I know this is off topic, but I am just wondering if any other PBS members are also activie in GoodReads? I joined it but, unlike PBS which has a purpose -- swapping books -- I'm not totally sure what GoodReads is about, other than a way for readers to come together.

I find the site hard to navigate and I wonder what others think of it?

Anyone out there who is active in GR I'd like to hear your point of view. It's certainly very slick, for sure. Is it sponsored by the publishing industry?

Janet E.

Janet, I am so glad to read your comments concerning Goodreads!

Their site IS impossible to navigate. I've been wantng to list books I've read the past couple years, but I never can figure it out.

I comment on other people's posts all the time--that I can do. But nothing else!

(I don't trade any books--I just enjoy getting ideas about more books to read.)

                                                                                                                   Rose

Yea, I am with you.  I have never figured out how to carve out enough time in my life to learn that site.  It is simply too hard to navigate.  I think some folks here use it but I hear less and less about it.

I can navigate a bit around the site, but I know there are a lot of features I miss.  It does at least give me recommendations of books that might interest me, and the user recommendations have led me into a couple of new series.  All considered I agree with Janet E that I just don;t understand what it is all about.

At least I can sort of find my way around that site.  I find Fictfact to be totally beyond my ability to comprehend. 

Ditto for me, too. Other than book reviews I don't see the purpose of the site. I mark the books I've read but that's about it.

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that had problems figuring out Goodreads!  I've been on it awhile now, and I've learned enough to know how to do the basics.  I actually joined a couple of years ago, but got frustrated and  quit trying.  Recently, with the help of some PBS friends that are on it also, I gave it another try.  I'm really liking it, and I'm on it several times a week.  Be warned, it can be a little addicting like PBS!

Janet, if you or others need any help, I'll be glad to try.  You can message me if you like.

I'm on it too and I like it.  I think of it as a card catalog for my own library.  It has kept me from buying a second copy of a book I already owned but hadn't read.  I have rated books I have read, even ones from years ago, and it gives me recommendations that have been right on target.  I have won about 8 books in the giveaways, and the forums there are just as addictive as the ones here.   I read the reviews of books I think I might want to read that I have heard about elsewhere.  I enjoy the book related forums as well as genre forums too.

I have an additional comment. Several years ago, I was trying to figure out how to post on Goodreads (I still only know how to respond to posts, but not how to initiate any). I said I was starting to read Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone. Occasionally, I've tried to update that info (since I finished the book long ago), but it won't accept that. So I keep getting messages from Goodreads that I am currently reading The Moonstone.

Absurd!

                                                                                                        Rose

Obsessed, you just change the bookshelf from 'currently reading' to 'read'.  You can do that from your profile page or the page it gives you when you log on.  Hover over the Current Reading and it will let you update.  You can then rate the book if you want. 

To start a new thread topic, go to the discussion board you want to post to.  On the right side of the discussion area will be topics/new/read/unread - choose new and type away.

Let me know if you have other questions, happy to try to help.

I've spent a little more time on Goodreads but as far as interacting with others, it seems rather hard to do. It's a confusing site. I did discover the book give aways and have already won one of my PBS WL books. Cool.

Bruce, you have to join the group then you can post in its forums.  Every single book has its own group, then there are other groups too.  I am a member of Quilt Read Eat Sleep, Swap Refugees, Cozy Mysteries, and the Sewing Book Club.   There are author fan groups too, that will let you know when an author is doing something neat like holding a video chat, Sarah Addison Allen did one just a few weeks ago that was lots of fun and included giveaways of her latest book.

Hi all, well it's over a year since I  made the original post for this thread and I'll now make a progress report. I'm now fairly comfortable with Goodreads and find that it is a good way for me to track what I've read and what I want to read. I've joined a couple of groups, although I'm not particularly active in them. I participate in the Goodreads annual reading challenges and write and post reviews on GR as I do here. 

On the other hand I find the PBS community more comfortable for me, and in all honesty I find the discussion forums here more to my liking without a lot of "noise" ( for want of a better word). The more I use GR, the easier I find it to navigate. Wasn't thrilled when amazon bought GR, but wasn't upset enough to leave the site, either. 

So, all in all I find it to be useful and less confusing than it was on my first encounter, and it serves a good function for me, as being a place to track what I read. Plus, I do find that it's fun to see what my friends are reading.

Janet E.

I use GR mainly for the recommendations. The majority of the books I order to read, I'd never know about if not for GR's. 

Doug,  I am signed up with three or four different book sites so I get recommendations every day, so I don't use GR for recommendations.  But do see what others have said about a book I'm considering, particularly those with authors I'm not familiar with.  I also use it as Janet referenced to keep up with my TBR list.   It is much easier than little scraps of paper all over the house, car and in my purse.

I don't use any other book sites except these two. I use Goodreads for the ratings too, forgot about that. 

Doug, I'm also signed up with publishing houses so I get emails when new books come out.  I have almost reached the point where I read more about books than books!  lol