3 ms·

I don't find it hard to ignore all the social and gamified aspects of Goodreads. I use it solely for keeping track of what I've read and want to read, and for f

by joemi 3y ago

I don't find it hard to ignore all the social and gamified aspects of Goodreads. I use it solely for keeping track of what I've read and want to read, and for finding similar books to ones I've liked. And nothing else. I'm older than the article's author, though. They mention they've been using Goodreads since their teens, whereas it didn't even exist until my mid-late twenties. I wonder if that has something to do with it? Perhaps if you start using it when younger, you get taken in by the social and gamified aspects?

marcod 3y ago
Same. I was already reading for 20 years before I saw Goodreads. I love that I can compare my favorite books list with other people on GR. I like to see what books my friends on there are reading or use the site for info about what book to read next. It's really very easy to ignore the rest... the entire article reads more like a personal problem, though obviously GR has tons of issues.
thoughtpalette 3y ago
I feel the same. Mainly use it for a platform to track what I've read. I do enjoy giving short reviews for books that call for them, but I don't make it a priority after completing a book. I'm a huge fan of the discovery (sci-fi/fantasy) for the next books for me to read, but there's been a number of times I've been interested in the summary only to be turned off by the reviews to the point where I'm reading review less and less. I feel like I've found joy in books others have not and to be influenced prematurely is a loss. Will say I like the yearly reading challenge, if only for myself. Says the average challenge is 61/year, which, even for myself as a fast reader, seems high. Believe I'm ~30 books. I initially put my goal at 22 books.
- adas4044 3y ago
  I used to do reading challenges based on books read, but I found a better alternative: pages. If you focus on pages read, you don't have sunken cost while reading a book and you can stop reading if the book stops being interesting. Pages read is less satisfying, but I've found it gives me a better reading experience.
  - thoughtpalette 3y ago
    That's a great point. I did get into the Murderbot Diary novellas this year and it's unfair (by page count) that they count as full books in the challenge. I will say, when I'm using my e-reader, I use a percentage as guidance for progress versus page count, so I almost no longer ever know how long my books are.
    - lanstin 3y ago
      Those are awesome book, but short. From the time I started the first page of the first to the time after I finished them all and pre-ordered the next was maybe 9 days.
- praxulus 3y ago
  I've been aiming for 12 books a year for the last 5 years or so. Sometimes I'll go months without picking up a book, and the challenge is helpful for getting me back into it.
- dylan604 3y ago
  >I do enjoy giving short reviews for books that call for them When I was in school, we called these book reports, and I'm pretty sure a number closer to 0 actually enjoyed them the least of which was me.
TheOtherHobbes 3y ago
It's not about age. I'm in a good few reader and author groups on FB, and the median age is closer to 40 than 20. The most popular books are series of undemanding mass-market fiction, usually with some repeating branding in the titles and/or cover art that makes it clear they're related. People don't just read them, they collect them. And then post photos of their collections. And also post how well how they're doing on their hundreds-of-books-a-year reading challenge. It's a world I never knew existed, with a very unfamiliar culture. I think it's really more about conspicuous consumption than reading for pleasure or enjoyment. Gamification has made it compulsive.
Groxx 3y ago
Goodreads in particular. The reviews there are so often breathless exultation of supreme magnificence for something they clearly did not read and which could not possibly have had an editor because one would have buried it as a service to humanity as a whole. So, like, Amazon reviews but for books. How could this have happened.

by joemi 3y ago

marcod 3y ago

Same. I was already reading for 20 years before I saw Goodreads. I love that I can compare my favorite books list with other people on GR. I like to see what books my friends on there are reading or use the site for info about what book to read next. It's really very easy to ignore the rest... the entire article reads more like a personal problem, though obviously GR has tons of issues.

thoughtpalette 3y ago

I feel the same. Mainly use it for a platform to track what I've read. I do enjoy giving short reviews for books that call for them, but I don't make it a priority after completing a book. I'm a huge fan of the discovery (sci-fi/fantasy) for the next books for me to read, but there's been a number of times I've been interested in the summary only to be turned off by the reviews to the point where I'm reading review less and less. I feel like I've found joy in books others have not and to be influenced prematurely is a loss. Will say I like the yearly reading challenge, if only for myself. Says the average challenge is 61/year, which, even for myself as a fast reader, seems high. Believe I'm ~30 books. I initially put my goal at 22 books.

adas4044 3y ago
I used to do reading challenges based on books read, but I found a better alternative: pages. If you focus on pages read, you don't have sunken cost while reading a book and you can stop reading if the book stops being interesting. Pages read is less satisfying, but I've found it gives me a better reading experience.
- thoughtpalette 3y ago
  That's a great point. I did get into the Murderbot Diary novellas this year and it's unfair (by page count) that they count as full books in the challenge. I will say, when I'm using my e-reader, I use a percentage as guidance for progress versus page count, so I almost no longer ever know how long my books are.
  - lanstin 3y ago
    Those are awesome book, but short. From the time I started the first page of the first to the time after I finished them all and pre-ordered the next was maybe 9 days.
praxulus 3y ago
I've been aiming for 12 books a year for the last 5 years or so. Sometimes I'll go months without picking up a book, and the challenge is helpful for getting me back into it.
dylan604 3y ago
>I do enjoy giving short reviews for books that call for them When I was in school, we called these book reports, and I'm pretty sure a number closer to 0 actually enjoyed them the least of which was me.

TheOtherHobbes 3y ago

It's not about age. I'm in a good few reader and author groups on FB, and the median age is closer to 40 than 20. The most popular books are series of undemanding mass-market fiction, usually with some repeating branding in the titles and/or cover art that makes it clear they're related. People don't just read them, they collect them. And then post photos of their collections. And also post how well how they're doing on their hundreds-of-books-a-year reading challenge. It's a world I never knew existed, with a very unfamiliar culture. I think it's really more about conspicuous consumption than reading for pleasure or enjoyment. Gamification has made it compulsive.

Groxx 3y ago

Goodreads in particular. The reviews there are so often breathless exultation of supreme magnificence for something they clearly did not read and which could not possibly have had an editor because one would have buried it as a service to humanity as a whole. So, like, Amazon reviews but for books. How could this have happened.