Curation: the ups and downs of Goodreads

Image courtesy Goodreads.

I have been using Goodreads to curate the best nonfiction writing. It has been lovely and exciting (and fun!)  to dive into great writers and their work, and I have found Goodreads to be a mix of usefulness and some forgivable frustration as a curation tool.

The main problem I have found is that for the subject of nonfiction, it makes some more sense to curate writers rather than books -- and much of the best work has appeared in other forms of publication. Goodreads does allow permalinks to author pages, and that is helpful -- more interesting than a Wikipedia entry, and with a social component built in.

To go about finding pieces for my collection, I searched terms like "nonfiction" and "essays" into Goodreads and found other people's lists. That was a little daunting, but it gave me a lot of material.

The most powerful tool so far for finding works has been my social network. On Facebook, I got great recommendations from friends about their favorite writers when I asked for recommendations in a status. I even got some private messages too. I will now link their suggestions to my collection on my Goodreads shelf.

I will share the results of my curation efforts soon. Ultimately, I want to create a resource for nonfiction writers that will not only have curated suggested reading but actual interviews with writers about their craft.

Onward!