Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr may be the Emperors of the social media world, but Goodreads is the platform to be on for book nerds. Rather than Instagramming a picture of your latest read next to an artfully placed cup of coffee, Goodreads is a more involved and interactive way of sharing your love of reading. It’s essentially tremendous world-wide book club. In short, Goodreads is good.
But it is the social aspect of Goodreads that sets it apart. You can see the bookshelves of your friends, get updates on what they’re reading and look at their reviews. And that is wonderful. I get the majority of my book recommendations these days from what I see on the shelves of my Goodreads friends, or books recommended to me by the monthly Goodreads newsletter. It’s also a great way of keeping track of just what you’ve read and when, and you can challenge yourself to a set target of books to read in a year, and stick to it! No longer do I need to record all of my reading in a notebook that I inevitably lose three times a year.
The other thing Goodreads offers is the chance to interact with authors. If an author has a Goodreads profile, fans can take a look at that author’s shelves, read their blog posts, and take part in Goodreads-organised chats. The latest one to come is Rainbow Rowell’s chat in July. Fans simply need to leave a comment on the group with a question and Rowell will respond. Simple!
Goodreads has its pitfalls. There’s little opportunity for actual discussion except for comments on a friend’s book review or progress. This can get a little grating when you want to have an in-depth debate about a book with a friend, and it’s a debate that inevitably switches to a more “social” social media platform like Facebook and Twitter. An opportunity for this sort of discussion, like forums, might well be welcome, but ultimately, talk is not Goodreads’ intention. There’s plenty of opportunities on the internet for that. Goodreads works as a book club, a recommendation list, a library without the physical books. It’s also the best method for discovering books that may not be on the best-sellers list or prominently displayed in bookshelves. After all, the most honest reviews are the ones where the writer isn’t getting anything for it. A journalist may well be paid to put across a certain view. A bookshop or publishers will do whatever will maximise their profits. Readers are the ones who will give their truthful opinions on the quality of a book, and so on Goodreads, you find the most passionate recommendations.
Let us know in the comments or come let us know on our Facebook page or on Twitter!