Goodreads

One of my friends recently drew me into the world of Goodreads (goodreads.com). It is basically a type of social networking site like MySpace except for people who can read and write...I suppose that was kind of harsh. Basically Goodreads is a site where you can put together lists of books that you've read, are currently reading, or are planning to read. You can also rate and review the books you've read. You can get your friends to sign up (or try to as is usually the case with me) and you can try to "friend" other people on the site. I love how "friend" has become a verb...kind of like "befriend" but shorter because our society is too impatient to add that extra syllable...

It's really cool to see what your friends are reading and what they like. But it is sometimes more interesting to see what other people are reading and what they like. It is especially fun to read their reviews and see their ratings. A book you might think is total trash might be ranked five stars in someone else's eyes. And naturally there are books that I would rank at five stars while someone else would rank it at just one. In fact I was mortified and personally offended to see people give Homer's Odyssey only one star. How can someone possibly give The Odyssey only one star??!!?? One person gave it two or three stars and added the comment that it seemed like "a gimmicky sequel to the Iliad." That comment made me laugh out loud.