TO GOODREADS, FROM READERS: PLEASE STOP 😤 and more please

[@Silverraine1]

17:33 Goodreads bookshelves can be edited to include a DNF shelf (or any shelf you want) by marking it as 'exclusive' in the settings. It will appear in the button just like 'want to read' or 'read,' etc do. But yeah, it should've been included by default.

[@yyuna7]

I found out about it this year, after using the app for 9 years..... I knew about the tags though.

[@estack24]

I just found out about this very recently. I knew about tags but didn't realize I could add custom shelves. Now I have the standard 3 and then a soft DNF of books that I have started but need to revisit/restart, and then another shelf of books I'm well into but not in the mood for.

[@Dizaster977]

Goodreads also elevates the exposure of books featuring minority protagonists over ones with white protagonists(especially if they're male). Political correct DEI trash is super absurd these days. :/

[@Sarasstorytime22]

@@Dizaster977 you do realize that white authors and white characters are promoted WAAAYY more than any minority protagonist or writer so Im confused as to why you have a problem with DEI.

[@Dizaster977]

@Sarasstorytime22 - most prominent authors, at least in the past, were white and many protagonists written by whatever writer tends to have a lot of personal trends with their own protagonist. The honest thing to say is that your own protagonists tend to lean towards what you are because people tend to write what they know....... which would be their own race. What I am saying is that more and more white men are self publishing and more and more man hating cnts are literally posting online to "don't support white authors and ignore stories with white protagonists". Which has literally been happening in fkn movies and tv shows and comics and all kinds of video games... which is probable fkn reality. So WTF are YOU on about, Sweetpea?

[@brendanl8390]

I’ve had Goodreads for a long time. I’ve been trying story graph the past 6ish months. I really like the story graph stats features and how it tracks my personal reading. I really don’t like other features like the lack of social, how reviews are buried. I also find the UI to be excessively minimalist in reaction to Goodreads opposite approach. I feel like I have to click through 10 different menus to do basic tasks. So while I like the stats and summaries story graph makes on my reading, I find Goodreads to be a much more useable and valuable website despite the many problems, old formats that need updates

[@estack24]

Have you used Fable? I find it the most social of the 3. It's basically like Facebook but with books/TV. I'll see random people who I don't know IRL but are reading books I've read/saved. I also will see bookish posts, like what are your favorite books for fall, etc. It's really promoting just bookish discussion which I'm really enjoying and don't see that happening on GR or Storygraph. I do like Storygraph for the data, and just use GR as a habit of having it since my 20s.

[@AshCerto]

@@brendanl8390 YES to the buried reviews and click through 10 things to get where I need to be! I have both Goodreads and StoryGraph on my phone and I use Goodreads more than I use StoryGraph. I will only track a book on StoryGraph so I can have the chart/graphs.

[@jocelyntrishell]

I liked seeing my friends updates on Goodreads. I don’t like seeing the ‘popular in fantasy this week’ on the homepage bc it’s never helpful for me lol

[@amaresuify]

Only about halfway through, but so many of these complaints are things Storygraph does. Half stars? How about quarter stars. Want to make a DNF? Go for it. All reviews aggregated regardless of edition? Yep. Will even tell you if you're reading a review from a different edition. Also extremely easy to browse editions. There's a button for that.

[@ellealine4159]

Also thought that! Storygraph is my holy grail

[@warlocksarecool]

I love Storygraph too! Even when writing a review they have different sections about the tone, pace and characters that you can answer very easily without writing anything

[@brittanyallemanayers3447]

I also love StoryGraph! I love that you can also do custom reading challenges, buddy reads, and book clubs in the app. And the developers actively seek out and act on feedback from StoryGraph users. ❤

[@pao3292]

I was about to write this! Everything is already in StoryGraph and with a much better user experience 🩵

[@JulieTheReader]

@@brittanyallemanayers3447 Oh, I didn’t know there were clubs on StoryGraph! The only edge I felt GR had on SG was the social aspect of groups and message boards. (I’m trying out Fable for this reason.)

[@galacticvampire5308]

Elliot have you ever tried Storygraph? I made the switch two years ago and never looked back!

[@KYX1994]

Storygraph is SUPERIOR! You can also make suggestions and they reply❤

[@Horrorbabe4]

Just installed the app at your recommendation two times. It kept freezing. Lol i guess ill use the website on my laptop.

[@AshCerto]

I’ve tried to make the switch but I’m just not enjoying it. Maybe it’s just the app that’s not the best? My biggest problem is that when I want to read reviews I can’t just look at 3 star reviews or 1 star reviews. They are all mixed, and from what I’ve seen there is no way to organize them in the app?

[@reubenalbatross]

​@AshCerto Yeah, that isn't currently an option, but I think it's coming in their next round of updates. If you search 'StoryGraph roadmap' you can see everything they're working on. They're still quite a small company, so updates take time, but they really value their users and keep us in the know about everything that's going on with the app.

[@estack24]

I've been using GR for so long but have started using Storygraph and Fable and really like both. The review systems both have more detailed options other than *type your review here and publish*. And they both have 1/4 stars which I greatly appreciate.

[@imatiredstudent2081]

Huh, the title is odd a bunch of letters and numbers, idk if it’s a problem with my phone or with the upload (thanks for all your great videos Elliot! Just writing this in case it’s helpful to identify a problem)

[@ipyu4705]

think it's a problem with auto translated videos, I have the same problem

[@personalsbysara]

This has been happening to me as well with her last few videos. I think it has something to do with KZbin's auto-translation...

[@imatiredstudent2081]

Ahh i’m a native spanish speaker, so it’d make sense for it to auto translate. Weird. Thanks guys!

[@KYX1994]

On my side it says "Item Code:" in Italian and random letters and numbers😂

[@mirenda1427]

Same for me french KZbin

[@carahamelie]

I think goodreads should have a readers choice winner, and a ratings winner for each category. that way we could see who the readers pick... but we could also see what books are actually rated the highest on the website in general as well. I also think ratings for different things would be great. So each book you read you could rate it in 5 categories. Writing, plot, pacing, enjoyment... etc. i think this would be really interesting info, then they could just average them out for the overall rating.

[@lorifrederick2367]

I don't like the app on my phone. It looks like it needs a huge update. It kinda reminds me of a DOS program from the '90s 😅

[@glittergirl12341]

I got annoyed sometimes when people complain about goodreads being the way it's always been instead of seeking out a platform that suits their needs better. every app has good and bad things I personally use 3 and a spreadsheet but you can always just pick the one that meets more of your needs. personally I feel like the choice awards are like Christmas I love it. if it was taken away because you can never make everyone happy I'd be crushed. I wish we could have multiple choice awards a year and celebrate more authors.

[@elskabee]

39:43 you CAN change this in your settings! I have mine set so that I only see reviews in my feed. I don't know that you can change which of your activities come up on your friends and following people's feeds though, they would have to change those settings for themselves to not see your page updates or want to read adds

[@trulyintroverted]

I'm commenting as I'm listening so: 1) I feel like GR has said that they're not going to add half-stars (ever) which is disappointing. 2) Agree with what the person said about how GR is turning into an arm of publicity. In the past few years, I've stopped trusting the ratings of newer releases (especially in romantasy, romance, thrillers, and mystery) and stuck to reviews to see if it's something I'll enjoy. I also agree with Elliot in regards to ratings in some genres being skewed one way or another. In addition, imo ratings in some genres tend to feel more like a popularity vote/ rating as per enjoyment (not wrong or anything) as opposed to a more constructive and unbiased rating (which I prefer) and so I rely on KZbin or Reddit for recs in those genres. 3) The GR awards are a mess but I like seeing what's been popular that year in genres I rarely read but am interested in. I also used to not vote if I'd not read more than a couple books in a category, but this year I voted even if I'd read only one contender. 4) Very interesting idea about counting votes of both rounds differently. Never thought of that but it makes so much more sense! 5) The GR app is rubbish. I use the website even on my phone.

[@fushiforever]

The different editions is important because they can have different page lengths which matters for tracking your reading.

[@jackiesliterarycorner]

I do rate by my emotional reaction, because I struggle to be objective, and struggle with knowing how to be critical. I think it's tricky with popular books, because sometimes people can just love a book that happens to be popular, but you can't always trust that. I also think not everyone is trying to be a professional reviewer and just want to show their love or hate for a book. There is a comment thread still going on for one of The Keeper pf the Lost Cities books where most agree with the reviewer's review, but there are also people who comment saying the other people are wrong. I find this ridiculous, because these are just opinions, and I don't like it when people say "you're wrong" about your opinion. There is no right or wrong just people having an opinion.

[@kaida_daughter.of.dragons]

Love how you created context around YA books - especially that they may be the first introduction a new reader has to fantasy. Many of the people I often discuss books with kind of look down on anything labeled YA, and I always want to tell not to dismiss a book simply because it's YA, but I haven't always had the language to articulate why. Very helpful insights into how to have meaningful discussions with genres or age-ranges you're not as familiar with/ only believe stereotypes about. 😊

[@StoneOfYears]

First off, love your videos. Found numerous book suggestions just from watching your vids. As for Goodreads, you mentioned they're "associated" with Amazon which is true as they are OWNED by Amazon; so, yes they're going to push buying over anything else. They're hoping you'll read a review then buy the book from them. I won't have anything to do with GR and I've started looking into Storygraph based on comments here.

[@Cristy-nn9pb]

I only use GoodReads to keep track of the books I read. I don't trust the reviews after the scandals.

[@TheYellowcrush]

Unpopular opinion: If people are still clinging to Goodreads when much better apps are (and have been for years) are available - Storygraph and Fable leap to mind - that's on them at this point. That's like hanging onto a briefcase-sized cell phone and clutching your pearls as someone says "Here's a smart phone" and ignoring it. Both apps make it easy to import your Goodreads data over, too, so it's not even a matter of losing your reading data, it's a matter of resisting change. 🤷‍♀️

[@daria_gl]

Not an unpopular opinion. Just one that doesn't consider all factors. for example the fact that many of us have friends on Goodreads who don't have storygraph 🤷🏻

[@someone6774]

these new apps have a very limited archive of non-english books. my native language is persian and there were so many books that i couldn't find in there and had to add it myself which is a pain in the ass.

[@michaelmasiello6752]

Just an obvious point: Elle’s question was specifically about Goodreads, not other platforms. Of course people talked about Goodreads. She didn’t ask about Storygraph or Fable. The better analogy is this: someone asks, “why are your thoughts about apples?”, people answer, and then others respond, “But why didn’t everyone discuss the pros and cons of bananas?”

[@TheYellowcrush]

@@michaelmasiello6752 Correct. I understood her points; however, I am saying that complaining has proven ineffective with Goodreads. They know them. They know they are an orange. People have said for years "Hey, orange, you'd really be better if you could capture some of the creaminess of the banana." And Goodreads doubles down and ignores. They have literally millions of dollars and developers at their disposal to change things, yet they CHOOSE to do nothing about it. So it's tone-deaf to think at this point - after years of these complaints - that they're going to do anything. It's time to move on. Fable and Storygraph are MUCH smaller companies and yet they are constantly LISTENING to their users' feedback and making improvements. Goodreads has become like a toxic relationship: people want to complain but they also don't want to give it up despite Goodreads stating over and over, "I'm just not that interested in you, you'll get what I feel like giving you."

[@TheYellowcrush]

@@daria_gl Get them to join you in switching over! Grassroots movement is how we effect change!

[@saralynn22]

I love these videos so much. I've been looking forward to this one in particular

[@Horrorbabe4]

24:00 no the predictive ratings are bizarre. If i were an author id be mad if someone just said "i didnt read this yet but its getting 1 star..." LMAO

[@ribbonquest]

I can occasionally get the Recommendations function in Goodreads to work for me, but often it tries to push really random stuff. Like I read a folklore graphic novel, suddenly it's suggesting Big Nate books. Excuse me? Or if I read something and rate it low, GR wants to suggest things based on my having read it at all. A more complex recommendations forumla would be so cool. People who liked Book A and B and didn't like Book C also liked... They have the raw data to pull it off, but it's hard work so they'll probably never do it.

[@VoidDWG]

Good reads is a joke. Booktubers are infinitely more valuable than whatever that mess is.

[@julielocktree]

I so agree on the DNF button! I try to never give a rating when I DNF a book, but I still like to at them to my read list. Also because sometimes I read a lot from the book, but DMF it towards the end. So it would be great to be able to click on DNF. And yes the website needs half star ratings. Sometimes I find it so hard to rate a book. So half stars would help me a lot.

[@joshhall1967]

You can create a DNF tag. Just create a shelf and set it to DESIGNATED. Don't ask me how, I did it years ago.

[@annmoore321]

I think you should be able to turn off notifications for books, authors and possibly genres you don’t want to see. I hate scrolling through my Goodreads feed because certain books, authors, and genres continually pop up just because they are trending, popular, or your friends are reading them. I want my feed to reflect what I enjoy, and recommend books I would be interested in reading.

[@rogerroger9952]

i'm an author and due to some issues with the printer, i had to change the colours of my cover. for some reason, even though i was given special permission to edit my book's details on goodreads, it doesn't let me delete the cover i uploaded to replace with the new one.

[@AyceMcGee]

I don't know if this would actually work well or not, but I think Goodreads limiting your first round of votes to only books you've read before they announce the nominees might be a good way to cut back on some of the bots and intense fans creating multiple accounts. Maybe also having a requirement that your account be a certain number of days old or having activity requirements of like 30, 60, or 90 days before the second round of voting begins?

[@timeoccupied]

The gr awards eligibility period is always available in the rules section. The first round always goes live the day after the eligibility period ends. The 2025 awards will start Nov 12, 2025

[@cj1986x]

30:49 Yes! Watching my GR friends vote for books that they haven't actually read yet is depressing. Like, what is the point of the awards if we're voting for books we haven't read?

[@jana787]

This year I’ve voted for a book I haven’t read. Made a good guess as to who will come second and I’m hoping to outvote the absolutely awful book I did read that is extremely likely to win 😅 that one I did read and I have no regrets for doing this 😂 The Teacher and When the moon hatched were the worst books I’ve read this year and seeing them win will hurt.

[@Booksociopath]

I agree with your points

[@slytle90]

Yes, they really should add half star ratings!! So many times I'm like, ok, this isn't a 3 but not quite a 4 and it would be amazing to have the half star option. For DNFs I made a shelf for them so I can keep track but also not rate them. So my 4 are the usual 3, read, currently reading, want to read and DNFed. It would be cool to just have that an option with the star rating though.

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

I like that the Goodreads Choice Awards gives the majority of their prizes to women writers unlike the Booker Prize, almost all the winners in the fiction category over the years have been women, including last year's Yellowface by R F Kuang. Weyward last year's winner of Historical Fiction and Debut Novel was a fantastic read, I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I hadn't heard about it through the Goodreads awards.

[@saedoll2507]

I use romance io for books too. I use it more for tropes / themes that could be uncomfortable for me to read. I also think it's interesting because you can also click for tropes or themes you more so like. (so example: sapphic.) so its nice because you can avoid discomforts, while also factoring in things your more keen/interested in reading. I like this too because It doesn't really spoil the book for me. (It is mostly romance, but I've seen even Brandon Sanderson's books on there. And I know his books aren't heavy romance leaning.) They also have a lovely spice rating system too. I find with goodreads now with books, a lot of people spoil main plots to a book. Like you can find out who dies, who falls in love, who is the one everyone is supposed to hate, etc. (example, Fourth wing reviewers. >.>;' ) Which is fine if its just people sharing their excitement, but I find too no one gives a spoiler warning, so if your looking to see if a book would suit your interests, it gets completely ruined prior to you even reading it. (I feel like communities in some ways lack spoilers now? Sorta a "not my problem, should've read it prior to looking online" attitude I've seen more recently.)

[@sweet_t_reads]

Personally, I do not think that choices should pull from any shelf but the read shelf. Just because a lot of people what to read a book, doesn't make it a good book.

[@marisagettas]

YOU CAN CHANGE THE VERSION YOU ARE READING IN A BOOK ON GOODREADS. 1) search for the book you want 2) go to its homepage 3) hit the button near the top that says ‘Book Details’ 4) then click versions (there are over 2,500 versions of War and Peace on there!) 5) then scroll until you find the one you want (audiobooks are also here) and add it to whichever shelf you’re intending (want to read, currently reading etc.) That’s it! Enjoy 😊 ❤

[@lululala4658]

I can confirm! I often do this. Though I think it’s only possible via the browser version (not the app)

[@marisagettas]

@@lululala4658 It definitely works in the app for me too, my friend

[@madelinemonday8503]

Audible integration!!!!

[@dsm_796]

I really enjoy StoryGraph. Much better than GR.

[@timeoccupied]

Ratings are arbitrary unless you’re familiar with how a particular user rates things 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@dontdoit6986]

List creation should be much easier in the app.

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

HALF STARS HALF STARS HALF STARS 😤😤

[@atomknight8361]

I'll never respect goodreads until they add the half stars

[@Horrorbabe4]

😂

[@maxsinclair787]

arround the 19minuet mark, i absolutely hate it when publishers do this. one if there are more books in the series let me know just in the front material of the book, and guess what, I'll go buy those other books first, you get more sales. if i have a feeling that a book might be part of a series I'll just not buy it now until I've gone back home and found out, book shops including online are pretty bad at sorting by series especially for authors like brandon sanderson, not that there are many authors like brandon sanderson. in the front of the uk editions of any realm of the elderlings books it tells you the other books of the series in order, why can't all other books that are part of a series just have this, it should be the default. you shouldn't feel like you have to reserch books online before you commit to buying something in a bookshop. sorry about my spelling and grammar on this post. its early and i cant be bothered to fix it, i promise I'm not a moron just being lazy.

[@maxsinclair787]

good reads begin owned by amazon could prove that you've read the book on kindle or listend to the audio book, can't do anything for phisical though. around 31min mark

[@justwonder1404]

I've stopped using Goodreads at some point because it just wasn't worth it. Too slow, too confusing when it comes to translated books, 5 star rating system is too rigid, book challenges turn reading into a soulless productivity race, and it just looks bad. Switched to documenting my reading on insta and never looked back. I kinda admire people who look at that mess of a service and see something worth saving.

[@bookSketchlove]

"EB1B2D12 C09D 40C2 9608 1938BA238CE7" I don't know why your title shows up like this to me. It's the second video where the title is like this, hence I have no idea what the video is about. Is this some kind of code I don't know about or is an issue with YT ?

[@lululala4658]

It seems to be KZbin auto-translate malfunctioning

[@giwonf5457]

why is the title a bunch of letters?

[@tactical_5569]

Has anyone ever won a give away?

[@BaileeWalsh]

I have a handful of times!

[@yapdog]

Wait--Goodreads is _still_ a thing? 🤨

[@davidc1179]

Am I the only one who sees "EB1B2D12 C09D 40C2 9608 1938BA238CE7" as the title?

[@MsWillowbayOrelse]

Someone mentioned, in another comment, that it is from the auto translation. KZbin is havin issues with it on her vids lately.

[@Gaywatch]

Mandatory comment highlighting how Amazon owns Goodreads and will never meaningfully improve it in order to keep as much attention on Amazon site book reviews as possible, so if you're unhappy with Goodreads please abandon it for something else because that's the only way we'll ever get a better alternative.