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(¥ Construction Site: Diary of a mad costume maker
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Good books and Goodreads

» Why you should be on it, and what you might be missing

; Brittney MacDonald
& Life & Style Editor

M lifeandstyle

@theotherpress.ca

 

*m not ashamed to say that
I’m a book addict. As an
English major, naturally I read
a lot, but any of my friends
or family will tell you that my
literary tastes go well beyond
that. From the high fiction of

Salman Rushdie to the trashiest :

of romance novels, my I’ve-

been-meaning-to-read-that list :
: of subject matter can seem

: daunting to newcomers. But

: the community on Goodreads
: is pretty fabulous. It’s one of

: the only sites where I actually

: bother to read the reviews,

: because usually they’re spot-

: on—at least when it comes

: to the level of writing and

: potentially hazardous subject

: matter. For example, I recently
: read Wool: The Graphic Novel
: Omnibus for Comic Corner, and :
: one of the snafus mentioned
: in its reviews was the lack of
: racial diversity compared to the :
: original novel. Lo and behold,
: that was an issue I came to

: notice as well.

Also within the community :
: are groups. Groups are free to
: join and often contain reading
: lists or reading goals to achieve. :
: They feature interactive forums, :
: news posts, and sometimes

definitely runs the gambit.

The problem for me is
keeping track of them all.

I joined Goodreads a few
years ago, and I have been
using and abusing it with great
satisfaction. In essence, it is
a social networking site for
books. Not only does it allow
me to keep track of what I’ve
read, but it also allows me to
immediately add titles to my
to-read list should something
interesting catch my eye.

Currently I have 63 books
on my to-read list. That’s a lot,
and there’s absolutely no way
I would be able to remember
them all had it not been for

Goodreads. Now anytime I find :

myself with some free time, I
just scroll through my list and
pick out something that I’m in
the mood for.

If this wasn’t enough,

Goodreads can also sync to your :
: Among the most popular is the
: Vaginal Fantasy Book Club,

: which focusses on romantic

: speculative fiction, usually

Facebook account, making it
easy for you to connect with
your friends to make or receive
recommendations.

My favourite part about

: Goodreads is the variety.

: A book doesn’t have to be

: widely known for it to be on
: there. There are plenty of

: independently published works :
: as well. But with a community-
: based rating system, it makes

: it easy to sort out the studs

: from the duds. If not for this

: site, | would have never heard

: of amazing books like Master

: of Crows by Grace Draven. And
don’t even get me started on the :
: comic/graphic novel selection!

Having such a large variety

even author participation.

: urban fantasy or paranormal,

: but it depends on what their

: theme is for the month. It is

: run by Felicia Day, Bonnie

: Burton, Veronica Belmont, and

Kiala Kazebee—authors and

: book connoisseurs in their own
: right, who come together at the
: end of every month through

: Google Hangouts on air, to

: discuss their thoughts on that

: month’s pick. Usually to much

: drunkenness and hilarity.

The high accessibility of

: the site doesn’t hurt either.

: With an app for just about

: any device you can think of,
: updating your Goodreads is
: super easy. Currently I have
: one on my phone, as well as
: my e-reader, and they both
: function amazingly well.

Though Goodreads

: separates its selection by genre,
: further categorization is also

: possible through a reader’s

: use of “shelves.” Shelves are

: user-created groups that can

help organize your reading list,

: either for yourself or for fans
: of your tastes. My friends and

followers interested in seeing

: only the comics/graphic novels
: I’ve read, or questioning why I
: ever picked up The History of

Mr. Polly by H.G. Wells (it was

: fora class), need only look at
: my shelves to find out. Though

not necessary to use the site, it’s
a handy option if you read a lot.

: All in all, I would call

: Goodreads an incredibly useful
: tool, and I have recommended
: it to many of the book-fanatics
: in my life.

 

Have an idea for a story? Let us know!
Contact: Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor
Mlifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

www.theotherpress.ca

 

Image from studentpress.ro

Listed: 10 end of
semester mantras

» Must-have music for movie lovers

they do.

; Brittney MacDonald
geek Life & Style Editor

m= © lifeandstyle :
@theotherpress.ca : 4

Turn to page 394.

If all else fails you can
always become an ice

I order to avoid stressing cream Man.

too much, I always find it
helpful to repeat a couple
different mantras in my head. :
Soasyouenterintotheheel =: 6,
of your semester and come :
to realize that that shadow
looming over you is the exam
tower of terror, remember
to breathe, have a beer, and
don’t sweat the small stuff. To

help you out, here area few E 9. If you can memorize the
mantras to keep close to heart. : ; ;
entire Pokémon theme

song, you can memorize
how seismographs work.

5. Crying wont help; you'll
just be sad and wet.

Stress eating is a perfectly
valid solution.

BULLSHIT EVERYTHING!

WWEBND: What would
Bill Nye do?

1. Every hour you don't sleep :
isjustone more youcan  :
use toread Chapter Two: 19
again. :

. Youre an adult, nobody
can tell you what to do—
except your professor, the
dean, and all your future
employers.

2. Nobody understands
theology, even if they say