Well, the dust has settled on the Goodreads fiasco. They still haven’t made a site-wide announcement, and it seems pretty clear to me that they were just targeting specific users and that they never intended to enforce their new “policy” site-wide… but, whatever. I don’t want to think about it anymore. The bottom line is, they handled this badly. There’s no explanation they could give that will convince me that what they did was right (and even if there was, I doubt they’ll ever share it).
But… it’s their site and they can do what they want. And the rest of us can live with it or not.
415 ratings, nearly all of which used to have reviews attached…
At least for now, I’m not deleting my account. I have, however, deleted my reviews (with the exception of books I received from NetGalley… I figure they still deserve as much visibility as possible). I’m sticking with ratings only from now on. Also, I’m done contributing as a librarian. I’ll continue using Goodreads as a way to connect with other readers – like it or not, they have the best interface for that – but in a pretty bare-bones way.
I’ll also be keeping both my LibraryThing and BookLikes accounts updated… partly to keep my options open and avoid having to do another mass import in the future, and partly to be able to keep up with my favorite bloggers no matter what site they use.
I’ve actually been considering that second point for a while now, but there were so few readers that didn’t use Goodreads that I just never got around to it. But that may not be the case anymore.
I’m still getting used to the new sites and there are things about both that I like and others I don’t care for… but that’s a topic for another day. For right now, I just wanted to let you all know where you can find me:
Goodreads
LibraryThing
BookLikes
Anyone else out there use LibraryThing and/or BookLikes?
Cheap Thrills 
I’ve set up a BookLikes account but that is all I’ve done so far. I love GR but hate their policies so I feel really conflicted. For now I’m just observing, trying to figure out what I’ll do. How the hell did GR leave it come to this.
I have no idea. I miss the days when it was just a great community of readers. I really don’t know that either of these other sites will really fill that role, but I guess it’s up to us to create our own communities.
That’s a pretty good method to go with. I didn’t pay much attention to it after the initial week or info about it going around on the web. It is interesting to try out new book sites. Either way I hope you end up finding one that really works for everything you need.
I doubt any site is going to be everything… but yes, I’m all for trying out the different options.
I’d be interested to know how many people have left goodreads. I too have scaled back my use & have considered removing my reviews. There aren’t as many as you so it shouldn’t be too hard to do. I did an import to LibraryThings but probably did that too quickly. My collections are a mess so might tidy up GR and do that import again. Have added you :)
Accepted! As for the mass exodus, I know that in the days after the Amazon acquisition announcement, I was seeing quite a few [deleted user] in place of user names on the message boards. This time around I actually haven’t seen as much of that, but it’s hardly a perfect method for guessing how many have left… especially since there are probably lots more who’ve abandoned their accounts but haven’t actually deleted them.
I’m just hesitant in deleting my GR account because there doesn’t seem to be a good option to make a change to.
I’ve decided I don’t really want the social aspect of goodreads anymore. I just want a place to keep my books cataloged properly, and where I can review and keep notes. http://libib.com all the way for that!
See, for me it’s all about the social aspect. If I didn’t care about that, I wouldn’t even bother putting the information online. I’d just keep my own notes in a spreadsheet (which is something I do anyway). Libib didn’t appeal to me, but I’m glad it works for you. Thanks for stopping by!
I have not tried librarything or booklikes yet, primarily because I already do goodreads and fictfact (since I do a lot of series reading Fictfact is great). I am torn because I really like the social aspects of goodreads and I don’t know what the groups are like on the other sites – fictfact’s are very limited. I would be curious to hear what anyone has to say about groups on the other book sites.
I haven’t explored groups yet. I don’t think BookLikes even has any… yet. They seem to be very excited about becoming the “new Goodreads” so I wouldn’t be surprised if they introduce them as soon as they can.
Fictfact has some but they are not very active. I am waiting to see if as people move around they become more active.
I haven’t removed myself from goodreads.. I don’t think I will. I do get a lot of joy out of it still. But I guess I am not a big reviewer there. Still it is annoying what they are doing.. controlling what people can say. Sad day.
It is sad. Goodreads used to be a great community of readers, and now it feels like they’re shifting focus. Actually it’s felt that way to me for a while… even before they were bought by Amazon… but this is a huge step (whether or not it affects me personally or not).
I am interested in everyone’s thoughts about the other book websites. I have only used Goodreads. It is pretty sad that they are trying to control what can and can’t be said.
Once I’ve used them a little more, I plan to detail some of what I like and don’t like about them. Not that other bloggers haven’t already given their own opinions. Thanks for reading!
I have accounts at all three places that I keep up-to-date. I’d already been using LibraryThing for awhile. I like both LT and BL for different reasons, but neither of them compares to GR when it comes to ease of use and community. Dah well.
But no, I’m not leaving GR or removing my reviews.
That’s the frustrating part about all this… there really is nothing out there that compares.
I have created an account on BookLikes but have really not gotten any farther than that. I also have a LibraryThing account but I have not updated it in years. I think will update it and import my GR books as well. Like you, I am just planning on using GR to rate books, I’ll post my reviews on my blog.
As far as the social aspect of reading I have been using the Reader feature of WordPress to read everyones fantastic book blogs. In the past few months I have gotten better recommendations from blogs that I did from Goodreads. I love the personal feel of blogs more so than I do Goodreads.
I’d say I do most of my socializing via blogs, but I still like Goodreads as more of an “at a glance” way of keeping up on what everyone’s reading.
I created a LibraryThing profile back when the Amazon purchase was a big deal but I haven’t touched it since. I don’t like the 200 book limit. I’ll check out booklikes but I’m not at the point of abandoning goodreads yet. Maybe they’ll get back on track? (Fingers crossed but not holding my breath)
They were running a special back during the Amazon exodus so I have the unlimited for free. I think it’s only good for a year, though… when it runs out I’ll decide if it’s worth paying for.
This post. I can’t believe people are just letting Goodreads get away with these flimsy and stupid new policies of theirs. Admittedly, I haven’t been affected by them yet, but I know several people who have, and it just makes me SO mad to see censorship on what should be a free and open community. But you’re right. They handled this very, very badly. Those authors who couldn’t take negative reviews? They shouldn’t have become authors in the first place. Negative reviews are part of the package of being a published writer, whether you like it or not.
I’m still not sure if I’ll be migrating to BookLikes or Shelfari or LibraryThing, though. Goodreads will always have a special place in my heart, despite its flaws, and it’s the only bookish site that I’m really comfortable with. Plus, the layout’s neat and simple, unlike BookLikes. I’ll be keeping my options open too, though.
I haven’t even tried Shelfari. From what I’ve heard, they’re owned by Amazon, who pretty much abandoned the site so there’s no more support or improvements over there. The others… we’ll see how I like them (or not). Thanks for stopping by!
I’ve been busy and a little out of the loop, but I did hear about the GoodReads business. I don’t like what they are doing but (at least at this moment) I have no desire to use another website. Combination of laziness and busyness but that is where all my stuff is and all my bookish friends are. However I totally respect your decision as GR is sure being shady right now!
I realize that it is their site and they can do what they want, but I feel like they (as well as any other website/etc) should make an effort to do what the “masses” want/like and I feel like GR is heading in the opposite direction (more towards appeasing authors and not reviewers).
Well, whether they have an obligation or duty or whatever you want to call it or not, I just don’t like the way the site is moving. I’ve always used Goodreads to connect with readers, but for several months (even before the Amazon buy-out) I was getting more and more of an author-vibe… more authors trying to friend me, more unsolicited event invites and recommendations, more spammy marketing in general. It was always easy enough to ignore, but I always wished there were a way to limit that author interaction if you didn’t want it (sort of a compromise between keeping your profile public and making it totally private). I kept holding out hope that it would get back to the reader-focused community it used to be… but this is a pretty clear indication that’s not happening.
I actually enjoy Booklikes quite a lot, and I opened my account several months ago over there. It’s not the same as GR, for sure, but I agree with you, it does seem as if GR has been targeting specific users, who had already been targeted elsewhere.
I think we all have many other ways to stay in touch, though, and that makes me happy. Booklikes, Twitter, FB, Bloglovin… you name it, I probably follow you there :)
Have a terrific Thursday Charleen :)
Yes, it seems we all have our preferred sites. Thanks, Lexxie.
Good for you! :)
Thanks for reading!
I think it’s good you’ve figured out what you want to do after the dust has settled, I’m still not quite sure. I have never really fully used Goodreads to begin with, only having really joined because it seemed all book bloggers were on there. Then when this fiasco happened I thought about joining LIbraryThing and BookLikes but wondered if I really wanted to try. I thought maybe I would just barely use those as I barely use Goodreads. I think in the end I just decided I would just stick with my blog and hope the community accepts me on there! I don’t have the time or energy to maintain dealing with the added book sites, on top of my already pathetic use of Goodreads, so hopefully that will suffice. But I think it’s awesome that you have expanded to the other ones because there are quite a few users who have now split ways so at least you’ll be able to keep in touch with them all!
I use outside bookish sites for a couple of reasons, but if sticking with your blog is what works and makes sense for you, I say go for it. You shouldn’t feel like you NEED to do anything else.
I remember getting an email about BookLikes awhile back. Finally got around to getting an account and I have to admit it looks pretty good.
Some people are complaining that the blog portion of it is “just another tumblr” but since I don’t use tumblr, I don’t really see it. And if I were to start using one or the other as a supplement to this blog, I’d probably choose the one that’s book-focused. For now, though, I’m not using the blog except as a way to share reviews.
I’ve been kind of MIA in he blogging world for a bit, but I read your backpost on what is happening. Yipes. That just screams “Big Brother.” “We want to sell books so a bad review won’t do that.” Is that what they’re thinking? Or are they truly trying to get away from the negativity? Just smacks of censorship to me. I’m staying with GR b/c I do like the features…I’m not up to date on my reviews anyway. Interesting goings ons. Thanks for the posts.
Whatever their motivation, I don’t like the way they handled any of this. If there’s genuine harassment, by all means, get rid of it… but this goes beyond that. Anyway, I’m done worrying about it. I’m glad you found the posts informative.