Read by Theme discussion

Are you a new member? This is the place to introduce yourself!

As for me, I'm Amara. I'm an eighteen-year-old, female (US) American. I'm partial to horror, fantasy, and children's books, and I enjoy writing and world-building.

I'm Sandy, a 40+ year old married mother of 2 teenagers.
I live in the USA. I enjoy mysteries, suspense, thrillers and spiritual (Christian) books.

Welcome! :)

Thanks. This seems like a fun idea. :)

Glad you think so!

Hi I'm Caren. I am 40 something and an avid reader. My reading is pretty much all over the board since joining GR. There are so many good books and not nearly enough time.

Hi, Caren, and welcome! I definitely agree with you--so many books, so little time. And it can be hard to tell which will turn out to be worth the time!

Thanks Amara, and thank goodness for the library and free Nook books.

Hi, I'm Candace. Caren up there is my sister. I'm 30-something and love to read. I am almost done with my master's degree and then I get to choose everything that I read!

Welcome, Candace!

Hey sis. Glad to see you joining the conversation. Graduation is just around the corner:)

Hello Candace and Caren.
It's nice to meet both of you. :)

Hi I'm Jennie. I'm a 40+ mother of three from the UK. I have always loved to read - some would say obsessed!

Nice to meet you, Jennie! :)

Nice to meet you, Jennie. Many people say I am obesessed with reading, also. There are worse things in the world to be obesessed about/with.

Hello. I think I may just have found the right group at long last - I love the simplicity of your concept. I'm Cate, live in Melbourne, Australia. It's a foggy cold morning on the Queen's Birthday public holiday. I'm 44, can't walk into a book shop without buying at least one book but usually two. My partner has the same "compulsion". Our house has piles of books everywhere & our dream is to have floor to ceiling book shelves. Now I'm off to find a book with a bird on the cover.

Hi, Cate! I'm thrilled you like the concept of the group, and I really hope it turns out to be right for you. :)

Hi - I'm Amy. Just turned 40. Still consider myself a Texan (US), even though I was born in Indiana and currently live in Washington State. I'm a very eclectic reader (to a point) and love discovering new books almost as much as reading them. Thankful for my kindle and the ability to check out eBooks or I'd be poor. This group idea grabbed me right off so thanks for creating and managing it!

Nice to meet you, too, Amy. It's really great to hear that people are liking the concept; I couldn't have asked for more. :)

Amy wrote: "love discovering new books almost as much as reading them. Thankful for my kindle and the ability to check out eBooks or I'd be poor."

Cate wrote: "can't walk into a book shop without buying at least one book but usually two. My partner has the same "compulsion". Our house has piles of books everywhere & our dream is to have floor to ceiling book shelves."

And I have to echo both of these sentiments--though for me, it's used books. They've long since taken over my room, and I'm still trying to figure out how to arrange them all without being crushed. ;)

Hi Cate and Amy. Hey Amy, I live in Washington state also. Hope you both enjoy the group. It is a really great idea Amara.

Hey everyone, I'm Samantha, Sam for short, from Massachusetts. I'm just about to turn 20 and currently a junior in college for Pre-Vet. I love reading and have always wanted to join a bookclub. I think I found the right place. (:

Nice to meet you, Samantha, and welcome!

Hello Jennie, Amy and Samantha.
Nice to meet all of you.

Hi, I'm Anne. I'm in NC and am 60. Reading is one of the most important things in my life and I read just about any genre. Lately I've been reading lots of history, war history, novels about WWI. But I love mysteries, lit and fiction, religion, science, science fiction, pretty much anything except maybe romance or chic lit. Looking forward to this novel concept for a book. I may be too late for the Bird on the Cover theme but I'm going to see what I can find.

Nice to meet you, Anne!

Hello everyone,
I'm Cindy, I live in small-town Indiana and I just turned 41 (gasp!). I love the concept behind this book group. I work in a library and since I am constantly surrounded by books I sometimes find it difficult to choose just one. (I'm usually reading 2 or 3 at a time). I also feel that life is too short to read bad books, so if I start a book and after a few chapters I just can't get into it, I just walk away from it and pick up something new. This group will give me the freedom to pick my own book (yay!) and not confine me to one that is chosen for me.

And it's nice to meet you, too, Cindy! Welcome to the group, both of you. :)

Hi all -

Cindy wrote, "(I'm usually reading 2 or 3 at a time). I also feel that life is too short to read bad books, so if I start a book and after a few chapters I just can't get into it, I just walk away from it and pick up something new."

I couldn't agree more! I was born in Bluffton, IN and did some growing up in Markle. Small world!

Hi Cindy,nice to meet you.I also like to read 2 or 3 books at the same time.I do agree that life is too short to read bad books but sometimes, a difficult book is worth persevering with.For example, Nobody's Fool, by Richard Russo,which was hard going initially but well worth the effort. The tricky bit is deciding which book's are worth the effort and which are not!

Hi, Brooke! Nice to meet you!

Cindy wrote: "Hello everyone,
I'm Cindy, I live in small-town Indiana and I just turned 41 (gasp!). I love the concept behind this book group. I work in a library and since I am constantly surrounded by books I ..."

It's funny--when I was younger I thought I had to finish every book I started--like taking a medicine or something. When I realized that I didn't owe a bad book anything I was liberated. And have found that I have started some and stopped them only to pick them up later (even years) and discover that the book wasn't bad--I just wasn't in the right state of mind at the time.

I know exactly what you mean. I am a moody person and even my reading habits are influenced by my moods. I usually try to give a book 2 chances if it's something I really want to read.

Hi, I'm Amarise. As far as the kind of books I like, well, for the last few years, its been mostly the Fantasy genre that I read most, but I will read what ever gets and KEEPS my interest...Lately, I have found myself getting kind of bored with the fantasy, but I still kind of like it. It seems like every 2-3 years, I get bored with a certain genre and switch {since Ive been consistently reading these last 6 1/2+yrs}...But, again, I will read a lot of different kind of books..I really enjoy Historical Fiction as well {mostly around slavery}...This group seems like it will be very interesting and one that I can actually get involved in...Thankfully! :-)

Hi, Amarise, and welcome to the group. :)

Hi, I'm Cyndi. I'm 35 year old mother to a 14 year old daughter. I enjoy all genres of books. Lately I've been into just plain fiction romance. I'm excited about joining this group.

Hi, I am Kiva. I am 32 years old and teach 7th and 8th grade language arts. I am obsessed with young adult fiction in all genres.

Hi everyone! I'm Brandi and live in Colorado. I have 2 little girls, 5 and 4 months, so reading is my escape. I don't have a favorite genre at the moment, I'm just really enjoying having the time to read! I just completed my second degree, so reading for pleasure isn't something I've done for quite some time. :)

Good morning everyone! My name is Leann, I just turned 29 (for the first time) and I live in Canada. I spend 3hrs a day commuting to and from work so I spend a lot of time reading. I tend to lean towards book series and become quite attached to my leading characters. Currently I am plowing my way through the Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs. I am going to put it up there as one of my all times.

Hello. I am Susan from Kentucky. Life long reader. My friends used to get mad because I always had a book with me whenever we would go out. I am a former Special Education teacher. I read many genres. Currently working on 5 books.

Hello, My name is Bibi, born and raised in Canda and I love reading. I read a lot of different genres: Biographies, young adult, Victorian literature, romance, mystery...the list goes on. We tried to start a book club at work but it got difficult to meet in person. Leann (her intro is somewhere on this thread) recommended this online bookclub.

Wow! A lot of action on this thread today. Welcome to all the new members!

Welcome to everyone; it's great to see so many new members here, and I hope everyone enjoys the group!

Hi! I just joined, seems like a great group :-) my name is Emma, I'm 31 years old, live in St Louis, MO I've been an avid reader since i was a toddler, books are my life lol

Hi, Emma, and welcome to the group. I'm just the same way when it comes to reading; I learned to read before I can remember, and I've loved it ever since. :)

Hi everyone! I'm Jackie, 29, and a graduate student in theatre at UCSB. For school I read a lot of theory and a lot of plays, so for fun I generally like to read fiction, both classical and contemporary. But I'm always open to new genres and book recommendations. This is a great idea for a book club, gives us all a chance to get a little creative and cover more literary territory!

Hi, Jackie, and welcome! :)

Hi everyone! I'm Kim, just joined the other day. I'm 47 and live in CT with my husband and our calico princess. I've been a lifelong mystery reader, although I did slack off for a few years, but now I'm catching up. I also loom knit and do volunteer work for our church.

Hi everyone! My name is Xhev and I'm from Canada. I'm married and have two wonderful children and reading has always been a favourite past time of mine. Fortunatley for me, my kids have gotten older so I have more time on my hands to read and my 12 year old daughter has inherited a passion for books just like me! (She is also on goodreads!). I enjoy books by Harlan Coben, Charlaine Harris and many, many more! Lately I've been reading a lot of YA novels, because my daughter owns about 300 of these types of books.

Hello to Kim, Xhev, and Shichiyou! It's nice to meet you, and welcome to the group. :)

Hello, all! My name is Daniela, I am 26, live in Northern California, and ever since learning to read I have been a voracious reader. After 22 years of my favorite hobby, I have come to find myself lacking new material. I could not pass up such a laid-back reading group!
I live for science fiction, fantasy, classics, and anything with a creative plot. I shy away from romance and drama genres. I also avoid the books du jour like the plague (they rarely live up to the hype).
I look forward to discussing my favorite thing in the world with everyone!