a nerd - or just old. (Considering that I've got an ass full of Preparation H right now, I'm gonna go with "old.")
The coolest thing about Goodreads was searching the database to find books I've read. I found myself calling up titles that I read back in the 70s, and the sci fi pulps in particular were great to revisit. I stumbled across one of my favorite teenage books - James Hogan's Inherit the Stars. I grinned ear-to-ear when I saw the 1980s artwork on its cover, and I remember reading it in high school. The book is about a 50,000 year old astronaut (corpse) that's discovered on the moon, and the pulpy plot explores Earth's "real" history - a world known to other species as "the Nightmare Planet." Great shit. Especially for a teenage boy. The sequels were awesome, too.
My Goodreads profile hadn't been up for 30 minutes when I received a quick email from one of my favorite authors. The message was a thanks for following his reviews, and I shot him an email back - which was neat because I have his books on my bookshelf. It made me think about how small the world has become, and how easy it is to connect with people who only ten years ago were very hard to reach. Over the past few years, I've sent messages to authors, musicians, and even the President...all while sitting in my pajamas, scratching myself and drinking coffee. There's no greater feeling than messaging a politician when you're on your iPad, taking a morning dump.
And on that happy note, guess where I'm writing THIS right now...
I'd heard about the site from both customers & coworkers, and I finally joined, myself...which I have to admit, was a lot more fun than I expected. Goodreads reminds me of a Facebook for readers, and I was startled to see how many friends were already members. When I think about how much fun it is to socialize about books, I'm not quite sure if I'm a nerd - or just old. (Considering that I've got an ass full of Preparation H right now, I'm gonna go with "old.")
The coolest thing about Goodreads was searching the database to find books I've read. I found myself calling up titles that I read back in the 70s, and the sci fi pulps in particular were great to revisit. I stumbled across one of my favorite teenage books - James Hogan's Inherit the Stars. I grinned ear-to-ear when I saw the 1980s artwork on its cover, and I remember reading it in high school. The book is about a 50,000 year old astronaut (corpse) that's discovered on the moon, and the pulpy plot explores Earth's "real" history - a world known to other species as "the Nightmare Planet." Great shit. Especially for a teenage boy. The sequels were awesome, too.
My Goodreads profile hadn't been up for 30 minutes when I received a quick email from one of my favorite authors. The message was a thanks for following his reviews, and I shot him an email back - which was neat because I have his books on my bookshelf. It made me think about how small the world has become, and how easy it is to connect with people who only ten years ago were very hard to reach. Over the past few years, I've sent messages to authors, musicians, and even the President...all while sitting in my pajamas, scratching myself and drinking coffee. There's no greater feeling than messaging a politician when you're on your iPad, taking a morning dump.
And on that happy note, guess where I'm writing THIS right now...