Blog Tour Day 20: My Goodreads Q&A

As my blog tour approaches its end, I thought I’d give readers a chance to ask me questions about King of Paine and my writing in a live venue and also introduce those of you who haven’t found it yet to Goodreads. It’s the largest site for readers and book recommendations in the world, with more than 6 million members added since its launch in 2007.  Users recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they’ve read and would like to read, find their next favorite book, form book clubs, interact with authors and much more. It’s an amazing site!

I’ll be live on Goodreads in a designated Q&A forum today (Tuesday 12/20) from 1-2pm and  7-8pm. You can browse the discussion topics without joining Goodreads, but you’ll need to become a member to post a question. Questions can be posted at any time, but I’ll only be responding live at the designated times.

I highly recommend joining Goodreads if you love books. Most book recommendation websites work by listing random people’s reviews. On Goodreads, when a person adds a book to the site, all their “friends” can see what they thought of it. The common sense theory is that people are more likely to get excited about a book recommended by someone they trust than a suggestion from a stranger. Even if you don’t know other members to begin, you can become friends or fans of other members whose reviews speak to your tastes. And if you prefer to browse in private, you can see all reviews and ratings for books that interest you even if you’re not visible to others.

I’ll walk you through the sign-up process if you’re thinking about joining. Start at the Goodreads New User page, where you’ll enter your email address and a new password. You’ll then be guided through four pages that will help optimize your Goodreads experience, but all of these pages can be skipped if you just want to participate in my Q&A or otherwise want to browse the website.

The first page will allow you to find friends by searching your facebook, twitter, gmail, yahoo and hotmail address books–but only if you request it. Then you’ll be asked to select your favorite genres to improve your browsing and recommendation experience. You’ll then have an opportunity to rate books you’ve read, and the last page produces recommendations based on your favorite genres and book ratings. You can always return to these pages from your home page if you skip them and later decide to become a more active user.

Give it a try–you may soon find yourself addicted!

I hope you’ll join me for the Q&A this afternoon or tonight and then again tomorrow when we wrap up the tour with a review, interview and book giveaway on Purple Jelly Bean Chair Reviews. And don’t forget to submit your entry for the King of Paine Kindle Giveaway Contest by midnight tomorrow (Wednesday 12/21)–time is running out!