Petra X > Recent Status Updates

I have a bookshop, but when I went travelling for 7+ months last year I had to take ebooks as we did hand luggage only. Today I put them all on to a spreadsheet to try and work out what I'd read, wanted to read and wanted to review. I thought I had about 175 I have 822 plus audio books I'll never read as I don't like audio. I am overwhelmed. I don't know how to put them on GR, or even sort out what I want to read.

"Since 2019 the European Gull Screeching Championship has been held annually in Belgium. In case the title doesn't sufficiently explain the goal, the website advises entrants to "Screech and behave as a seagull Do it well, because you have only one chance." In the UK, seagulls have a very bad name.They steal chips, crisps, sandwiches anything from people actually eating them, but in Belgium they are celebrated!

I made one shelf non-exclusive, moved the 23 books on it to Read and then added them back to the shelf that had been exclusive before. For some reason this got added to the feed. How weird, I don't have 'add a book to my shelves' checked in the profile. I've deleted them from my profile page, hopefully that works. If not,sorry if you got 23 extra notifications from me.

The author came from a poor home where he was badly physically abused by his alcoholic father, as was his disabled. He went to a school where no one had ever gone to university from and became a noted forensic psychologist for teenager criminals in which he remarks that so many of them came from the same deprived background as he did. What makes one become a criminal and the other a professional?"

The author came from a poor home where he was badly physically abused by his alcoholic father, as was his disabled. He went to a school where no one had ever gone to university from and became a noted forensic psychologist for teenager criminals in which he remarks that so many of them came from the same deprived background as he did. What makes one become a criminal and the other a professional?

You know the excruciatingly painful headache you get from brain freeze - when you've eaten something cold? 13 people actually volunteered to experience for research. I hope they were well-compensated (with icecream!) Apparently the rapid expansion of a majory artery pumps extra blood upward in a panic to keep the brain warm. Sticking your tongue to the roof your mouth supposedly warms the brain and cures the pain.

Moving day today. I'm moving from 12th to 24th floor of Centro, downtown Miami. Anyone near me? One big apartment to one small one, both with a lot of artificial flowers, signs saying 'happy life' and no bookshelves! That's airbnb for you. Still I have a view of the Mona Lisa mural and the sea and round the corner from Wholefoods, so I can sit at my computer and be happy I'm not on the island but in a city with life!

I look like someone beat me up.I have a big fat bottom lip, a bloodshot eye and a huge bruise on my cheekbone, none related.The lip was from the minor surgery.I woke up with a bloodshot eye.I hit my cheek on a kitchen cabinet door.The looks my partner and I were getting at the airport.Still someone felt sorry for us as we got priority boarding and moved to front seats. Read Diddly Squat,the Farmer's Dog on the plane.

Little pause. In nice hospital in Cancun now, small procedure tomorrow and then back to angst and issues on GR! Love you all, or I'm sure I would if I knew you irl as we could all of us happily talk books all day.

So off to hospital in Cancun, the Galenia, much cheaper than the US and better than the island. Nothing major. Hopefully all these reviews being shadow-banned, me not being able to be found by friends joining and not being allowed to make a group will be sorted out. I do not have faith in this but I'd like to be surprised.

Bit worrying. I have only written 11 reviews since returning to GR -more than 25%- do not appear at all on the book page. I wrote to Help but no reply. Only friends or those with the direct link can read them
How To Speak Chicken
A Hymn to Life
Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
Additionally I cannot create a group. I have posted 'pending review' on the help pages. Bet it is not approved! What is going on?

Some of these reviews I have done over the last week look old. They aren't. They were either just rtc or a single para.I'm just now getting round to writing reviews again as I'm fed up with isolation, it's wasting my life.I am still very anxious about interacting with people irl or virtually but I have told myself I can cut this off at any time I feel uncomfortable, it's all under my control. So far so good!

I used to blog but that was before GR. I'm looking to start blogging again.Does anyone have any recommendations for a site that is easy to use and free? Not Wordpress, I found that anything but simple. It's a few years now since I've had this weird depression where I just can't communicate with people on or offline I do read reviews though I don't write them & think just blogging into the ether might work for me.

I just found a newish book recommendation site. This is their message: "Amazon's book results are mostly ads, and Goodreads does nothing for authors.There are almost no places where authors can market their books to readers without paying". All the links on the site are to Amazon.Membership $50 or $100 for authors annually, $25-$250 for readers. So it's an Amazon affilliate shop front and authors have to pay!

I'm in Auckland now, any tips on what to see? Had a marvellous time in Rotorua looking at geysers and Maori culture. One perfectly normal village, Ohinemutu, was like reading magical realism. There were cracks in the road, in the public toilet, in the church drive just about everywhere where steam came up and sometimes bubbling water from the geothermal activity below. But now we're in the city. What is there to do?

In Christchurch now going to Wellington in the morning.So far NZ is one of the 3 most beautiful countries I have visited so I'm looking forward to the long ferry ride.What is there to do in Wellington apart from the museum and (later) Rotorua where might we find Maori stuff.Ever since I was a little girl in Wales and the All Blacks came to play rugby they've really intrigued me. Thanks for all the help on Melbourne.

Going to Melbourne tomorrow. We were going to Sydney (and we still may) but were swayed by a Yayoi Kusama major exhibition finishing on 4/21. Her museum in Tokyo is closed and she is a favourite artist of ours. So we are looking for exciting things to do in Melbourne, or interesting anyway, that aren't sporty as the bf's MS precludes major physical activity. Any suggestions very welcome. Thanks.

Hello! I've been travelling since Jan, just left Shanghai for Kyoto,then Tokyo & then Sydney. Help please. We have 2 weeks in Australia what are the best places to go/things to see? Also bf is not mad keen on NZ, we both like cities, art gals, temples, cultural stuff, I like nature too, he does as well but not so much. What can I tell him to persuade him we have to go to NZ? Been reading a lot, mostly travel stuff

It finally happened! After 3 months in the UK, France & Morocco carrying books around, for the next 3 in the Far East, South Pacific & NZ I will have ebooks on my phone.Me a bookseller!My bf has MS & is a prof & has a sabbatical so we spending the year travelling. Apart from my son & staff, he's pretty much the only person I engage with. interaction with people has become so hard for me & I don't know why. I'm sorry.

I'm travelling & reading, just not Goodreading. I'm still finding it difficult to communicate although I do read your reviews. I'm in Paris, it's as cold as London but the food is a lot better.Last night in a cafe I asked for orange juice for my Campari spritz.The waiter said the juicing machine was broken but brought me a whole one.Is this the secret of French food, that everything is fresh & made from scratch?

Q70 What's the most overrated book everyone loves but you just don't get? Mine is James Joyce Ulysses. Got bored, but feel like a heathen saying that.

Happy new 2024! I've been more or less incommunicado with almost everyone on and offline, very reclusive, been in a very deep depression for 4 or 5 months. I'm slowly moving back into life again (I hope) and look forward to participating in GR again. Silver lining: loads of reviews from my friends to read. Love to everyone, I hope this year will be everyone's best year yet.

I wonder why on the New Book Page, it says how many followers a person has, but not how many friends or a total of the 2? How is that relevant to anything? Is there something special about followers on social media that I've missed? I kept seeing names on reviews followed by nothing and then checked their profiles - some of them have a lot of friends but no followers and GR is now ignoring the friends. Why?

When I hit "Compare books" about 50% of the time I get Page Unavailable. Is this happening to anyone else?

Q69 "Please don't tell me your opinion friends...say what the book taught you!" Seen on a profile. What do you think of that? I read/review non-fiction, and generally write my opinion, what it taught me, interesting snippets, one or a mixture. Do you prefer opinions or to read what the reviewer learned from the book? I prefer opinions, every time.

Q68 What is the oldest electronic device you own that you still use regularly that you access GR on? Mine is my trusty W7 laptop. Keyboard and battery gone a long time ago but it's fast, does everything I want and highly customisable, unlike my other W10 laptops & dreadful Chrome book. I use GR from it and occasionally from my phone. It's a cheap Android. I'm not cool enough for an iPhone!

Q67 Have you ever faced criticism for your taste in books or reading preferences? I ask this because yesterday in the bookshop a potential employee was apologetic that she read romances and baby momma dramas rather than the more literary books I have. I don't judge! People's literary tastes change over time, and in a bookshop a sale is a sale!

Followers not friends? I just noticed on the new book page that only followers are shown, not friends. I can't think GR would get rid of friends and only offer the follow option, too much upheaval, but it is obviously something really important but I can't think of what or why.

Q65 Do you listen/watch reviews on Booktube, TikTok, podcasts etc? If so, which would you recommend? I think I'm too invested in GR and need to expand where I read reviews.

So what did everyone do over the Great Outtage? Read books? I spent too long on BoredPanda and Reddit looking at cat pics and reading about outraged bridezillas. I wonder why GR was down for so long?