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I belong for much the same reason - to read reviews of books I've read or might want to read because there is such a  huge range covered. 

 

Do people here know about www.fantasticfiction? I use this site all the time as it lists alphabetically almost every author you can think of and gives their books in the order they were written with dates as well a synopsis.  It's very useful for finding the order of books if you want to start reading a series or to see if a particular author has written anything new.

 

 

Fantastic Fiction didn't pass the test of finding old obscure authors, something both Goodreads and Wikipedia do.

 

But oddly enough, Wikipedia doesn't always even list the books an author has written. Even if the author was world famous. I was going through some books earlier and couldn't find the info I needed on Wikipedia so had to google for other websites.

 

So thanks JeanW for the tip, I will have to try and remember the website in the future! :smile2: I'm positive I've seen a few members on here talk about the website before. :)

 

Edit: Wikipedia also sometimes lists the work of an author according to the different series they've written, and therefore the lists aren't always chronological. Fantasticfiction is better for finding novels in a chronological order. 

Edited by frankie
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But oddly enough, Wikipedia doesn't always even list the books an author has written. Even if the author was world famous. I was going through some books earlier and couldn't find the info I needed on Wikipedia so had to google for other websites.

 

I didn't consider the lists. I haven't read series in the last years except for some manga, so I don't think in that perspective when researching an author.

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I look at wikipedia and goodreads too - depends what I'm looking for. Information on authors themselves is usually better on wikipedia but I like fantasticfiction because both my OH and I read a lot of crime and detective novels and when we come across an author we haven't read before, we want to read them in chronological order. Then i can go to amazon and buy them in the correct order.  Also to find an author's latest book when thinking about gifts.

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Has anyone else joined Emma Watson's Goodreads group?  https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/179584-our-shared-shelf 

 

"As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading as many books and essays about equality as I can get my hands on. There is so much amazing stuff out there! Funny, inspiring, sad, thought-provoking, empowering! I’ve been discovering so much that, at times, I’ve felt like my head was about to explode… I decided to start a Feminist book club, as I want to share what I’m learning and hear your thoughts too. 

The plan is to select and read a book every month, then discuss the work during the month’s last week (to give everyone time to read it!). I will post some questions/quotes to get things started, but I would love for this to grow into an open discussion with and between you all. Whenever possible I hope to have the author, or another prominent voice on the subject, join the conversation.

If you fancy it, please join up and participate. Everyone is welcome. I would be honoured!

Emma x"

 

The first book she's chosen is My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem. I'm really excited to see what else she'll be choosing!

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  • 2 months later...

GR has changed a bit again, with its icons and their arrangement and what goes under where. I'm a bit confused by it but I don't mind. However, I need to check if a GR friend has a certain book on their shelf (in any shelf, TBR or read etc.), but I can't seem to find anywhere to click for all of their books! I was able to do it quite easily before the change, but I don't remember where the icon was... Where has it gone now, or has it vanished? What fresh hell is this? :D

 

Edit: Scratch that! :blush: I saw X's favourites shelf and there was the link saying 'More...' which I clicked, and then I found all the shelves, and the 'all' shelf which I was looking for. Phew!! 

Edited by frankie
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  • 5 months later...

I love goodreads it's one of my favourite websites.

However, I find times when I'll go on and my read shelf will go up and it's because somehow it's managed to add a book I have never read and even rated it or it has put the same book on twice.

I am doing the reading challenge and it has added 'Pet Sematary' despite the fact it still says "currently reading"

It is a great website but it certainly comes with its flaws

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When I had more than a few books and needed some way to keep track of them all, I started using Good Reads. I soon found though it couldn't add a lot of my older books or didn't have the right copy of a book I was adding. So I tried LibraryThing instead - and I know its not as nice to look at but it just works better for what I use it for. But I can understand why some choose GoodReads.

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I'm thinking of signing up on Goodreads as it would be nice to have a log of all the books I've read.  I've had a good look at random people's profiles and it looks like some people tend to just log books when they've read them whilst others update multiple times per day with their reading progress.  Overall it seems like it's a good community though.

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I'm thinking of signing up on Goodreads as it would be nice to have a log of all the books I've read.  I've had a good look at random people's profiles and it looks like some people tend to just log books when they've read them whilst others update multiple times per day with their reading progress.  Overall it seems like it's a good community though.

I would recommend it. I often check the reviews on Goodreads before buying a book. I haven't always agreed with the reviews, but I often find myself agreeing with some of the comments.

 

Given the ridiculous length of my to-read list, I find the website to be a very useful way of keeping track of all my books, which I can often divide by categories. I also find it interesting to look back at the end of the year and see what books I have read, what ratings I have given them and how quickly I completed them. It's a good way of analysing ones reading habits. There's also a satisfaction in finishing a book and updating your bookshelf on the website.

 

Oh, and setting the challenge of reading a set amount of books in the year (in my case, 50) also motivates me. :D

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I gave up on Goodreads a few years ago when the scandal with deleted reviews and the Amazon deal was up. The site was awesome and I read some great books due to some of its book clubs but the new policy made me delete my account. There are several alternatives but sadly none are QUITE as good. 

 

I still lurk there from time to time but it's just not the same. 

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I gave up on Goodreads a few years ago when the scandal with deleted reviews and the Amazon deal was up. The site was awesome and I read some great books due to some of its book clubs but the new policy made me delete my account. There are several alternatives but sadly none are QUITE as good. 

 

I still lurk there from time to time but it's just not the same.

I did a quick Google search but didn't come up with anything - what was the scandal about?

 

Also, what new policy? I feel very much in the dark here. :P

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I'm thinking of signing up on Goodreads as it would be nice to have a log of all the books I've read.  I've had a good look at random people's profiles and it looks like some people tend to just log books when they've read them whilst others update multiple times per day with their reading progress.  Overall it seems like it's a good community though.

I'm one of those that just updates when I finish reading a book, or when I've bought books (or if I've read multiple books in a day, I set multiple books as read). I don't like to update my reading progress throughout the day. I prefer to visit GoodReads about once a day, I don't want to have to go on the website every hour or something, whenever I've read another 50 pages or so. That seems so awkward and not something I want to do, it would be a hassle, I'd rather spend the time doing reading or other things. Also, I get upset because often the page count in my book, doesn't exactly match the page count on GoodReads and this annoys me.

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I'd like to know about the scandal too!

 

When I started using Goodreads I did tend to post progress updates about books, now I mostly just add them to 'currently reading' and then mark them 'finished'. Some longer books, like A Little Life, which I think took me 10 days to read, do get the odd progress update, usually with a comment on what I'm thinking about the book.

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Amazon purchased Goodreads in 2013 and the community was in an uproar. Most people did not like the announcement. 

 

http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/413-exciting-news-about-goodreads-we-re-joining-the-amazon-family?page=1

 

A lot of librarians and reviewers moved to alternate websites. There was also some trouble with deleted reviews without notifying the reviewer. . Goodreads changed the FAQ but deleted certain reviews before doing it and without any notice. 

 

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1499741-important-note-regarding-reviews

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Amazon purchased Goodreads in 2013 and the community was in an uproar. Most people did not like the announcement.

How come?

 

There was also some trouble with deleted reviews without notifying the reviewer. . Goodreads changed the FAQ but deleted certain reviews before doing it and without any notice.

I read through the FAQ, and it sounds like the staff were aware of their mistakes and it doesn't sound like something that will happen again.

Edited by Angury
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I also find it interesting to look back at the end of the year and see what books I have read, what ratings I have given them and how quickly I completed them. It's a good way of analysing ones reading habits. There's also a satisfaction in finishing a book and updating your bookshelf on the website.

 

Oh, and setting the challenge of reading a set amount of books in the year (in my case, 50) also motivates me. :D

 

This sounds great to me.  I particularly like the idea of being able to record when I read a book.

 

I'm one of those that just updates when I finish reading a book, or when I've bought books (or if I've read multiple books in a day, I set multiple books as read). I don't like to update my reading progress throughout the day. I prefer to visit GoodReads about once a day, I don't want to have to go on the website every hour or something, whenever I've read another 50 pages or so. That seems so awkward and not something I want to do, it would be a hassle, I'd rather spend the time doing reading or other things.

 

Yeah, I don't think I would do this either as knowing me I would probably get sidetracked and instead of spending two minutes updating my reading status, I would end up spending hours browsing through reviews etc.  I might update books read once a week or a couple of times a month maybe.  Not necessarily every time I finish a book.

 

Also, I get upset because often the page count in my book, doesn't exactly match the page count on GoodReads and this annoys me.

This would really annoy me too.

 

I'm thinking of signing up and using it solely to record when I've read a book, the date started and finished and probably a star rating too.  I'm not sure I would actually write a review though.

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Also, I get upset because often the page count in my book, doesn't exactly match the page count on GoodReads and this annoys me.

 

It's usually possible to change the book edition GoodReads has set as its default to the one that you're reading.  Just click on "Other Editions", locate which is yours, and switch over.  Typing in the ISBN number (if your book has one) is a quicker method.   :)

Edited by Onion Budgie
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I'm thinking of signing up and using it solely to record when I've read a book, the date started and finished and probably a star rating too.  I'm not sure I would actually write a review though.

 

This is what I do so that I have a record of what I've read and the authors/series which I have enjoyed. I almost never write any reviews.

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