1. arkadia

    arkadia Member

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    Goodreads experiences

    Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by arkadia, Jan 18, 2016.

    Just a thread on this topic, since Goodreads is becoming a force unto itself.

    Do you have an account? Do you write reviews? Have you had your work reviewed and if so, what did it feel like?

    Personally I tend to review books I like, rather than books I don't like. When I like something there is a re-inforcing factor, so if I loved the plot, I'll be more forgiving about faults in the style of writing -or vice versa. If I'm impressed by the author's overall research, then I won't belabour some minor glitch in the logic.

    But there are people who seem to live at Goodreads, making youtube videos and collages about books they read. Some of them have their own following. A lot of their sarcastic jokes and references to US popular culture are lost on me, so I find them a bit over the top.

    I'll give negative feedback if I spent a considerable amount of time trying to get into a book which then falls short on bad language, silly plot or bad setting descriptions.

    If a reviewer whose taste I admire rates something highly, then I'm likely to check that out.
    The various groups etc are simply too intense for me - can't keep up and don't use them.
    I also dislike the link between Goodreads and Amazon. But for what it is, Goodreads is definitely a success.
     
  2. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    I agree that the groups are way too intense - I'm a member of a few, but I don't pay any attention to them.

    I leave reviews - mostly for myself, just to have a place to keep track of what I've read and whether I want more by the same author or in the same series. I use it pretty often when I'm book shopping.

    I think most of the reviews there are pretty generous, and while there are always a few crackpots, most of the users seem reasonable.

    One funny situation - I found a reviewer who left several favourable reviews for my books, so I looked at her other reviews on the Compare Books page, and of the books we'd both read, our tastes were almost opposite. If she liked it, I hated it; if she hated it, I liked it. So... does that mean I should hate my own books?!?
     
    Sack-a-Doo! and arkadia like this.
  3. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    I generally go there when I want to discuss a book with other readers. I don't leave many reviews.

    I logged in recently to check out the beta reading group and it was a huge disappointment - I got plenty of offers, but they all wanted paying, and none of their bios or websites suggested they had anything to offer worth paying for. I did get one beta reader from it.
     
  4. edamame

    edamame Contributor Contributor

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    I use it to keep track of what I've read throughout the year and write reviews for fun and for writing practice. There's a challenge where you can input how many books you want to read for the year and I've found it motivating. Of course, it can get discouraging at times if you compare yourself to others. For example, there's a person on my feed who practically reads a book a day with a full time job. I don't know how you can read 400 pages everyday without losing sleep and still function.

    I haven't tried the groups on Goodreads, but I'm pretty sure I prefer in-person book clubs.
     
  5. Masked Mole

    Masked Mole Senior Member

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    I don't have an account or anything. I just like to laugh at reviews that teenagers leave on classics.
     
    arkadia likes this.
  6. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    I am stupid, but find Goodreads too difficult to navigate. If a writer on here mentions their book I can read the opening on Amazon in 2,3 minutes - whereas on Goodreads I stumble, and I fail. I always promise myself to apply to the site properly, y'know more intellect probably, but it's, I'm not sure of the exact wording, but irritating with all those writers.
     
    Jeff Countryman, arkadia and BrianIff like this.
  7. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

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    I use it to look for new releases in the genre I want to read. I hope to use it more when my book is finished.
     
  8. Jeff Countryman

    Jeff Countryman Living the dream

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    I signed up for Goodreads and have no clue what I'm doing with it. All I really wanted was reading lists for potential books that will peak my interest (which is their "Listopia" thing?). I honestly don't get the site and what I'm supposed to do with it. Then again, the same with Facebook; and that's why I deleted Facebook after making contact with 1,000 "friends" who I haven't known since grade 1 and couldn't care less about. LOL . . . I'm getting old!! But I do like going through the reading lists on Goodreads for something....uh.....good to read, without reading the reviews.
     
  9. daemon

    daemon Contributor Contributor

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    I am smart and I find Goodreads too difficult to navigate.
     
  10. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    It may depend on your starting point and goals - I use it mainly to track my own reading, which is pretty straightforward. And then a little bit for tracking other readers with similar tastes whose reviews say things I like.

    Like, if I read a book I really liked, I'd read the reviews by other people who really liked it, find one with a review that seemed to line up with my own opinions, and then search that reader's profile for other books s/he (I was loaded up for "they" there, but I couldn't pull the trigger) liked and read the reviews of those books.

    It seems pretty easy to navigate in those directions. But if I were going in blind, just looking for a certain type of book, I have no idea where I'd start.
     

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