Week 4: Building Base Knowledge (Goodreads)

Link to Goodreads account: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/47024578-varshea-smith

I am fairly new to the world of Goodreads. According to their record, I have been a member since September of last year. I must say that the ability to maintain an ongoing book list was intriguing to me at first, but over time my "to-read" shelf began to rival my "read" shelf. I'm friends with several of my coworkers on the site and I often log on just to see what books they're currently reading. On several occasions, my coworkers have written a review that ignited my interest in a book and/or author. Hence why my "to-read" list is growing by the minute.

I've been a member of the Goodreads community for several months now, but I have never taken the time to explore its many features. I stumbled upon "Listopia" a few months when I was looking to expand my knowledge of literary works written by African American women. The lists offered by the site were very helpful and led me to several new favorite authors. The title recommendations offered through the site are also very helpful. I'm pretty peculiar about what books I read. So when I find a book that I enjoyed, I look forward to finding to exploring other read-alikes.

Until this assignment, I have only rated a few books. Usually titles that I strongly connected with or strongly disliked. I had never taken the time to offer a review or recommendation, because who cares what I think...right? Well, it turns out, as a librarian people do actually care about what you think. They want to know what you loved about that author you read as well as the things that you might not have enjoyed. After exploring the recent reads of my colleagues, I decided to offer a couple of recommendations.  

Recommendations:

#1- I noticed that one of my colleagues recently read Between the World & Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates and based on their rating, they appeared to enjoy it (also one of my recent favorites!). Since they enjoyed Coates' novel, I decided to recommend Buck by M.K. Asante.

"Hey Kelsey! 
Per Be More Bookish instructions, I wanted to offer a book recommendation based on your enjoyment of this title. This first title that came to mind was Buck by M.K. Asante. A modern day coming of age story, Buck chronicles Asante's memories of growing up as a teenager in Philadelphia. Asante, who is both a writer and a rapper uses hip-hop metaphors to express his struggles with the disintegration of his family and the decay of his neighborhood. Offering an intimate look into his daily struggles and triumphs, Asante's story is sure to inspire readers!"

#2- I noticed that another one of my colleagues enjoyed reading I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai & Christina Lamb. Based on this I decided to recommend A long way gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah.

"Hey Kayla!
Per Be More Bookish instructions, I wanted to offer a potential book recommendation based on your rating for this novel. Since you enjoyed I am Malala, you might enjoy A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. In this captivating memoir, Beah chronicles his time as a child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone. As a soldier, Beah was exposed to a great deal of violence and ultimately developed a substance addiction. A Long Way Gone is the remarkable tale of Beah's struggle for freedom and overall journey towards redemption. Readers will be both heartbroken and inspired by Beah's story."