Before us non-college types were allowed on Facebook, we had Goodreads. Writers could congregate there, review books they’d read and share their reading lists with others. I was a fan of Goodreads, because I’m always looking for a good book to read at an inopportune time such. If I call a friend at 3 a.m. and ask them what should I read, they will not be my friend for long. I’m seeing how this could be handy. But, I digress. Goodreads entered the internetosphere and became my 3 a.m. friend.
Even though I’ve not used the site in ages, writers still “friend” me there and I can’t friend back because I no longer remember my password or the email where a replacement password can be sent.
I suffer from a severe case of toomanypasswordsitis. I’m doing what I can to treat it and the prognosis is good, so please don’t worry about me too much.
This poetry blogger discusses being found via Goodreads. Maybe it’s time for me to consider visiting again.
Do you use Good Reads anymore? Did you ever use it? What did you like about it?
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I really love Good Reads. I use it to put all the books I find through bloggers and recommendations on the to-be-read list. The list is huge, but if I am in need of a book I can just look at the list and head to the bookstore.
I also like cross-posting my reviews on the site and connecting with other authors, poets, and book reviewers on the site to share reviews and recommendations…make connections.
Facebook is still a bit confusing to me…other than keeping in contact with my older friends, its hard to maintain and make connections with other writers and poets on that site…it seems more artificial to me.
I still use GoodReads! I update it whenever I start/finish/buy a book. I have the GoodReads application on my Facebook page and a GoodReads widget on my blog. Like Serena, I put my wish list there and cross-post reviews that I publish for my berniE-zine book reviews web site.
I don’t get a lot of book recommendations from Facebook the way I do at GoodReads. On Facebook, I get promo updates from publishers, which is good, but it’s basic advertising. With GoodReads, I have a lot of poet-friends who post titles they’ve read, sometimes with short reviews that I would trust more than ad copy or jacket blurbs.
I didn’t like the fact that so many people on GoodReads were all about racking up friends, and not interested in actually listing books. I “unfriended” a lot of those folks.
Like the person you quote in your blog, I too have been contacted by folks who see my author listing on GoodReads. I still find it to be a very useful tool for literary networking and for finding out good books to add to my wish list.
I still use and love Goodreads. There are maybe ten or twelve people on there whose tastes I trust almost as well as my own, in that, if they like something it’s a good bet I will too. I also get news about new books. I like Facebook, but Goodreads is my way of keeping my finger on what’s hot or not.
I actually am a Library Thing person! It’s a lot like GoodReads — I have also been contacted on LibraryThing for reviews.
True Confession: I don’t have a Facebook account. Too many passwords, too many things on the computer. It’s just my blog and LibraryThing for me.
I joined Goodreads in December and Facebook not long after, and still use both. I have the Goodreads ap on my FB but hardly ever use it. Mostly it’s helped me find other friends I already have on FB that also have Goodreads. But I love Goodreads for book organization. I don’t use it so much for recommendations, and I have few friends on it, but it’s much handier than keeping a Word doc with my TBR list on it. I love how visual and multifacited it is. I debated between LibraryThing and Goodreads at the beginning, and am now glad I opted for Goodreads.
I use Goodreads and try to be active in the groups and add reviews when I can. It’s less intensive than Facebook and more focused. I’ve had a number of folks contact me there about my books and to read the sample chapters from my novel that were on offer. I don’t think FB has killed GR at all.
Like Karen Weyant above, I prefer LibraryThing to GoodReads. As a reader, I think LT’s cataloguing features and book discussions are better; as an author, I have made a number of sales through participating in the LT community, even though LT allows less opportunity for out-and-out book promotion than GoodReads does. I’m even engaged in a joint poetry translation project on LT (the Esenin Translation Project, http://www.librarything.com/topic/55769). But the look and feel of LT is a bit “clunky” compared with GoodReads or Shelfari.
I like the book giveaways at goodreads.com, some newsletter, some author’s pages when available and more.
I also like shelfari.com and reviewing who has similar interests and viewing other’s library lists.
I don’t use facebook or esp. myspace.com and have not heard of many other similar sites.
Bussing across town with boring people in name brand clothing I feel old.
I only just discovered Goodreads last week, so I like to think a whole new generation is gathering there to keep the eternal book flame alive.
@Jay — I hope so too. See you on Good Reads.
I love goodreads, have recently re-tried Librarything for comparison’s sake but it doesn’t make books come alive for me quite like Goodreads . . . What I like about Goodreads is the way through user reviews, ratings, friends & authors activity notifications I can very easily find a more diverse and terrific “to-read list” than ever before!
I love goodreads.com. I’m constantly on it, getting recomendations, rating books I’ve read, commenting on books and groups(Love the roleplays!) Goodreads is the best thing, better than facebook.