Well, I am here to say, I am a Goodreads kinda girl. Why, you ask?
- I have discovered more books via Goodreads than any blog. Let me explain, as I am guilty of the things I am going to tell you. I find that most blogs tend to feature the same books, the hyped books. They also tend to feature newer or unreleased books. On Goodreads, I will see reviews on my feed for older books or less popular books, and I have discovered some real gems that way.
- The giveaways are so easy to enter on Goodreads. If a book on my TBR has an associated giveaway, I get a notification, and I can enter the giveaway in three easy clicks. **I have actually won some books too, which is a plus. Some books I won:
- I find it easier to have a back and forth conversation with people about a book on Goodreads. When you comment on a blog, you have so many different places to check for responses. Some send emails, some don't, but with Goodreads, I get a little notification, and can continue the discussion.
- Every time I finish a book, Goodreads makes a big deal and sends me an email. It's good for my ego.
- They have improved the format to match that of other popular social networking sites, and I like it. Now, if they will give us a "like" option on replies....
- You can find book deals right there on the site based on your various shelves. It helps me not miss a deal.
- You can get a quick picture of your reading via the "stats" option.
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Now it's your turn!
Do you Goodreads? Why or why not?
Let us know in the comments!
I haven't even been on Goodreads that long, but I love it. I keep my own list of books I've read during the year, but I love that Goodreads arranges it all pretty. And the giveaways are the best! It's practically the only way I get ARCs.
ReplyDeleteI keep a spreadsheet, but I still like to record my thoughts on every book I read. I don't post all my reviews on my blog. I also tend to interact with different readers there. My blog has a YA focus, so all my romance books need to be talked about somewhere. 😄
DeleteI use goodreads less this day but I'm glad it exists in general. I like the reviews and the challenges. I've never tried entering giveaways. In general it's just such a nice community of readers.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I have connected with some awesome readers there, but I would say it us my favorite social media site.
DeleteI love Goodreads, but mostly use it for organizing and tracking my own reading. And for finding books, definitely! But I don't do much socializing via Goodreads. Goodreads was my introduction to the online book lover community--I think that's probably how I realized book blogs existed, was by noticing reviewers who said stuff about their blogs.
ReplyDeletePS, I just sent you a friend request on GR!
DeleteYay! I love seeing what everyone is reading and adding to their shelves. 😊
DeleteI think I joined GR when my daughter was already blogging, but the more I read, the more I obsess, and GR is one of my choice haunts
DeleteI like Goodreads but probably don't use it to its potential. I have only won one book!! I need to enter more giveaways I think. I still think I find more books through blogs though. I do love the stats section though!
ReplyDeleteI love that if I have a book on my TBR, I get a notification for a giveaway. Now, I don't miss any, and with the number I enter, I should win every once in a while. 😝
DeleteI had no clue that you could get stats like that for Goodreads like in the picture you had. I'm so going to have to investigate further with this magical new Goodreads. The giveaways are pretty amazing, and I just love how it keeps track of everything in a concise way. Makes book blogging so much easier. XD Wonderful post! :)
ReplyDeleteI like it for the quick look, and I am getting better with my shelving, so when I am on recommendation threads or working on a TTT post, it is easier for me to find the books I have read that fit the criteria.
DeleteI'm a die-hard GR fan. Yes, there's room for improvement and there are capabilities that I wish were in place. But overall I think it's a fantastic tool. I've been on GR since 2007 (years before I started blogging or even followed any blogs) so I have definitely discovered more books through GR than blogs. I use it daily - to look up a book synopsis, to update my reading status, to add a review, to see what my friends are reading, to check a publication date... the list goes on and on. It's become an important part of my reading life over the years.
ReplyDeleteI like that I can see when other people are adding books. Some of the readers I follow do some serious investigative work, and have alerted me to books for me to add to my TBR. Yes, there is room for improvement, but they have been making small improvements. You can record multiple reading dates a book, the amazon links have been improved, the sale function is a lot better too, and the look and feel of the feed has improved greatly. I have faith it will keep evolving too.
DeleteI'm on Goodreads but feel like I don't use it enough. Like a lot of bloggers have all their books listed/ shelved and they update it- I'd like to do that but I never seem to make time. Like by the time I blog and Twitter I just never seem to get to GR. I can totally see your point #1 though- that makes a lot of sense!
ReplyDeleteWow you have won a lot of books! #2 makes a lot of sense too. I'll have to work harder at getting on there (which I always say lol).
When I started GR, it had this list of books, and if I remembered reading it once upon a time, I checked it, but I could not remember every book I read back in the day. Then I just started added each book as I read. It's part of my reading process now when I start or finish a book. Every time I finish a book or update my reading status, GR sends out a tweet, so I don't have to do it.
DeleteWhile there are definitely elements of Goodreads I think could be improved upon, I like it much more than I dislike it! I can't imagine another method of keeping track of the books I've read, and I've put so much time into building my shelves at this point that I don't think I could ever move to another site!
ReplyDelete-Cristina @ Girl in the Pages
I just started doing more with my shelves, but I am amazed by some of the shelving systems I have seen for other readers. And, agreed, it has more pros than cons as far as I am concerned.
DeleteI love Goodreads and would be lost without it. I agree with your points and I also like seeing the reviews (from everyone & not just my friends) when I'm researching a book. I notice the same people and we have similar tastes, so I've learned to trust the opinions on there.
ReplyDeleteI check Goodreads a lot. I don't have those controversial friends on GR, so I don't see too many things that irritate me (like say on FB or Twitter). I have met a lot of non-blogging readers who's opinions I appreciate too.
DeleteHoly crap, you have won a LOT of books. Impressive. I have won a couple, but I really couldn't tell you how many hah. I am a huge fan of Goodreads, but I find that I use it more personally and less socially. I actually kind of want to be more social on it, but it's just... time, you know? I do love it for keeping track of books and such.
ReplyDeleteI probably lean more personally than socially, but I do enjoy the social interactions I partake in. I get the time thing. There are too many social media outlets to try and keep up with, along with work, family, blogging, and reading.
DeleteI honestly love Goodreads! I have discovered so many new books thanks to Goodreads, like you. I love how easy it is to get stats too. :D
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Sam! Have a wonderful week. =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!"
At least I know I am in good company with all you who are also pro-GR.
DeleteI Goodreads too ahaha. I'm relatively new to the plaotform and haven't really used it to its maximum potential, but what I've tried so far, I love. The stats section is a huge plus, and yes, following up on conversations is so much easier on GR (though a "like" option would be greatly appreciated of course!). You've certainly been lucky with giveaways- I mostly give them a pass because I feel I'm not lucky enough, but maybe I should just give them a go xD Great discussion, Sam! Loved it!
ReplyDeleteMaybe that's why I like GR so much, because I am such a winner there. XD
DeleteI am not as an enthusiastic a user of Goodreads as you but I do like it a lot more now you can include rereads on your reading count. I love the rereads feature and the fact I can create shelves for anything I want. I don't take advantage of it as much as I could and I forget about the stats you can see everytime. I have yet to win a Goodreads giveaway but I am eternally optimistic.
ReplyDeleteI enter a LOT of giveaways. I was bound to win some of them. I used to enter blog giveaways, like a lot, but I am too busy with actual blogging now. The GR giveaways are so easy to enter, so I do, a lot. I am crossing my fingers that you win one soon.
DeleteI like Goodreads and totally use it to find new books. I like that is easy to use and that you can find books easy based on pretty much anything. I also love the Goodreads Giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI cannot lie, I love free stuff, so the giveaways are definitely a draw for me. But I like that I can see what's being added to people's shelves or what books are being talked about a lot. The critical thing for me, is that this all happening in one place.
DeleteI don't use goodreads often. I try, but I fail usually. I haven't figured out how to reply to comments via the app where the person gets notified and I NEVER go on the PC version. I want to use it more but I wish it was more mobile friendly >.<
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how much they support the mobile version. It's pretty rough. I prefer the PC version, because I can't use those virtual keyboards with the speed of a young person. 😂
DeleteGoodreads is the only reason I find out about books other than following every author social media account ever. It's condensed all in one place and it's glorious! I just wish they would put an audiobook status update C:
ReplyDeleteI like following the authors on GR, because a lot of them will update there, and it will hit my feed. I am not good at juggling so many different social media platforms, so when I am able to have it all in one place, that is a plus for me. Ha! When I do some rough math for the audiobook update, but it would be nice to just be able to put the time down.
DeleteI love Goodreads, and, frankly, I'd be lost without it haha. It's just such a handy tool to keep track of what I've read, what I want to read and get recommendations based on my reads + what others are reading. I don't think I interact so much on it, to be honest, I prefer commenting on blogs, but it's fun to see status updates and what is everyone reading + adding to their shelves. Also, I love that I can check the monthly new releases by authors I've read books by. Great post! :)
ReplyDeleteVeronika @ The Regal Critiques
GR is definitely my tool of choice for cataloging my books. I have been trying to work on my shelving more to make it more useful for different type of posts, and for when I am in my reader groups and people are looking for recommendations.
DeleteI've used Goodreads since December 2013, and I definitely don't regret joining it (well to the people who don't like Goodreads, whyyyyy?). It's my top source for information about books, and the info is updated regularly.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you Goodreads. I think all social media platforms go through some sort of scrutiny at one point or another. I think there is an app that came out, and as more people do most of their computer based tasks on their phones, they may turn to apps, and let's admit, the GR app needs work. That is the only thing I can think of.
DeleteYeah that's true. And yes, the app kind of sucks but it works for me in that I do most things on computers but if I need to checkup the series name of a book or if there's another book being released, I can do that much on the app.
DeleteI absolutely love Goodreads! I love being able to uncover so many new to me books and see what everyone else thinks about them. Plus, winning books sure is fun! :)
ReplyDeleteWinning books is the best. I was just lamenting about how I have not won anything lately. *sad face* But that is greedy me talking, because I think I won something last month.
Delete