Years ago I became a member of Shelfari and LibraryThing, long before Goodreads arrived on the scene! Now, I have a Goodreads account that I visit every now and then, but forget to update as I acquire more books and only occasionally post reviews there.
I’d love to know if you are a Goodreads member and if so, how you make use of Goodreads as a reader, and what you like about it.
Are you a Goodreads member, and why?
January 26, 2016 at 2:16 am
Hi, Rel! I am a Goodreads member, but I confess I haven’t figured out how to make the most efficient use of it, either as an author or a reader. I do try to keep my book list current (emphasis on the word “try”), but typically I’m entering several books at a time as I remember to catch up, so my “completed on” dates are never accurate. And even if I don’t write a full review, I usually at least rate the books I’ve read.
January 27, 2016 at 11:02 pm
Good to hear your thoughts, Myra – I’m woefully behind on updating Goodreads but I like your idea of at least getting ratings of the books you have read posted.
January 26, 2016 at 3:19 am
I absolutely LOVE Goodreads! I hadn’t heard about the other sites and I don’t remember how I learned about Goodreads, but I joined it early on and it revolutionized how I keep track of the books I’ve read and my ever-expanding to-read list! I used to check out a lot of books from the library so it helped me keep track of what I had read fro there and the rating system helps me remember how much I liked the book. I love the feature to create my own categories/shelves so when I learn about a book I want to read, I can see if my library has it in their system and label it accordingly. I also appreciate the feature where I can look at books that are on multiple lists, for example “to-read” and “at-library” and “christian fiction”. Since we live in a small home I have most of my books in totes in the garage, so Goodreads is how I keep track of the books I own. I used to only use the rating system, but once I started reviewing books a few years ago I started sharing the reviews there as well. I like that the reviews and ratings of my friends show up at the top of all other reviews so I can see what they thought and it’s easy to “like” their reviews. I also trust reviews and the average rating of books more at Goodreads than at Amazon since it’s not a retail site and it seems there are fewer promotional or spammy reviews. So in conclusion, yeah, I love Goodreads 😉
January 27, 2016 at 11:05 pm
Loved what you shared, Heidi – really helpful info. I’m not really up on all the benefits of Goodreads. Your comment about trusting reviews there more is interesting, too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts – appreciate it!
January 26, 2016 at 8:32 am
Nope. Oh wait, yes I am a member! But, I rarely go there.
For me, it’s just one.more.thing. to do.
January 27, 2016 at 12:34 am
Ditto, Jennifer! I really ought to make better use of it, but I really ought to do a lot of things that are missing checkmarks alongside them 🙁
January 27, 2016 at 1:31 am
I enjoy Goodreads as an author and as a reader. I appreciate the interaction with readers there in connection to my own books. I would say after Facebook, Goodreads is where I connect with readers the most. I often will peruse their shelves to see what else they are reading and have found some good books that way. As an aside my publisher is currently holding a drawing for 10 copies of my upcoming release A Flight of Arrows, on my Goodreads page. This is another reason I like Goodreads, my publisher makes good use of it by offering this big giveaway with each of my books released. I suspect other publishers do too. I also like Listopia, where readers create lists of books grouped by some sort of common thread or subject. That leads me to other good books to read and who doesn’t love that? 🙂
January 27, 2016 at 11:07 pm
Thanks Lori – good thoughts on the giveaways and discovering new authors. You are opening my eyes to the benefits!
January 27, 2016 at 11:06 pm
I hear you, Jennifer! xo
January 26, 2016 at 8:51 am
I use goodreads regularly and generally post reviews on the books I read. Having never done Shelfari, I’m not sure how it compares, but I like that it is updated all the time – new books often appear on there before publishers have even revealed the cover art (Bethany House and Revell titles for fall 2016 are already appearing). I enjoy the list feature, so if one wants to see the list of Christian fiction being published in 2016, it’s available and updated regularly; if a book that doesn’t fit the list appears on it, make a comment and it will be removed. There are still features that could be improved, but I enjoy it for keeping ahead of what books are currently available so I know what to watch out for. And the giveaways are a bonus (plus encourage reviews).
January 27, 2016 at 11:08 pm
Thanks Rachael – always love ways to see books that are coming up, right?!
January 26, 2016 at 8:58 am
Yes I am a Goodreads member. I think because I wanted to post a review of a book, by request of the author. I never.ever. look at it these days. Two reasons: first, I haven’t reviewed anything for a long time and second, I have this full time job that gets in the way of my reading time!!! Just as wellI love my job.
January 27, 2016 at 11:10 pm
The pesky full time job!!! Must get you back reviewing – love your reviews 🙂
January 26, 2016 at 9:17 am
I really only started using Goodreads once I started book blogging. I post my reviews there, but now I also use it to remember all the book suggestions and last year I started recording the books I read. I like it a lot more than I did a couple years ago.
I also have LibraryThing, but I use it solely as a way to maintain my personal library. I started this before I got into Goodreads, so now I just keep both 🙂
January 27, 2016 at 11:11 pm
Great thoughts, Jamie – I have my own software now to record my books, but I previously used LibraryThing for that purpose. I’d like to be better at adding my reviews at Goodreads, but it’s another thing to do!!
January 26, 2016 at 10:47 am
I’ve been using Shelfari for years. They are now merging with Goodreads and you have to use the Goodreads format. They did a transfer of information over, but not everything came through – like the date you had read a book. I’m now having to manually put that in and recreate my shelves. The problem is that Goodreads doesn’t allow for having multiple dates for finishing a book. Maybe as I get more used to it I’ll like it better, but for now I’m just finding it frustrating.
I do like having a record of the books I own and when I’ve read them though.
January 27, 2016 at 11:13 pm
Oh, I didn’t know that, Beth – appreciate the info! Sorry you are finding it frustrating – it’s always hard learning a new system, isn’t it?
January 26, 2016 at 3:30 pm
I’m a member! I mostly use it to keep track of books I’m reading and have finished. It’s fun to look back over a year and see what I’ve read. I also love some of the lists there – I’m always checking ones like most anticipated Christian Fiction for 2016 to get new ideas to add to my Want to Read list 🙂
January 27, 2016 at 11:14 pm
Hey Kara…that reminds me to go and add your novel to my shelves!!! xo
January 26, 2016 at 9:32 pm
Yeah. I’v’e been a member since 2012, but didn’t really start to use it until January 2015, when I came across the challenge. So I just punched in a lot of books on my TBR list – wonderful way to keep track of my books. 2015 is the first year I’ve even had a number about how many books I’ve read. It’s a wonderful way to keep track with which books I’ve read. Plus it’s easy to look at my TBR list whenever I’m wondering over which book to read.
January 27, 2016 at 11:15 pm
Thanks for sharing that, Bee – sounds like you have found it really useful in the past couple of years.
January 26, 2016 at 11:32 pm
I post reviews and have a currently reading shelf (because it links with my blog) on Goodreads. But I have yet to use its other features. I also have a Library Thing account. Like others who have responded, it’s one more thing to keep up with.
January 27, 2016 at 11:17 pm
Thanks Beckie…sounds like the lack of time is everyone’s biggest factor in not utilising Goodreads and similar programs.
January 27, 2016 at 3:46 am
I love Goodreads. I don’t do a great job tracking what I am actually reading but I try to track the books I have read and flag books I am interested in. Also, there is a great group on Goodreads that specializes in helping people find books they read but can’t remember the title of. I’ve used it a couple of times but also enjoy the hunt trying to find a book for people (I’m pretty good at online hunting that way). And like Lori said above, listopia is awesome. If I want to find a book similar to one I like, I can search the different listopias it has been saved in and I always find books I want to read.
January 27, 2016 at 11:18 pm
Excellent thoughts! Thanks for sharing 🙂
January 27, 2016 at 7:48 am
Ditto to Jennifer Major and Tamara Leigh. But I’ll have to admit Lori Benton and Sparks info about Listopia has me curious. OOOOOHHHHHH – NO – stop me now – – remember what curiosity did to the cat – – you don’t want to wind up like her do you???? Put down the laptop & mouse and walk away……. breath, breath, breath
January 27, 2016 at 11:18 pm
Like you need to discover more books, Pam!!! Hehehe xo
January 27, 2016 at 10:20 am
Oh yes! I’m an avid fan and user of Goodreads! When I initially joined, I didn’t use it much. I became an active member two years ago and now I LOVE IT! The thing I love the most is being able to connect with readers that like the same type of books as I do. I connect through my “friends” and “follows” as well as Groups. I am mainly active with Christian Fiction Devourers, but am also a member of Christian Fiction Bloggers (I enjoy their games) and INSPY. I have learned about SO MANY authors and books through Goodreads. Lots of great finds that way. I also enjoy tracking my reads through “My Books”. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Goodreads. My only complaint is there is zero tolerance for typos or words slightly off in the search feature.
January 27, 2016 at 11:22 pm
Lots to love for you, Staci – that’s really great. And there are games? Had no idea about that!
January 28, 2016 at 5:41 am
There are games! The last round was three teams of around 5-6 readers. It was a cover reveal game so for every book a team member read a puzzle piece was removed from your team’s cover puzzle. We could guess early if we knew what the cover was with only one or two puzzle pieces removed. Some were harder such as when the puzzle pieces revealed don’t have a letter or significant part of the cover on it. Lots of fun!
BTW…I guessed one of the covers (The Thornbearer) with only one puzzle piece removed because I had seen the cover on your blog. 🙂
January 27, 2016 at 1:31 pm
I am a Goodreads member. I don’t visit the site as often as I should to update my reading status while reading my books. I started my Goodreads account to post book reviews. I do like using my “want to read” “reading “and “read”
January 27, 2016 at 11:23 pm
Thanks for sharing, Kathy – it’s always a challenge to keep up regular updates, I agree!
January 27, 2016 at 1:32 pm
I am a Goodreads member. I don’t visit the site as often as I should to update my reading status while reading my books. I started my Goodreads account to post book reviews. I do like using my “want to read” “reading “and “read” shelves.
January 27, 2016 at 3:03 pm
I used to be more faithful and diligent in updating my Goodreads account. I don’t use all the features and don’t engage in conversation, but the features I do use I find helpful. I like having an easily accessibly list of all the books from any given author, being able to track which books I’ve read, and having a virtual TBR list. The barcode scanning function is handy when I’m in a bookstore and want to quickly check the reviews for a novel.
January 27, 2016 at 11:24 pm
I’m learning all about the functionality I had no clue about, Lydia! xo
January 29, 2016 at 9:35 am
Rel, glad to see from your confession and that of others that I’m not alone. I have a Goodreads account, go there occasionally, and–since my blog posts end up there as well–I reply to any comments that end up there. But, like many other things, I’m primarily a member in absentia.
January 29, 2016 at 1:06 pm
Hi Rel
Love Goodreads both as a reader and author. I can keep track of the books I’ve read, I tend to review books as I finish them, I like the reading challenge, I can see what my friends are reading, I can ‘shelve’ books under different categories, I can add them to lists (in listopia) or check out lists for books of certain categories (ie book with a blue cover or books with author’s name starting with O), I can also add quotes, I can read a selection of reviews before deciding to read a book, I can follow my favourite authors & their blogs through Goodreads, I can enter giveways of books and I can join groups of like minded people. And then there are benefits for authors as well 🙂 It’s a great site.