"goodreads is a "social cataloging" website that allows individuals to freely search its database of books, annotations, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists"
- wikipedia
Chances are, you know exactly what Goodreads is, and maybe you're even active there, and quite possibly an expert on how things work. In that case, read on, and enjoy hearing my opinion.
And if you are wondering if it would be a good idea to sign up and get onto Goodreads, maybe you'll find some answers here.
1.
I came to Goodreads about a year ago (or a year + a few weeks, to be exact). It was a very random and spontaneous decision. I had my ereader with me at farmers' market, was bored, started reading Paperfury's reviews, and thought, "so... why not try out this thing called Goodreads?"
It was so worth it.
2.
So, obviously, Goodreads does have its downsides.
Being a social media, it sucks up time and can become addicting and a total waste of your efforts.
Your dashboard and feed will be filled up with useless updates like
Being a social media, it sucks up time and can become addicting and a total waste of your efforts.
Your dashboard and feed will be filled up with useless updates like
"Friend A liked Friend B's review"
"Friend C liked Friend B's update"
"Friend A commented on Friend B's update"
"Friend B followed friend D"
"Friend C liked Friend B following Friend D"
and so forth and so on.
And as you can probably guess, it's full of humans, not all pleasant. They can end up sending hate comments because you disagree with their opinions. There are nasty authors, nasty fans, nasty haters, nasty reviews, nasty reviewers.
^^ advice for dealing with these kinds of users: don't engage. Nothing you say can change their minds or actions
3.
All that aside, Goodreads has been very useful to me in various ways. First of all, in cataloging books for myself.
I consider it my virtual bookshelf. I collect books "read", "want to read", and "reading". I tag them in different ways - mostly by author. Others go by genre, length, pov, year they read it in, target age group, gender of the mc, or any other way of categorizing that they came up with.
Truth be told, you really won't need to keep another kind of book list again.
It's a platform.
Truth be told, you really won't need to keep another kind of book list again.
4.
The second thing is reviews.
This is, obviously, the number one purpose of Goodreads. It's a place for you to writer reviews, and to read reviews.
I used to review everything I read, but unfortunately I don't have that much time these days (I'm trying to get back to it and failing, haha). As bookworms we absolutely enjoy sharing our opinions on books so Goodreads, the natural book loving community, is there to listen.
We also need to read reviews in order to find out is this book really worth it?
^^ Truth be told, mostly we really like reading reviews just for the fun of it ;)
And. quite obviously, Goodreads is the best place to find the reviews - thousands for just one books. But of course, I only really rely on the reviews of friends - who know just what exactly a stranger's tastes are O.o
5.
The community is also very valuablee. To find "kindred spirits" in real life can be hard.
So yes, on Goodreads you can find
- Kindred spirits - those relate to your bookworm joys and struggles
- Community - because there are groups for everything. They are like chat rooms/forums on all manner of subjects, from Ghibli fans to writing contest to role playing to advocating for different kinds of social issues
- People to ask for advice/prayers - it's true. If you are in the right circles seeing updates asking for prayer requests are quite common
- Friends - and while there are hundreds on people there, most will only be your acquaintances. However, you just might land a few very very good friends. I did. That alone makes me happy I went on Goodreads
6.
If you are
a) friends with authors or
b) a writer yourself, planning to publish
then Goodreads is quite the place to market.
After all, being a bookworm community, it is the perfect place to generate excitement over a new release or to do 'promotional work' by posting updates, reviews, and liking/commenting on friends' reviews of the same book, or even recommending the book to others.
If you've established a following on Goodreads, or have a lot of 'friends', chances are your book will 'go around'. I've seen authors adding their books and suddenly your feed blows up with LITERALLY EVERYONE marking it as 'to-read'.
In conclusion, Goodreads is a book lover's paradise of connection, and while there are downsides, in my humble opinion, the goods outweigh the bads.
If you have the time and interest, I do recommend it.
tally ho for now - lisa
then Goodreads is quite the place to market.
After all, being a bookworm community, it is the perfect place to generate excitement over a new release or to do 'promotional work' by posting updates, reviews, and liking/commenting on friends' reviews of the same book, or even recommending the book to others.
If you've established a following on Goodreads, or have a lot of 'friends', chances are your book will 'go around'. I've seen authors adding their books and suddenly your feed blows up with LITERALLY EVERYONE marking it as 'to-read'.
In conclusion, Goodreads is a book lover's paradise of connection, and while there are downsides, in my humble opinion, the goods outweigh the bads.
If you have the time and interest, I do recommend it.
tally ho for now - lisa
are you on goodreads?
if so, are we friends yet?
what are your experiences?
if not, are you interested to try it out?
I'm on Goodreads for better or for worse...
ReplyDeleteLove the aesthetics of the post. <3
Haha yes *pats your shoulder*
DeleteAww thanks so much <3
I love Goodreads <3
ReplyDeleteOOHHH SAME
DeleteI joined Goodreads last summer to review Ivy Rose' s, and Abigayle Claire's books. I decided it was cool, and have decided to stick around. ☺
ReplyDeleteAnd now that I got my first book published, *happy dance* I'm hoping it will help get my book read, and reviewed. 😁
I will have to go find your profile, and follow ya!
Reviewing friends' books has definitely been one of the best uses of GR for me too!
DeleteWAIT WHAAAAT YOU HAVE PUBLISHED A BOOK?? how did I not know this? What is it called - I must check it out!!
Oops I forgot to include a link in the post. Glad you were able to find me anyway XD
Yes! It's called Trouble in Scotland. :D
DeleteI, too, use Goodreads as a virtual bookshelf. It's so helpful to keep track of what I read, and mainly what I think of the books! And I'm happy to say that we're friends! :D
ReplyDeleteThat's right - Goodreads is marvelous even on just a personal level!! Aww yes, I'm happy we're friends there too ^-^
DeleteHonestly, I adore goodreads! It's been so nice not having to track the books I'm reading by writing them down in a binder like I use to. >.<
ReplyDeleteAlso, this post is so visually pleasing, wow.
Omw yes even though I still write stuff on paper sometimes cos I hate having to go turn on my computer lol XDD
DeleteWHAAAT oh you're too kind - thank you so much :DD
I like using Goodreads for keeping track of the books I've read and reading some friends' reviews, but I try to avoid the social media aspect of it because, as you said, it takes up a lot of time and I usually end up very drained from listening to everyone's angst. So yes, GR has its ups and downs.
ReplyDeleteI have kinda ended up in the same place as you where I don't even want to go on bc I know I'll waste hours scrolling through my feed XD
DeleteIkr, sometimes it gets really depressing hearing all the hate D: ups and downs for sure, but then, what else could we expect XD
Thanks for your comment ^-^
I love Goodreads! Haha it does suck up some time, but through Goodreads I can post reviews and find books that I'd like to read. =)
ReplyDeleteMicaiah @ Notebooks and Novels
Oh yes! I think there is more good than bad overall. It is how I stay up to date on book news and what is good to read! Very worth it! Thanks for commenting, dear ;D
DeleteI've used Goodreads without ever having gotten an official account, but I've been starting to debate the possible merit of signing up. It looks like a neat resource, but I'm also worried that it will suck away at my time. But who knows - I might get one in the near future and love it!
ReplyDelete~True // atruewriter.blogspot.com
Mmmm yes, Goodreads can be used without an account, but I gotta say that you are missing out on the shelving XDD I guess ... you just need to control yourself and not play with it too much, and you'll be fine XD I hope :P I guarantee you'll love it though!
DeleteI joined GR in August because of Rebellious Writing, and I don't really regret it. I could do without the haters though (sends Ivie hugs)
ReplyDeleteCatherine
catherinesrebellingmuse.blogspot.com
GOTTA AGREE WITH YOU HERE, I really do :DD
DeleteI'm on Goodreads but we aren't friends xD
ReplyDeleteI like Goodreads. Mainly because it's a faster and more efficient way of checking out books you'd like to read in the future compared to writing stuff down on paper (at least for me). The problem is that I have about 500+ books on my TBR. I don't read super fast but I do try to trim the list down.
I'm glad that I'm mostly away from the hate and nastiness. I am friends with people who are indirectly involved with some controversial stuff that happens or else I'd be confused whenever someone mentioned hate on Goodreads xD
OH WE NEED TO CHANGE THAT. what's your username?
DeleteIf definitely is efficient!! And ugh, yes, I have 300+ on my tbr. Earlier this year I had to wade through it and delete a whole bunch of books I don't want to read anymore :P
I haven't experienced the hate personally, but I can see it going around sometimes *nods* I think it's important to pick your friends well and try to be mostly positive on there.
I joined Goodreads in 2013 and I still love it to this day!
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S AWESOME!! Glad you've had such a long and good experience with it, Eleanor ^-^
DeleteGoodreads is so cool. It's the bookworm's dream site, and I LOVE IT. <3
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I agree with all your pros and cons!
YES I'M SO HAPPY YOU AGREE *high fives*
DeleteThis is wonderfully timed!! I'm still trying to figure out Goodreads, tbh. I originally got an account just to keep track of my TBR and what I've read (and to do the reading challenge), and honestly, the social side of it is really annoying and confusing...mostly because I wasn't expecting it.
ReplyDeleteBut I love being able to share and read reviews....and the bookshelves and sorting features are THE BOMB!!
GLAD YOU LIKED THE POST! Ahhh yeah I get you ;) social media can be confusing and annoying. I'm so bad at keeping up to date with other people's reading :P
DeleteYES THOUGH the strictly bookish side is awesome lol
I just got Goodreads recently and I love it so much!!
ReplyDeleteNabila | Hot Town Cool Girl
ACK SO HAPPY what is your username?? :D
DeleteIsn't Goodreads so awesome? I've had it for about a month, maybe a little more, and already, I've read 18 books, which is more than I ever expected to read in a year!! This thing is amazing, and I'm so glad to be on there.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!!
Snapper | Silverphoenixwriter.blogspot.com
IT REALLY IS. Haha! That's motivation for you ;) I'm so happy you're on there as well ^-^ Thank you Danielle <333
DeleteI'm awful at keeping up with Good reads. I never post on there.
ReplyDeleteUGH SAME THOUGH SAME XD
DeleteI'm not on Goodreads, but I've been interested in it, and it looks pretty neat! #6 was interesting; I never thought of how Goodreads could be a platform if I ever decided to try and publish a novel. Thanks for the post, maybe one day I'll try it out! :-)
ReplyDelete~Gracie
Enjoy while you're not on there (bc it's crazy), but still, do consider it! I find that I can generate a lot of hype by writing updates while reading a book and then everyone wants me to write a review XDD I'm so glad you liked the post! Thanks for reading and commenting, Gracie! <3
DeleteCool post! I like that you listed the good and the bad.
ReplyDeleteI just started Goodreads, so I was trying to figure out how it worked and what it was about.
This was very helpful!
AHH I'M SO HAPPY YOU FOUND THIS OLD POST HELPFUL! enjoy Goodreads! And friend me (link in my nav bar) if you like 😊😊 thanks for commenting!
Delete