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Do You Use Goodreads to Keep Track of Your Reading?

THE BLUE BAR on Goodreads

Goodreads has been on my radar since 2011.

I used the site off and on to keep track of my reading. In the last few years, I’ve not been as diligent with Goodreads as I used to be, BUT, now I’m an author and Goodreads is a whole different arena.

Still a place where I go to get a few book recommendations, but Goodreads is now so much more.  It’s a place where my books get reviewed, and those reviews hog the limelight in a lot of places: library sites, Amazon, other book marketplaces.

My latest book, THE BLUE BAR showed up in a variety of Goodreads lists this year, and each time, it led to a boost in sales.

Here are the lists on which THE BLUE BAR showed up:

10 New and Rising Stars of the Mystery Genre

2023’s Most Anticipated Mysteries & Thrillers

New and Upcoming Books to Discover This AAPI Heritage Month

Listen In as Cold Cases Grow Hot in These New Mystery & Thriller Audiobooks

These listings were possibly because the book THE BLUE BAR has about 3,000 ratings, and figures on a lot of Listopia lists.

If you’ve read the book, could I ask you to:

Vote on any of the Goodreads lists THE BLUE BAR is part of.

Drop a line or two as a Goodreads review if the spirit moves you. Doesn’t have to be long or complex, just your basic, honest feelings.

Alternatively, you could Like a review or two that you agree with. That’s less time and effort, but still helps the author.

If you haven’t read THE BLUE BAR, you could add it as a Want-to Read.

And if you’d like to either pre-order or support the sequel THE BLUE MONSOON, please add that as a Want-to-Read as well. Want-to-reads create buzz, and starts a positive cycle.

Why do I ask you to vote on the lists and add THE BLUE MONSOON to them?

Because each time you do, your followers will be exposed to the book. It will also benefit from the algorithm, and turn up on Goodreads curated lists–all free publicity for the book.

If you’re an author, I’d strongly suggest rating books in your genre on the site, and shelving them in custom shelves. This leads to the algorithm showing your books to a new audience that might one day turn into fans.

Here are a few ways Goodreads can help your book promotion:

  • It shows your book to readers of your genre.
  • It shows your book to others who have liked books exactly like yours.
  • If readers add you on Listopia lists, you’re likely to show up on Goodreads curated articles, which is free buzz for your book.

Goodreads maybe a little clunky, but is it remains the most impactful site for authors on it, so I’m glad I made an attempt at a deep dive. I now have 867 followers, and definitely wouldn’t mind more. If you’re on there, please say hello.


Do you keep track of the books you read or want to read on Goodreads? If you’re an author, how do you deal with Goodreads: do you check your reviews or ignore them? Have you added THE BLUE MONSOON as a want-to-read on Goodreads?


My literary crime novel, The Blue Bar is on Kindle Unlimited now. Add it to Goodreads or snag a copy to make my day. The sequel, The Blue Monsoon is up for pre-orders! And if you’d like to read a book outside the series, you can check out You Beneath Your Skin.  Find all info about my books on my Amazon page or Linktree.

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Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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28 Comments

  • DutchIl says:

    Thank you for sharing!! glad you are getting well deserved good reviews!!.. I do not use GoodReads but I do keep a list of some of my favorite authors, you are on the list, that I refer to from time to time… 🙂

    Hope life is all that you wish for it to be, your path is paved with love and happiness and until we meet again…
    May your troubles be less
    Your blessings be more
    And nothing but happiness
    Come through your door
    May the sun shine all day long
    Everything go right, nothing go wrong
    May those you love bring love back to you
    And may all the wishes you wish come true
    (Irish Saying)

    • Thank you for the absolutely beautiful saying, and for your kind words! I’m very, very grateful for the support, and I wish you all the best!

  • dgkaye says:

    Congrats on all the great Goodreads reviews Damyanti. Yes, I enjoy GR, and I especially enjoy participating in the Reading Challenge every year. Hugs <3

  • Yes, I use them to track the number of books that I read or added to my reading list.

  • As a reader/reviewer I use Goodreads on a daily basis. It is where I keep track of my TBR and my review commitments. I record where I got the book (author, NetGalley, or Edelweiss), or if I bought the book I record how much I paid for it in the notes section. Also, I record who recommended the book if that is the case. I note blog tour dates when applicable. I’m not sure I could live without Goodreads at this stage.

    • DamyantiB says:

      I’m glad it’s helping you keep organised! Goodreads is an absolute necessity for me, too.

  • Goodreads and my own excel sheets.

  • Jemima Pett says:

    I do all my read tracking and reviews using Goodreads, but i’m not as active on the groups as I used to be, for the main reason that it didn’t seem relevant to my writing ambitions any more. But I don’t think I’d have got anywhere near as far as I have without the people I met early on, many of whom are people I follow, beta for and rely on for decent feedback!

  • hilarymb says:

    Hi Damyanti – I don’t use it … but am a member and hope to help by doing a run through for your lists above … I so enjoyed your book. I’ll make a plan – cheers Hilary

    • DamyantiB says:

      Thank you so much, Hilary! I really appreciate your time and effort.

  • cleemckenzie says:

    I like Goodreads for keeping track of my reading and even to motivate me to read and review more.

  • It is a long time since I visited Good Reads as I’ve had a few challenges to deal with the past couple of years. It’s nice to know you are continuing your success and I see many more years of author success ahead of you Damanti.

  • I am on Goodreads but I am not using it enough. It is a good website and I need to pay more attention to it. The Blue Bar is on my TBR so I added to my Goodreads want to read list

  • Pam Webb says:

    Adore Goodreads!

  • setinthepast says:

    No, but I keep a booklist on Excel.

  • I use Goodreads a lot, mostly to keep track of what I’ve read (almost 2500 since I started tracking). You get to an age and a volume of books and I just don’t well-remember if I’ve read a book or not! Goodreads always sets me straight.

    • DamyantiB says:

      That’s an impressive number of books! Goodreads makes things easier for me, too.

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