I'm obsessed with goodreads

[Haven]

Is anyone else on the site? I LOVE IT!

And, I just won a giveaway of an ARC for a book I really wanted to read, anyway. Double love!

When DH finally signed up for goodreads he said "It's like Pricescope for your first obsession--reading." Which is pretty true, actually. It's not a forum, but you can communicate with other readers and join groups and read their reviews of books. So much fun!

 

[dragonfly411]

I'm registered, but haven't been extremely active. I should join in a bit more though. I really enjoy the site.

 

[AGBF]

I never heard of it and don't know what it is. I'll try to find it and see what it is! Thanks, Haven.

Deb


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[Rae~]

I'm registered there I believe, but I tend to end up on librarything.com instead, as my cataloguing-loving inner self is more satisfied over there....

 

[AGBF]

I'm registered there I believe, but I tend to end up on librarything.com instead, as my cataloguing-loving inner self is more satisfied over there....

Rae- I really must thank you, too. librarything.com proved to be much more my type of place than goodreads was. I was paranoid about giving an e-mail address to goodreads and librarything.com did not require one! (I carefully read the privacy statement at goodreads and did not like what I read, either.)

Moreover, I was able to dive right in and start participating in librarything.com using an ID of my choice without giving my name or e-mail address and without waiting. I immediately started to compile a list of my favorite books and even to participate in correcting errors that others had made when reviewing books! (Some of the characters in one of my favorite books by Georgette Heyer had been omitted and some had been misnamed.)

Thank you so much for this great lead!

Deb/AGBF


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

PS-Since I don't really believe in my slogan/name, I wonder if I should change it after all these years? I do think I infinitely prefer both books and dogs to diamonds!!!

 

[Haven]

Rae~, I've never been on librarything.com before, and I like it! I'm very involved with Goodreads.com so I don't know if I'll jump right into Librarything, but it is intriguing. Thank you!

The thing I like best about Goodreads.com is the social aspect of it. I tell my students about it and encourage them to join and befriend one another, and it really transforms the way they look at reading. (My students are often reluctant readers when I first meet them.)

It's also really fun to read my friends' reviews, as well as others' reviews. My book club is on Goodreads and it's a great way to keep in touch throughout the month as we read our books, and to keep track of all the other books we hope to read together in the future.

Librarything looks very similar to Goodreads, I look forward to poking around some more.

AGBF--You can make your email address private on Goodreads. I do not reveal mine to anyone, which is a nice feature.

 

[Haven]

I found a really interesting discussion about a comparison of these two sites:
http://faerye.net/post/cage-match-goodreads-vs-librarything

The creator of LibraryThing posts a great comment, which is really worth reading, in my opinion.

For one of my main purposes (to encourage my students to incorporate their reading habits into their everyday social networking activities) Goodreads seems to be the best option. As a literacy specialist, I'm constantly looking for new ways to capitalize on the various literacies in which today's students engage. It's fair to say that at least 80% of my college students are regularly active on Facebook, and thus Goodreads is a great site for them since it follows a model similar to FB, and they can link the two sites together.

However, LibraryThing seems to be the better option for finding feedback from serious readers about potential books, which is something I'm looking for for *me*.

I have over 400 books on Goodreads already, so I'm not too keen on reproducing my library on LibraryThing. However, it sounds like a good activity for spring break, which is coming up in one week . . .

Very interesting!

ETA: As I read more comparisons between these two sites I'm noticing that there's an attitude out there that LibraryThing users are more serious readers than Goodreads users. I have found many serious readers on Goodreads, including many of my colleagues (most of whom are English professors or English teachers) and I don't think this false perception should deter people from joining Goodreads. I've also found serious readers in strangers, and chosen to follow their reviews. Most of these readers are school librarians, and I really value their insight.

I do think Goodreads is more inviting to the younger crowd, but I think this is a wonderful thing. My nine-year-old nephew signed up yesterday, and he's already posted several comments, signed up for a reading challenge, and written a review of the book he just finished reading.

I'm excited to get involved with LibraryThing so I can gain a better perspective of the differences between the two sites. Spring break cannot come soon enough! (For so many reasons, this included!)

 

[AGBF]

Haven-

You found out some fascinating things about the differences between the two literary sites that I never would have known. I was drawn more to one than the other for the most superficial reasons, having to do with accessibilty and format, not because I had read and analyzed the reviews of posters to the sites and found more erudition on one site than another!!!

Nonetheless, it is interesting that I was not drawn to the format that was good for people who are familiar with Facebook! I am not a Facebook user. If Goodreads appeals to Facebook users (and all young people seem to be Facebook users), that may be why it does not appeal to me!

Deb


Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

I just joined Good Reads a few days ago - what a fun site! I was actually led to it by a woman on another forum I'm active on - she and I have similar tastes in books. Then I went overboard and started going through all the books I can remember reading in the last 2-3 years, and then a bunch of classics from high school too. I think I have about 600 books on my shelf right now - it scares me to think how many of those I've BOUGHT ($$$!!!).

 

[sillyberry]

I just joined goodreads, but I'm reluctant to admit how trashy my reading preferences truly are...

 

[Haven]

Trashy reading is THE BEST! List them all--your friends will love you for it.
Can you find me on there? My avatar kitty is the same.

 

[merilenda]

Just noticed this thread! I've been on goodreads for a while now and love it! I'll have to check out librarything the next time I have the itch to join a new site.

I wish there was a way to add each other without breaking PS rules by linking our personal info! I would love to have more goodreads friends, as I think it's a neat way to find new reading suggestions!

 

[kittybean]

I am also totally obsessed sigh Goodreads! It's so much fun to see what your friends are reading, then give them recommendation based on some of the books I just read. My little brother and his gilfriend have gotten really, really into it, too, which makes me happy! Neither of them are super-vorcious readers, but I think the Goodreads things has been good as far a getting them to read more. I'm pretty sure a Kindle will be coming my other brother's way soon, and that way, he and I can share books!

I [heart] Goodreads!

 

[aviastar]

Ohhhh, just signed up! I've been tracking books I want to read by adding them to my Kindle wish list...but I am excited to start branching out!

 

[AmeliaG]

Thanks Deb for the recommendation! I haven't signed up but I love reading recommendations for obscure books that you can't find reviews for on Amazon.

 

[Haven]

Yay for Goodreads and LibraryThing!

My current favorite thing about GR is that I can follow the reviews of prolific posters, and that has really broadened my exposure to new books. There are GR Librarians who consume so many books it is inspiring and shocking at the same time. I'm currently very jealous of one particular woman who seems to read three to five books a week. She works at a Barnes and Noble in New York, I believe, and is just basically immersed in the world of books and reading. It's making me reconsider my career choice. Oh, to never have an essay to read, or research to do, or plans to make for work. To be able to come home and spend my time READING. What pleasure!

A friend and I are using GR in our reading courses. I live in Illinois, my friend lives in Minnesota, and our students are communicating about books via the website. They are all in Book Clubs in class, so we formed BC groups on GR, as well as a joint group for ALL of our students where we talk about the juicy words we encounter in our reading. The coolest thing about GR is that about 20% our students in developmental reading courses are REALLY getting into the website. They're writing reviews of the few books they've read, they're building bookshelves for themselves, following people's reviews, befriending people with similar reading tastes. It's really amazing to watch.

 

[cadarn]

I find the more I use the site, the more useful it becomes. I like the notifications of when my favorite authors are releasing something new. Some of the recommendations have been decent as well.