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10 Improvements That Would Make Goodreads 500 x Better (Or So Say I)

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Because I know what everyone should be doing, it’s time we talked about how to improve Goodreads.

Okay! I’m joking. I don’t know what “everyone” should be doing because somewhere in the world someone is baking an apple pie when I would’ve said they should be baking a chocolate pie. But apple pies get really underrated and yet are delicious so, like?? I shouldn’t be allowed to control the pie economy here. So I concede that sometimes free will is important.

HOWEVER. When it comes to Goodreads, I have some thoughts.

Or “Godreads” as I often type instead. Or even “Goodred.” Because apparently I can’t type.

I really love Goodreads! I have a love-affair with organisation and the fact I can have A MILLION SHELVES TO SORT MY BOOKS and also have a TBR list that stretches all the way to the moon and back?? IT MAKES MY HEART HAPPY. The users of Goodreads tend to…ha ha…haaa…okay, they can be a problem. * But we’re going to ignore the trollish hellions in this post!! And just focus on the website!! Because the website is NICE.

But it could be better.

I mean, the ultimate goal here is for Goodreads to hire me  as their Dark Lord Of All and buy my ideas and pay me in books. But until then, let’s just whinge companionably.

 

* Just recently I had a condescending pinecone telling me he thought all YA books are trash and I am trash and everyone should read classics — then mentioned he wrote YA books. And I just???? My honest to God reply was: “Mate, I hope you don’t write YA ever.” I CAN’T EVEN WITH HOW ELITIST SOME PEOPLE ARE.

 

1. RECAPS PREVIOUS BOOKS IN A SERIES.

I don’t want to be dramatic or anything but…THIS WOULD SAVE LIVES. I love that they have the reread feature now, which also saves lives and has encouraged me to reread SO many books this year. I do love rereading. I do. But do you know who has time to reread all the beginning books in a series before the sequel comes out each year?

Me?

Now plenty of websites do have series recaps. But I’m just saying if ALL books in series had them + they are written by the author so you’ll know they’re right = LIFE WOULD BE A LOT BETTER. And more convenient. And there’s pretty much no other point to life except making it convenient for me, yes?

 

2. HALF STARS.

I MEAN, WHY NOT, GOODREADS. WE KEEP ASKING FOR IT.

Apparently there’s some “study” that shows people are less likely to rate books if they have to rate with half-stars but like…pfft. Next you’re going to try and convince me the moon is not made out of cheese and and the core of the earth isn’t running with melted chocolate. I SEE LIES. I SEE THEM.

What’s the big deal, is what I want to know?!? You wouldn’t have to use half stars…but you could if you wanted! And there is a huge difference between a book that’s 3.5 stars and a book that’s just 3 stars. Huge. And don’t even get me started on the books that are worth more than 4 but not quite 5.

You know how many crises could be avoided if we had half stars? ALL OF THEM.

3. KEEPS TRACK OF MORE STATS FOR YOU.

Goodreads does keep track of a lot of stats which is #1 reason I LOVE IT SO AND WOULD MARRY IT IN THE MORNING EXCEPT I’M COMMITTED TO MY BOOKSHELF. However, it doesn’t keep track of enough stats for me. I have to have a spreadsheet too. Darn it, Goodreads, why are you making me work so much more when you could be automated?

SMOL LIST OF THINGS I WANT GOODREADS TO TRACK:

  • countries books come from
  • debuts or not
  • formats commonly read
  • published year of books
  • how hungry the book made me
  • dragon ratios
  • most read colours on covers
  • types of diversity
  • common genres
  • how stressed I was and how much chocolate had to be consumed

 

Just, you know, normal and average things. I don’t even ask for much.

4. STICKER REWARD SYSTEM.

I love stickers. You love stickers. I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY GOODREADS DOESN’T GIVE US MORE STICKERS. Look the NaNoWriMo website gives you stickers for reaching goals, so like??? Come on Goodreads??? I want to have sticker charts for my 2017 goals.

And I think there should be mini goals to reach too. Like OH STICKER TIME because you read 10 books over 800 pages.

And OH STICKER TIME you’ve made this many friends even though you’re an antisocial grapefruit.

And OH STICKER TIME you participated in a discussion without crying.

Just normal and encouraging things like this??! I’m 99% sure if there were more stickers happening, everyone on Goodreads would be better behaved.

 

5. ALLOWS MORE FORMATTING OPTIONS IN REVIEWS.

HTML is okay….but it’s a huge bother. I’d really love if gif-keyboards and emojis were more easily added. Because 99% of my internet vocabulary is EMOJI. I like people to know what I’m feeling!

Because there’s a huge difference between:

“I HATE THIS BOOK❤️💔😭❤️” and “I HATE THIS BOOK😒😠😖”

I guess humans could learn to say exactly what they mean instead of the opposite all the time??? But c’mon, please let’s not be unrealistic.

It’d be also great if… it was easier to hyper-link to other reviews, websites, blogs, or friendly poisonous reptiles. And to have font size differences?!?? And like bullet-point lists?!? THESE THINGS MAKE IT EASIER TO READ REVIEWS.

Get onto it, Goodreads.

 

6. ALLOWS THREADED REPLIES.

BECAUSE IT’D MAKE IT MUCH EASIER TO YELL AT SPECIFIC PEOPLE.

Hahah!! I’m kidding! I’m…kidding…okay come back, don’t be scared of me.

It would just make having conversations much more clear and linear, instead of replies happening like 6 comments later or me forgetting who I replied to. Which happens all the time because I have the memory of a murdered toaster oven.

 

7. GIVES A POP-UP WARNING BEFORE YOU ENGAGE WITH TROLLS.

Look sometimes I get snarky. Sometimes I forget ignoring is better than engaging. It’d be nice if I wrote my 500-word essay on why this condescending troll is WRONG and then had a popup that said helpful things like:

  • “Hi Cait, is this a good idea?”
  • “Hello Cait, do you want to start a war?”
  • “Heyyyy Cait, will this rebuttal actually help with anything or just feed the fires of Mt. Doom?”
  • “HEY CAIT IT’S OKAY, GOODREADS STILL LOVES YOU, THE TROLLS DON’T MATTER.”

Then maybe Goodreads could pat my shoulder and talk me through it. Sort out some troll fights? I don’t know. This doesn’t seem like a tall order.

 

8. TURNS YOU INTO MASTER OF THE DARK ARTS.

Look, I’m just saying. It would be handy. Some of us need extra life skills and I could think of 104 ways to put this to good use. Goodreads is supposed to be a helpful community isn’t it? WELL THEN?????

9. HAS AN “YOU MIGHT ALSO NOT LIKE” FEATURE.

Now I don’t know what Goodreads “You might like” suggestion box has been snacking on, but I think it was mouldy, because OH WOW does it give me some random suggestions.

The Tiger’s Watch is a FANTASY????? This suggestion is a CONTEMPORARY??? And the Ship Beyond Time is about HISTORICAL FICTION + TIME TRAVEL…so sure I want a vampire book right after that.

What.

Anyway.

If they could get their act together with this warped algorithm, I propose doing one for books to avoid. Because life is short!! We waste too much time on gnarly books. It’d be great if when you clicked on a book it had a “it’s like this book x book that you didn’t like” and then I’ll knoooooooow to take my smol soul somewhere else.

10. HAS LINKS TO TASTY “BONUS” CONTENT FOR BOOKS.

Look I’m just asking Goodreads to save me time googling all this stuff myself because I’m lazy a very busy person.

Have links to:

  • interviews with the author
  • sample chapters
  • FAN ART, mate
  • analysis on the characters’ Hogwarts houses because that’s what I’m here for
  • a printable map so I might cover my walls with the glorious art.
  • Also like food recipes included in the book would be nice
  • along with a spreadsheet of the characters’ names because heck if I remember what they are
  • also update it with ANY AND ALL news about sequels + new books + awards and things
  • also while you’re at it, like tell us what new book deals have been finalised in the Publisher Weekly and such
  • just keep me updated
  • pls

I’m not sure WHO is going to keep up with all these updates. Hopefully some very clever wraith of the night who’s good at typing. But basically Goodreads should be a HUB OF NEWS AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNITY. With half stars. And I won’t lie, it’d be super handy if it delivered care packages with shock blankets, tea, a nice poem, and several iced cakes.

I don’t think my demands are too high or wildly variable, right?

 

so how would YOU improve Goodreads?!? add to my list!! do you struggle to remember 1st books in series? do you search out bonus content for books? do you get wildly motivated to succeed when offered sticker-rewards?? confess all. i am here to listen.

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Comments

  1. wow.. there are a lot Cait! But those are cool Idea! ✨✨ I did not think about it before. 😂😄👍 I only want half star and emoji on review and Now I can use emoji on goodreads review, so I am waiting for half star! Hope Goodreads fulfill your other wishes too 😀

    Reply

  2. I’m sad you have to deal with stupid trolls – especially that hypocritical jerk *hugs*

    Brilliant post! 100% agree with everything on here! (And oh my gosh half stars, emoji keyboard + more stats please!!)

    Reply

  3. I would honestly be SO THANKFUL if Goodreads had an actual recap function and I can’t believe they haven’t thought of that. I basically forget EVERYTHING because DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY BOOKS I READ so by the time I get to the sequel I’m like ??? who’s this? Who’s that? What’s going on? I REMEMBER NOTHING.

    Reply

    • I TOTALLY GET YOU, INGE. I forget everything 5 seconds after I finish reading it, so like please…don’t make me wait a year and expect me to remember everything. *sobs* I think this is why I don’t ever finish series.😂

      Reply

  4. Oh my God, yes! Goodreads needs stickers/badges/achievements/whatever. Every site is better with those. <3
    There's a site called Recaptains (I think I spelt that right) that does recaps, and Tumblr is good for fan-art (if you can dodge the discourse). Also, Google Images.
    Elitism is the enemy of creativity. 🙁 It's the reason why I rarely rate or review classics. I'm scared the book snobs will come for me when I say I dislike one.

    Reply

    • EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH STICKERS. We just want, like, a smol pat on the shoulder for our little achievements.😂 And I do love Recaptains! Although they tend to not have done like adult epic fantasy which is what my brain dies over when I go to read sequels. (Why I don’t just binge-read series is a mystery to me…)

      Ugh it’s just ridiculous when people get on their high horse about certain types of literature being “better”. *rolls eyes* I don’t even like when people are up for bashing Twilight or anything. I mean, let people read what they want!! It doesn’t matter!!

      Reply

  5. OMG, you are such a genius? Someone needs to @Goodreads on twitter about this… ACTUALLY, I MIGHT JUST DO THAT, Thanks, Cait.

    but anyways this was A MUCH NEEDED POST. I think everyone is basically begging for half-stars? It has become a daily tradition. I definitely want MORE STATS, because hey we are overly geeky like that. I feel there should be this whole separate website for stats on reading. IT WOULD BE FABULOUS.

    And omg STICKERS. yes, that would make it sooo funny! And definitely ‘you might not want to read’ because we need to avoid deadly books?

    But the last ONE. I SOOOO SOOOO SOO need it! Fan art and all the fun juicy stuff would make it so much more interactive!

    Reply

    • Bahahah, omg it might be embarrassing if Goodreads actually read this.😂 UNLESS THEY GIVE US ALL CAKE. THEN THAT WOULD BE FUN.

      Stats are SO fun and like Goodreads is encouraging it now with the challenge, so like maybe they’ll take it further?!? AND STICKERS. We need rewards. And obviously stickers are the greatest motivation of ever. :’)

      Reply

  6. It feels like I’m the only person who doesn’t want half stars haha. Five is too many options already really. But I totally agree about the stats. I have a massive spreadsheet where I keep track of everything and I love seeing those stats. I also love your stickers idea! Having little badges or achievements would make tracking your books so much more fun!

    Reply

    • Haha! Fair enough! I need WAY more options because I’m so so bad at decisions.😂 And spreadsheets are FAB but it’d be awesome if Goodreads helped out.😂

      And stickers/badges makes things always better right?! Like even just hitting private goals. Like “whoooo you did 100 reviews” or something. It’d be so awesome. :’)

      Reply

  7. The threaded replies would he WONDERFUL.! Yes to stickers or even better… BADGES! I hit 500 reviews the other day and I am approaching 1,000 ratings and I want some recognition, dang it!

    The half stars would be so easy to do and I am surprised we got re-reads before half stars. Also, we need to be able to get actual page count credit for audios instead of 1-10 pages for listening to an entire book. AND be able to list different editions separately. The only Harry Potter editions you can list separately are the illustrated ones.

    I also think they need to frown upon rating books that haven’t been read, but they actually encourage it. :/

    Reply

    • It’s not too much to ask for like stickers and badges right?! I mean if NaNo can give it, Goodreads can get onboard this sticker ship. *nods sagely* I just want SHINY and RECOGNITION. 😂

      Also fixing up the audios would be good too.

      And I guess the stopping rating books before they’re published is difficult because of ARC readers? But then Amazon doesn’t allow it?? So maybe if we could just REVIEW but not star-rate in the pre-release?

      Reply

      • I complained once about a one star rating sitting on an indie that didn’t even have ARCs out yet and Goodreads sent an email saying that they “encourage” members to rate books based on the covers, summaries, and previous impressions of the author’s books. I think that stinks. I still think that some sort of code could he given for an ARC when the person got it, and then it would have to have a code input to rate before the publishing date.

        Reply

        • What!? They encourage it?!? That’s dumb. 😭😭It’s hard not to cover-judge or blurb-judge, I know, but it doesn’t equal having “read the book” so you shouldn’t be able or encouraged to rate off that!

          I think codes would be too hard to regulate unfortunately. ☹️

          Reply

  9. Yes, I’ve been waiting for Goodreads to introduce the half star review function!!! I love doing half stars, they make all the difference! Also, wouldn’t it be great if Goodreads sent you complimentary cake (or cake *instead* of stickers when you reached your goals!) Goodreads must hire you, Cait, as their resident queen/dragon.

    Reply

    • I’m pretty extra sure they’re not going to do it haha. BUT WE CAN DREAM.😂 They gave us reread features after all, right?! And also complimentary cake…I mean. It’s 2017. Why don’t we get cake.

      Reply

  11. All of those suggestions!! ALL OF THEM!

    My memory is also not the best, in any way. Don’t even get me started on remembering names of people IRL. So much embarrassment. Just last week I was considering re-reading and taking down comprehensive notes because I could not remember what happened in book 1 & 2 and book 3 is about to release!? *has a mild panic attack*

    Also trolls are the absolute worst!

    Reply

    • I AM THE SAME. I don’t remember names of people I like KNOW let alone a book I’m reading.😂 I basically have to reread everything and like who has time for this!?? We need recaps.😂

      Reply

      • EXACTLY!! Recaps aren’t too much to ask for right?

        Sometimes I wish I had an eidetic memory. So much time would be saved! Which could then be spent reading and well evil plans you know?

        PS: Fun-ish story – A while back I joined a firm for some temp work, I called basically everyone by a different name everyday for at least a month I think? I think those people probably just gave up on me remembering their names. xD

        Reply

  12. YES!! I’ve thought about all the Goodreads issues before…Amen to half stars and more formatting options and LOVE the idea of “You might also NOT like” feature.

    And here’s my idea – they need a better way to handle DNFs. Like a specific box to check if someone DNFs a book…and either display that stat at the top next to the rating (like X% of people that started this book DNFd it or just the raw number…but SOMETHING) or somehow factor it into the “Avg Rating” algorithm.

    As of now, lots of people that DNF don’t actually rate that book at all (b/c feelings of rating a book you haven’t read most of), so there’s no penalty for a book that gets DNF’d a lot. But, a book that gets DNF’d a lot should be penalized!

    Right now, I have a folder for books I DNF and I update my progress with how far I made it in the book and sometimes leave a comment about why I DNF’d in the review section…but sometimes I’m way too lazy for that.

    Awesome post!

    Reply

    • DUDE YES TO THE DNF OPTIONS! Because I feel bad like “reviewing” them because I haven’t properly read it?! Not that I DNF very often because I finish things even when I shouldn’t haha. (I also will add to that…it’d be good if they had a way to track like novellas too! It feels weird adding a novella as a whole book when it’s like 30pages?!)

      Reply

    • I agree with half stars. I don’t like rounding my reviews up or down. Also, I wouldn’t mind stickers, but reading’s the reward.

      While I’d like gifs to be easily added, I’d fear gif-heavy reviews. I don’t want Tumblr 2.0. Maybe they’d put a limit lock to prevent this.

      Great post. I love GR and I’d like to see it progress.

      Reply

      • Oops. I posted wrong!

        I just wanted to add my agreement with the DNF options. I don’t rate them (though I keep them on a separate shelf because I didn’t finish. Why rate something unfinished? It feels spiteful. I give my reasons why I DNF and move on. Sometimes, I return to the book and give my rating.

        Reply

    • SAME. I try not to use half-stars because of GR but I soooo want them.😂 (And like what’s the point of having a website to track our reads if it doesn’t track like all the details too right?! *collapses in a lazy pile* 😂)

      Reply

  14. Hey Cait,
    Great post! I’m really new to blogging but I’ve been using goodreads for a while now (I frequently misspell it also) and yes, I absolutely agree that it needs half stars! I just about have a mini crisis every time I read a book and decide to rate it 3.5 stars. What do I rate it as on goodreads? 3 or 4 stars?? I find it really useful when a page lists all the characters names but not all of them do. I mean, I could google it but who can be bothered? Recaps would be fabulous! I’m prone to forgetting what happened in the previous book, so I use recaps a lot. If they were on goodreads it would make my life so much easier. I’m sorry about the negative comment. Don’t listen to them whoever they are. Your blog is wonderful!

    Reply

    • Recaps would totally SAVE US SO MUCH TEARS. 😂 I just never remember anything these days hahaa! And welcome to the blogging world, Essie! 😀

      (And omg yes I know. I just ignore the stupid trolls.😂 It’s nearly fun how ridiculous they can be?!)

      Reply

  15. I WANNA WATCH FANTASTIC BEASTS SO BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!
    ahem. that gif triggered it.
    and while your at it, you might want to make all that new stuff simple to navigate. XD
    Most crazily, ~Olive

    Reply

  16. Great post! I do hope that they read it. Yes, please to half stars and fixing the algorithm. I really want them to improve the TBR list options so that I can include a comment about why I’m adding the book (e.g., my friend recommended it) or link to a book review/blog. It would really help me choose my next book.

    Reply

    • Ohh that would be SO cool to add comments about why we want to read it! I mean, I guess we can do that with just doing reviews? But then it says we’ve reviewed the book which is awkward.😂

      Reply

  17. Yes!~ All of these ideas sound amazing and need to be added immediately. I love Goodreads as well but I almost never use it because I can just never remember because my memory capability is questionable. Awesome post! Also trolls are weird and idiots who need to be ignored.

    Nabila | Hot Town Cool Girl

    Reply

  18. Amen to everything you said, especially the 1/2 star system. I honestly don’t even like to rate with stars. It feels so wrong to diminish an author’s work to stars….and one book’s 4 star is not the same as another’s because it is so generalized. *Sigh.

    Reply

    • I’m so glad you liked the post, Annie! 😂 THANK YOU. And like star ratings ARE hard because they have such broad meaning, but I do still love them for an overall look at how much someone liked a book!

      Reply

  19. Dear Goodreads, WHY AM I NOT A MASTER OF THE DARK ARTS YET? You have failed all of us!

    Also *screams into the void* GIVE ME HALF STARS OR GIVE ME DEATH! I’m tired of having to specify at the beginning of the review that I actually gave it 3.5 stars…

    AND MORE STATS WOOD BE COOL! Bc who doesn’t want the ratio of books read with DRAGONS to books read without 😂 also books read with maps VS books read without maps 👍 But I really think that could help me to branch out more if I saw the number of debuts I read or maybe self published VS traditionally published

    Reply

    • It’s just a huge drain on society that we work SO HARD AT GOODREADS and yet are not masters of the dark arts yet. Like what is goodreads doing with its time??? HELP US OUT HERE, GOODREADS.😂

      Reply

  20. YES, YES, YES!!! Yes to every item on your list – but most especially to half stars – like get with it Goodreads!! I’d also love to see more ways to sort my TBR shelves – cause there are 4500+ items on there and its just tedious.

    Reply

  22. All of these are amazing ideas, especially the dragon ratio one! Although, I’d like to add how many times cake is mentioned too because I think you’d be appreciative of that AND books where plans for world domination succeeded. Y’know for ideas!

    Reply

  23. I love ALL of these ideas! It annoys me to no end that there are no half stars! So frustrating!

    I would also really like if it would keep track of more stats!

    Reply

  24. I a million percent agree with all of these things! Especially the series recap. I can’t even name how many times I’m like, “I’m just gonna read this next book even though I remember nothing” and spend the first ten chapters like…*who is this* *what is this* *…I’ve made a huge mistake*

    Great list!

    Reply

  25. Oh god, Cait, this is such a great list! I would love if Goodreads gave half stars. I always indicate when I’m actually giving half stars within the review, but it’s easier to see at a glace with half stars. Recaps of series would be amazing. Sometimes, so much time goes between books, I forget most of what’s happened, so I go and read my own reviews, but I try to write spoiler-free reviews, so my review is no help either. Recaps would just be so helpful! (On this particular topic, I am reading a high fantasy series at the moment which is a companion series to another. This series? The prologues are “extracts from history books”, but they’re pretty much summaries; the first book’s prologue summarised the first series, the second book’s prologue summariased the previous book. I’ve just finished the previous book, so it doesn’t really matter for me, but when it comes to publishing, and it’s a year or so between books? Helpful!)

    If Goodreads managed a way to keep more stats, that would be wonderful. Currently, I have a hidden page on my blog where I note where the authors of the books I read came from. I also have three spreadsheets to take note of the books I read with characters from marginalised groups, by authors from marginalised groups, and books that are #OwnVoices. I already use a blog page to keep track of my diversity reading goals/diverse reading challenges, but the spreadsheets are just easier for seeing things quickly – “Oh, this book had a gay POC main character!” I have shelves on Goodreads for marginalised groups, but I’d have to select a book to see all the shelves they’re on, and I can’t remember everything. With my spreadsheet, it’s here is a title, and here are the marginalisations of the main characters and secondary characters! And I also have a talley at the bottom that notes how many LGBTQ+ books, books with POC MCs, books with mental illness, etc. I’ve read. But I don’t always remember to do it, and going through it to update it after several books can take time. Goodreads could make it easier by noting all these things itself, and just telling me at the end of the year.

    Threaded replies would be great as would, more formatting options. It would just make life a little easier. Fortunately, I post reviews of every book I read on my blog, so I format it there, then copy all the HTML over, and edit where necessarily for the things that are a little different on Goodreads. But I don’t use GIFs or bulletted lists, so there’s not a huge amount of formatting to do. But I can see how it would be so useful.

    I don’t really use Goodreads as a social network, though. When I first joined and people started sending friend requests after finding the link on my blog, I would say yes to everyone. Now I have tons of people whose tastes are very different to mine filling up my Goodreads homepage with books I am not interested in. It would take too long to delete them all, though. I do occassionally read reviews of a book after I’ve reviewed it, and I try to remember to read your reviews, as I know you only review books received from publishers here, but I forget a lot of the time. I use Goodreads for myself more than anything.

    Great post, Cait! 🙂

    Reply

    • I’m glad you liked my suggestions, Jo! THANKS.😂 It’s super helpful when books remember not all of us have the memories of great elephants and can just recall what we read a year ago.😂

      I need to have more shelves for different diversities tbh. I’m mostly sticking to like genres and star ratings for my shelves?!? But it’s haaard to remember all the things. MORE STATS PLS GOODREADS. I use my spreadsheets but they’re not particularly functional.😂

      Did you know you can sort just having “top friends” to show up in your main feed thougH?! I do that! I mean I have 4,000+ friends but only like 20 or so “top friends” so it’s not overwhelming at all.😂

      Reply

  27. I agree so much with the HALF STARS. I almost always rate a book 3.5 stars because I’m so ruddy picky xD

    Yes to more formatting options!

    I love Goodreads but I don’t get why the replies can’t be threaded?!

    Reply

    • It’s super haaaard to rate books!! They need to help us out here.😂

      And I don’t even understand why the replies are so old-fashioned. Like it’s 2017 already omg fix this, please, Goodreads.

      Reply

  28. Amen to the half stars already!!! There are lots of books that I read and think, “Well, it truly wasn’t TERRIBLE, so I wouldn’t give it 2 stars, but I’m not totally sold on 3 stars because of that problem with the artichoke having an identity crisis in the world where all vegetables were supposed to be higher beings”…. You get the idea. (Wow, do my metaphors need to take a break?!)

    Also, I agree that the recommendations section needs some SERIOUS revamping. The only books I’ve tried from that list on my page, I’ve honestly been “ehh” about and White Fang thought they were great (which translates to: I am not a 14-year-old boy, so WHY DID THEY…I can’t even…)

    Reply

    • Your vegetable metaphors are RIGHT AT HOME WITH MINE so you’re doing fine.😂😂 And I toootally agree. I get stuck on the 3.5 ones a lot. And also 4.5? Like gah, there’s huge differences there!!

      Reply

  29. YESS! I need all of these things. Especially the half stars, the stats, and the use of gifs and emoji’s in a review. Like COME ON SON! Goodreads is so awesome but it could be so much awesome-er. and I agree that its algorithm sucks… lol.

    Reply

  30. I SO RELATE TO THIS POST. I was nodding my head the whole time!
    One of the things I wish Goodreads would improve was that rereading a book could count towards your yearly books goal. Does that make sense? Maybe it’s possible and I’m just clueless over here, but I think that’d be nice.😊

    Reply

  31. I love these ideas! The half star one is definitely a good shout. I have finished quite a few books where I haven’t quite wanted to give them a 5 star rating, but 4 seemed too low, and it’s all very stressful.

    Also, I would love to be a master of the dark arts, so…

    Reply

  33. I really agree with the half stars, because – WHY NOT!!!!!! Some websites have even this interesting feature that you can choose in decimal points just how much you liked the stuff. You just drag your cursor over the stars and the decimals slowly add up. But I can’t remember which website it was :/
    YES on formating options – I don’t write many reviews on GR (or not very long) because I just can’t be bothered with doing more work than I really have to (lazy/busy?????)
    And I also noticed just how random the recommendations are, like I rate a book 1 star and it starts recommendating a book like “Because you enjoyed THE BOOK YOU ABSOLUTELY HATED, you might enjoy this” haha – no.

    And my own suggestion is, that GR should be a bit more orientated towards outside of US. I mean, suuuure, the USA is the most important and the bestest country in the world, sure, but maybe we the smaller nations want some acknowledgement too?
    This was mostly with my mind set on their Giveaways. Since I’ve started adding people there I noticed, there are so many giveaways for the US specifically which is great, because books are expensive, but maybe GR should have a feature for authors, so that they’re reminded they MIGHT have readers outside the US???
    Also I read a few articles about how it’s not quite random, but that’s not important.

    What I want to say, GR is being US orientated in not only giveaways (they are not the ones who put it there), but in many things.

    Reply

    • Formatting would make reading reviews WAY easier!! I so wish Goodreasd would do this for us.😂 And make it look cleaner and more like a blog even? It’d be sooo nice. *sighs*

      I guess the giveaways are usually sponsored by authors and such and they can’t afford the postage though. It SUCKS (I’m in Australia so I know the pain too!) but I do understand why the giveaways are so often US only.

      Reply

  34. HALF STARS HALF STARS HALF STARS I DREAM ABOUT THIS AT NIGHT

    A study??

    A study??

    Do they know how it feels when you can’t decide whether to go three or four stars?? Or FOUR OR FIVE??? LIKE HELLO?? THINK ABOUT HOW MANY BOOKS THERE ARE IN LIFE. DOES IT MAKE SENSE THEY WILL FALL INTO FIVE CATEGORIES. NO. NO IT DOESN’T.

    The reread feature is incredible, it’s all I’ve ever wanted,

    EXCEPT HALF STARS GOSH. C’mon, Goodreads!

    Reply

  35. so what i’ve really learned from this post is just that we need to put you in charge of the whole goodreads business and set you up with a throne and lots and lots of cake (and maybe a scepter so that you can hit people on the heads when they refuse to update the site). i’ve been wanting all of these things for aaaaggggeeesss. goodreads is a great site but it could be so much better?
    like, do you know how long i’ve wished for half stars?? do you know how much EASIER it would make things?? i see so many other reviewers write out .5 on the end of their review ratings; i really can’t fathom that there would be those actually upset about the addition of half stars.
    i kind of wish goodreads would have more of a blog/tumblr layout, tbh. I think it’d be neat to have something that kind of took both those things, tossed instagram in the mix, and created an all-in-one site so that we all didn’t have to join so many social media sites that do different things.

    Reply

    • That is the absolutely BEST thing to take away from this post, Adaline. You’ve done well and perfectly. Also 10/10 am onboard with all your suggestions especially the scepter. I’d sort out Goodreads. I’D MAKE IT RIGHT.

      Maybe if we all keep yelling about half-stars Goodreads will listen!?? *starts preparing cupcake bribery for them*

      And yessss. It’d be nice if GR had like a better “blog” look for the reviews. Clearer and like more visually appealing!

      Reply

  36. GOODREADS HAS STATS?? :O How did I miss this??
    And YES, PLEASE, I NEED STICKERS! I love them on NaNo and would love the hell out of them on Goodreads, too. And I’d love bonus content. When I finished Crooked Kingdom I stalked Bardugo’s website for all the beautiful art for months, and I just realised that I seem to have lost that tab… I must fix this and continue the stalking when I get home.

    (Your blog is on my weekly catch up list and so far I’ve been rubbish at catching up, but I’ll do better, I promise. Cake and tea for everyone <3)

    Reply

    • The stickers for NaNo are like the #1 reason I finish writing books, let’s be real here.😂😂

      And ahhhh there’s SO MUCH gorgeous fan art out there. We need the best pieces to be like flung upon our eyeballs so we can sob and love them all the more.

      (Aww thank you! I’M HONOURED!! *gives you all the cake*

      Reply

  37. I didn’t know that I needed a ‘you might also not like’ list omg! AND HALF STARS AND FORMATING FOR REVIEWS OMG I NEED IT SO BAD YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!

    Reply

  38. I need half stars already, especially this year where for some unknown reason almost every book I pick up seems to be 3.5 stars! I would also love it if Goodreads did series recaps. Great post!

    Reply

  39. Omgosh, this is the perfect read and covers all of the things I would have said if I actually had the self-determination to do so. You are a gift to the world, Cait. *hands you cake and cookies* I honestly hope someone from Goodreads actually sees this and employs the changes you’ve talked about. ESPECIALLY the half stars and stickers (because WHY ARE THOSE NOT ALREADY A THING!!!). <3 I think the only thing I would add to these suggestions is that they should also make customizable interfaces based on your preferred genre or mood. Like, what if I want my profile page to reflect that my entire being is deeply consumed (like measured in subterranean miles) with the Night Court and the Feysand ship…. I want a dark colour with midnight blue and twinkly stars.
    Also, how about like having mood reactions to books – how did this overall make the reader feel? We're always told to "show not tell" as writers, so why not also as readers? Visual responses should be a thing. Stars don't tell me how much I've sobbed over the content.

    Reply

  40. I cannot for the life of me consistently find how to “update my progress” plus why are old lists the ones that come up first? I want new and now!

    Reply

  41. Cait, I’ve been waiting for you to do a post like this forever. Goodreads is so helpful but could also be so much better! Another thing I would add: integration with the Audible app. So Amazon and Goodreads have a partnership, which is why it’s pretty well integrated with Kindle, and Amazon owns Audible…but Audible and Goodreads have nothing to do with each other? I just want to be able to directly share my progress on Goodreads. It wouldn’t be hard to set up that functionality, right?

    I also hate that the page numbers don’t count if you mark your edition as the audiobook. I still want those pages to count in my stats, you know?

    Also…I have a confession. I hate stickers. Like, they make me gag. I know this is weird and I am sorry.
    I could maybe get on board with virtual stickers, though. But it would be better if we gave them another name…like badges?

    Reply

    • Aww, I’m so glad you liked it, Emily!😂 MY DAY IS VERY HAPPY NOW. THANK YOU. And I don’t even know why Goodreads doesn’t recognise audios yet?!? So bizarre…especially if they’re linked. (I didn’t know that till now!)

      And I didn’t know that about the page numbers not counting. GAHHHHH. I read a ton of ebooks so that’s annoying.

      I will forgive your sticker-hate, though, because I’m kind and calm. And also more stickers for me.

      Reply

      • Sometimes the audiobook will be listed with a few pages. I just read Shadow & Bone and the audiobook is listed as 9 pages? But then some won’t list any pages at all. IDK why. I just always keep it as the regular paperback edition and then categorize it as an audiobook on my shelves.

        Reply

  42. Remind me why you aren’t in charge of Goodreads again? Because most of these sound amazing. Most of all FRICKEN HALF STARS! I need them already. 😀 The only thing I don’t think would be helpful for me personally would be the “do not read” suggestion. Because when people tell me not to do something I do it. lol 😀

    Reply

  43. The changes I’d like to see on Goodreads (aside from half stars) have less to do with the site and more to do with the policies. I would like it if you couldn’t rate a book without reviewing it (with an actual review, so it’s obvious you’ve read the book). Or maybe you could rate the book, but if you haven’t reviewed it, then your rating won’t count toward the overall rating. (The whole drama with The Black Witch just makes me so mad. People jumped on the bandwagon and one-starred it without reading it, based on two reviews that took everything out of context. Even worse? Now that people are actually reading and reviewing it, most of those ratings are really good. So the Goodreads rating doesn’t match reality. It’s so unfair to the author!)

    Aside from that, I’d like to see troll spray. Don’t know how that would work, though. (The other day, some guy–who’s actually a Goodreads author–took offense to the way I was making status updates. He started out by calling me rude, then proceeded to attack everything from my writing ability to my citizenship. And this was on a book about… wait for it… bullying. *sigh*)

    Oh, oh! And a permanent lifetime ban on any fanpoodle who uses the phrase, “You’re just jealous because you’ll never write as well as *fill in the blank*!” when the reviewer puts forth a differing opinion. (Talk about projecting…)

    Reply

    • It can be so so unfair to the author with the reviews. I HATE it. But I guess there’s nothing that can be done there because of ARC reviewers and then being stuck if they can’t pre-review like they’re intended to. *sigh* But I see a lot of books getting the 1-star treatment…before they come out or anyone’s even had a chance to read. I just don’t get it?!? Be nice people??? It’s not that hard!

      Omg that’s horrible about the author. I’m sorry you had to go through that. Did you block him? What a disgusting creature to be like that gahhhh.

      Reply

  45. I also am a huge fan of Goodreads and literally check it obsessively ( like I have way too many books on my shelves and not enough time to read them) but I totally agree with Goodreads needing half stars. I mean some books are really like 4.5 stars for me and I feel like I’m cheating them by putting only 4 stars you know?

    Reply

  46. HALF STARS IS A MUST!! It’s possibly one of the biggest complaints about Goodreads from us bookworms! I like the idea of a sticker reward system and links to exclusive content, that would be super interesting 😅

    Reply

  47. Great discussion, Cait! Your ideas are so spot on. I especially like those about keeping track of stats, threaded replies, and most of all the formatting! Every time I put one of my reviews on Goodreads I’m frustrated that all formatting completely disappears and I have to struggle to make my review look halfway decent! For all book bloggers, thank you!

    Reply

  48. Honestly I agree with you. Especially on half-stars. Please. If nothing else give us a 3.5 and 4.5 star toggle. We need them. So much. Too much, in all honesty.

    Reply

  49. I so agree on that screwed up “You Might Also Like” algorithim…it’s never the same genre. NEVER. but despite the wacky recommendations, you definitely should read Trouble is a Friend of Mine. SO funny and very Sherlockian, with fairly good anxiety rep? (if I’m remembering correctly…idk tho). the author is a WOC which makes it even better! (seriously–I love this series too much. much sass.)

    Reply

  50. I love these suggestion!🙂 I hate that you add a new book whenever you want, but you can not change any of the deatails when a book is registred. I tend to read books which have very few ratings (when I do not read in english) and often some of the details are wrong or lacking (missing cover photo, wrong year of publishing, missing page count..). I wish you could at least send in a request to change something.

    Reply

  51. I love this, all these suggestions are spot on!! I especially think that we should have stickers – it would just make reading two hundred books a year all the more satisfying. And then you can aim for a certain sticker asdfgjkl; I like the way you think my friend. *nods*

    Reply

  52. I love goodreads, but I only use it to track the books i’ve read/want to read because I hate the algorithm so much. I would LOVE if they could somehow make it so you’re alerted when someone responds to your comment?? It’s annoying. Also, half stars would be great.
    I actually use goodreads a lot less now than I did before I made my blog just because I feel so much more comfortable in my own space. But I still love how easy it is to get book recs on Goodreads!
    Great post!

    Reply

    • Oh I get alerts for people answering my comments! But I also get alerted for the WHOLE DARN THREAD which can be overwhelming.😂

      I’m pretty much on Goodreads like 948 times a day.😂 Addicted? Why yes.

      Reply

  53. All these are good. IN PARTICULAR NUMBER EIGHT WHICH IS BASICALLY ESSENTIAL.

    As for number three, LibraryThing has SO MANY STATS. I was using it before Goodreads added the reread feature. It’s not as pretty BUT if you want to see the first sentence of a book, custom tag (as well as custom shelf), and make haikus about a book, they’ve got it. I really like it over there… it’s like an introverted version of Goodreads and I like that I can contribute data. And TinyCat… ANYWAYS. Shameless plug over.

    I would LOVE to see fan art on Goodreads!!!!!!!

    Reply

  54. I had thouGHT GOODREADS WAS FINE. BUt now I’m disSATISFIED.

    I WANT STATS ON MY READING. I LIKE STATS.

    Halfstars wouldn’t be bad either. (I usually have a note in the review itself that rates in on base 10, so I’m not too dissatisfied)

    ALSO YES I WANT BADGES AND STICKERS BECAUSE I AM BASICALLY A FIVE YEAR OLD. Do you realise how many stupid things I’ve done on various websites just to geT THE BADGES???

    Reply

    • I’M SORRY FOR RUINING YOUR LIFE, HANNE. THESE THINGS HAPPEN THOUGH. *pats your shoulder awkwardly* We have needs and we didn’t even know we had them until I started whingeing.

      Reply

  56. I love this post idea and yes to most – ok I admit all – suggestions. Especially more stats, stickers, emojis and recaps (who has the time to reread the first books of a series. Cait for mayor of Goodreads!

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  57. I totally agree about the half-stars! Sometimes, I’m in the middle, and it would be nice to give a book, like, 4.5 stars, if that’s how I feel about the book. And also more stats, because goodreads doesn’t track a lot of the things I like to know, and even though I could create a bunch of shelves, that’s annoying, because then I have to through a ton of shelves for a handful of books. And more stickers would be amazing!

    I actually wish that they’d list the time for audio books, because for whatever reason, it lists a page count. You’d think since Audible and Goodreads are owned by Amazon, the time would be listed. I guess the pages are for page count reasons? Maybe they just need to work on their stats more, and have separate stats for e-books/print books and audio books. And a better way to DNF books. At least I can create an exclusive shelf for that, but for whatever reason, it doesn’t keep track of when I started/DNF’d a book, and sometimes I want to know when I DNF’d a book. It’s a little clunkier than it needs to be.

    I really like your ideas! I think goodreads should definitely ask you for ideas. I always like your posts, and this is one of my favorites!

    Reply

    • I have to create soo many shelves for that exact reason too! Although I don’t mind all the shelves too much but JUST MORE STATS, GOODREADS, PLS. SAVE US.

      And yes! It should have something for the audiobooks by now too. 😱

      I also wish it woudn’t count DNF books as “read”…because I feel bad about that.😂

      (Aww thank you so much!! I’M SO PLEASED YOU LIKED THIS.)

      Reply

  58. HALF. STARS. Why isn’t this a thing? Like okay, mayyyybe it would be moderately difficult to institute a troll pep talk option, but half stars are easy. I could probably do it myself if they gave me access. (Then I’d totally get that pep talk thing started for you, too. But shh, don’t tell them.) I also think they should have an option for saying “hey, some jerk stole my review”, because I am pretty salty about it. Rashika, good soul that she is, reported it, but I don’t think they cared? OH and teh formatting thing would probably be easy, too. It’s just that they don’t care. Basically, we want them to care more about us, I think. Like, “Goodreads, why don’t you love us enough?” They’re hazardous to our self esteem, tbh.

    Reply

    • IT WOULD LIKE CHANGE LIVES AND SAVE PLANETS. (Shhh no I’m not prone to dramatics. That’s ridiculous.)

      And ugh yes…it should have some method of fixing plagiarism too. Some people are just the worst when it come to stealing. Just let me know if I need to don my armour and come avenge you.

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  59. WOW. Why am I not surprised you were very specific about this, Cait? But, really, we could all use those half-stars! Although I’m curious because I know you personally don’t use them? And stickers. YES PLEASE! And more stat info sure will be helpful. IMMENSELY helpful.

    Reply

    • Haha, it was a bit of a fun nonsense post to write.😂

      I only don’t use them on my blog because I can’t use them on Goodreads! I would use half-stars everywhere if it worked.😂

      Reply

  61. WHAT is WRONG with that guy trashing YA when he writes it and why are people such…..?!! Okay, I’m about to get into profanity territory, so I need to stop, but I BET YOU KNOW WHAT I’M THINKING.

    The main thing I really want is half stars. Not having half stars as an option practically gives me an existential crisis for some books. Sometimes, I just hover my mouse over the halfway area of a star wishfully, like if I do it enough, a half star option will magically appear. (Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.) But you’re absolutely right sometimes you just really need to give a book more than four stars but not QUITE five stars…and there’s no fair rating system. COME ON.

    Reply

    • I know right?! SOME PEOPLE ARE SO DUMB. It’s just even more ridiculous when he says he’s writing Ya…but also is calling it trash. *rolls eyes*

      I have so may crises over stars too. You are not alone. *cries with you*

      Reply

  62. Now, Cait, I’m a little worried. Because in our house, two toaster ovens (the normal one and the backup one) have died in the last month, and I’m concerned that you have murdered them. WE ONLY HAVE ONE LESFT THAT SOMEONE GAVE TO US AND ITS LIFEIS VALUABLE TO ME. That aside, most of these features are a great idea! I love the shelves, and the stats are fun and goodreads is pretty cool…though I mostly use it for reviews these days. Which is fine, but just a Thing. One great thing about the eragon books isthat they include summaries of the rest of the series at the beginning of all the sequels written by the author. IT is fabulous.

    Reply

    • IT WASN’T ME.

      *hides murdered toaster oven parts under bed*

      I WOULDN’T DO THAT. I’M A NICE PERSON.

      But ahem anyway. I’m glad you like my ideas.😂 And at least Eragon realised that no one wants to reread 800 page books all the time.😂

      Reply

  63. Great ideas!
    I’m not so bothered by half stars, but sorting out the ‘what else you might like’ algorithm would be sooo helpful. It’s suggestions for me are usually so wide of the mark that I always ignore it!

    Reply

  64. YESSS MORE STATS!!

    I love the stats they collect but would love to keep more (way too lazy for spreadsheets).

    And yes their recommendations need some help. I have started mentioning one or two ‘read-alikes’ in my reviews when one book strongly reminds me of another.

    Reply

  65. HAHAH this post is gold! I agree with everything! I really wish Goodreads does have half stars because then it would make my life so much easier. Now, I have to try to figure out rather to round up or down. 🙁 YES STICKERS is a great idea!! I would be so much more motivated to reach my goal, haha. Same here, most of the recommendations I end up not liking, sadly. That’s like the opposite of what it should be doing, but oh well. Sometimes, I do get good recommendations but that’s rare…

    Reply

  66. These improvements are so perfect???? YES TO HALF STARS PLEASE AND THANK YOU. Also stats are great, but I’m… like… WAY too lazy to keep track of any on my own. STEP IT UP GOODREADS. Also they should probably have popups telling me that even though I’m behind on my reading challenge, I’m not a failure 😂😂
    AND UGH YES WHY DO WE NOT HAVE THREADED REPLIES. Why can’t you tag someone in the comment so they see it even though they’re not following the comments?!?! And your last point is genius??? IT’S OFFICIAL. You need to join the goodreads development team as head director so you can boss them all around!

    Reply

    • I know right? Why should we work when Goodreads can do it for us. :’) They should just hire more gremlins to maintain everything. *nods seriously*

      Also nice like little email reminders would be nice. TEXT MESSAGES. Goodreads can be my texting buddy. “HEY YOU SLACKER, YOU’VE BEEN READING THE SAME BOOK FOR 92 DAYS GET ON TO THIS.”😂😂

      And it’s so annoying about the replies?!? It’s so hard to keep a track of who’s talking to who.

      Reply

  67. 😂😂 Your posts never cease to make me laugh. Thanks for that!

    Dragon ratios. Definitely needs to post that stat. I’m all over dragon books. The more dragons, the better.

    For real….some dude was dissing on YA books, then said he wrote them? Whhyyy?

    Recaps would be lovely. I always feel compelled to reread the entirety of a series when a new book comes out. That was….special…when Wheel of Time was still being written. Those aren’t exactly quick reads. And OMC, Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire too! Though I think I’ll be a cranky old woman by the time the puts out a new book.

    Reply

    • WELL I AM GLAD YOU ENJOYED THIS. *flails happily*

      And like we deserve to know about dragon ratios in our reading stats. All books should have at least, oh…17 dragons in them? That’s a good starting number anyway.

      Omg I can’t even begin to think about rereading GoT.😂 I DON’T HAVE THAT SORT OF SPARE TIME LYING AROUND.

      Reply

  68. STICKER REWARDS ARE LIFE.

    Seriously, though, I would LOVE it if Goodreads had stickers and half-stars!!!! I don’t really use GR all that often, but when I do, I always find myself wanting to use halfsies on the stars, and it JUST. WON’T. LET ME!!

    I also love the spreadsheet idea… Seriously, Goodreads needs to hire you and put you on their web-designing team….

    Reply

  69. Half-stars would be nice! I have SO many books I have rated 4 stars, but it would be nice to see which ones I liked a bit more, ya know?

    Countries books come from? Yes! Debuts or not? Oh, yeah! Published year of books? Yes, yes, yes, PLEASE. Hunger and dragons? Eh. Some people (not me *cough*) don’t really care for dragons 🙂

    Haven’t commented often enough to notice, but threaded conversations WOULD be nice.

    “HAS AN “YOU MIGHT ALSO NOT LIKE” FEATURE.” Oh. My. Goodness. Please, Goodreads! Please! I promise to behave, to be a good little girl, to… Oh, you don’t care? Okay. But please?

    teensliveforjesus.blogspot.com

    Reply

  70. I totally want the half star ratings.. I really miss that. More stats would be nice too. BUT STICKERS ARE BASICALY THE BEST THING IN LIFE. I NEED THIS.

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  71. THE AMOUNT OF LOVE I HAVE FOR THIS POST IS UNREAL. ❤ First of all, I NEED HALF STARS!!! I STRUGGLE with books that are more than 4 stars but not really 5 stars, and then you have to decide whether to round UP or round DOWN and then I’m all ready to have an existential crisis. PLEASE GOODREADS PLEEEEEEEASE.

    Also omg yes their recommendations SUCK. They’re not even related to each other and I’m just like ??? YES TO FORMATTING. You know I had that whole spoiler tag fiasco 🙈 and it would’ve been so much better if we didn’t have to do HTML because I’m always afraid it won’t work. (Or maybe having an edit feature on updates for books. Or a preview feature, like on reviews.) THERE ARE SOOOOOO MANY FORMATTING OPTIONS THAT COULD BE DONE and I just want them so baaaaaaad.

    OMG YES TO THE STATS AND STUFF!!! Goodreads sometimes has the wrong page number (off by just a few pages but still) and then I have to track it separately but then I forget and UGH. AND YES STICKERS!!! 😍 Stickers are SO FREAKING MOTIVATING and I would 100% do more if I got stickers as a reward. (Though maybe that’s bad because I procrastinate so much already on GR… 😂)

    (Btw I SEE ASH AND QUILL AND I NEED IT NOW. 😂)

    Reply

    • OH GOOD. I AM SO GLAD, MAY.😂😂 And obviously when I become Queen Of The World this will all come to pass. :’) My #1 priority.

      I have had SUCH problems with the html don’t worry.😂You’re not alone at all!! Most of the time I publish a review and have to edit it 398 times to fix all my html mistakes. Like whyyyyy must they do it like that?!

      (Goodreads is an excellent place to go to procrastinate tho. Let’s be real.😂)

      Reply

  72. Why do we still not have HALF STARS?? I’m too indecisive to give full stars to books! 😉 And I love your idea of recapping books in series, as it would be a great way of centralising all of the bookish info you’d need 🙂

    Reply

  73. Make ONE edition of each book. So if you read Six of Crows, for example, and you give it 5 stars, it’s 5 stars across ALL EDITIONS.

    YES to half stars. And I don’t think GoodReads should do the re-read feature – book publishers should. Would it really kill a publisher to put a couple pages at the beginning of books in a series recapping each previous book? INFURIATING.

    I also wish they would do something so that you can’t one-star a book that isn’t out for 10 years. I don’t necessarily think they should do what Amazon does – which is you can’t review until release, but something. Maybe you can only rate it, if you write a specific amount of words? IDK.

    Reply

    • HA. YES. That would be helpful and like not even that mind-blowing.😂 It’d just make SENSE.

      You mean the recap feature? Because pleeease don’t let Goodreads take away my rereads! I love them.😂

      It’s tough with the stars! I mean, ARC reviewers NEED to be able to rate, that’s like the point. But I’m super sick of seeing like the 1-stars for books that no one has possibly read yet. *rolls eyes* It’s damaging and just trollish.

      Reply

  75. I need so many of these suggestions to actually happen! Goodreads so desperately needs half stars already – I hate the struggle when a book is definitely better than 4 stars, but not worthy of 5 stars, especially because it would be so easily solved with half stars! Recaps on series would also save my life so much as I would not have to try desperately to remember what happened in the last book when I read it a year ago.

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  76. HALF STARS. HALF STARS FOR EVERYONE EVER. I need half stars PLEASE. Particularly in the case of books that are not five stars but aren’t only four stars. This has been at the core of many of my existential crises.
    Also the fracken html thing I am just so done with. I am completely prone to messing up the html. Like I forget ONE ARROW AND everything is bold AND italic. like no, that’s not what I wanted???
    Also, WHAT IF I WANTED TO USE THAT ARROW AS A BULLET POINT? Rude.
    Stickers are half the reason I complete anything. No shame.
    I don’t remember what my middle name is half the time. You can’t expect me to remember what a character’s name is, thanks. I LOVE recaps. I have considered making nice little recap graphics for myself and posting them but like you said, I could totally mess them up and be wrong. AKA that’s a lot of responsibility.

    Reply

    • SO SO many existential crises could be avoided if we had half stars.😭 I might not weep long into the night of all the books I’ve rated 4 when THEY DESERVED TO BE 4.5.

      And gah, like I always mess up the html. I keep writing “spoilers” instead of “spoiler” and therefore the tag doesn’t work and CITIES BURN.

      I would do a lot for stickers. I mean. You could probably motivate me to take over the world instead of procrastinating it, if I had like a sticker chart.

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  77. As someone who pretty much only uses goodreads to write reviews and keep tracks on what books I’ve read: these would be awesome! We’d be able to get so much more out of the site. And yes! The half stars!! Forcing me to rate 3.5 book a 3 or a 4 is downright cruel! Also I propose a group read feature other than those just in the groups to make them easier to join and have more people fangirling over the same thing together

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  78. Oh my god, I would KILL for easier coding on Goodreads. I’ve started writing my reviews on either WordPress or in an empty AO3 chapter thing so I can use all the coding shortcuts then just copy and pasting the HTML. But it calls for a super unnecessary step and it’s SO FRUSTRATING.

    And the recommendations thing is…super wild. Like, I review one fluffy contemporary and I suddenly start getting recommendations for what’s basically porn in NA book form. (although you should read The Immortal Rules. It’s very brutal and bloody and not at all Twilight-esque)

    And the guy who told you that YA is trash and he only reads classics and yet he’s writing YA? Like…what??? Is he one of those people who think that YA is a good gateway into be published because it’s somehow “easier” to write and that publishers will take anything if you slap YA on it? Because I had someone tell me that once.

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    • Ohh that is actually a really good idea though I LOVE IT.

      I think their recommendations algorithm is just totally broken. 😂 And like okay sure I’m reading book #2 of a series, but then it’s recommending me book 2s of series I haven’t started yet?! WHERE IS THE SENSE IN THAT, GOODREADS. (And I’m not opposed to reading The Immortal Rules tbh it’s just so random a rec from GR.😂)

      I KNOW RIGHT. It makes me so angry when people sneer at things and then “do it better”…like, excuse me while I roll my eyes. I can only imagine how awful his books must be if that’s his condescending stance to YA and teens. 😒😒

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  82. HALF STARS! We need them! They’d honestly make reviewing so much easier😂 It’s difficult to decide whether to round up or round down especially. Like if it’s 3.5 stars, do I go down to 3? Or go up to 4. But then it’s not a 4 star or a 3 star.. It’s in the middle. So what do I do?? And stickers & achievements would be awesome! The ‘books not to read’ would be brilliant too. It would save soo much time! Although, I’d be worried it would do what it does with recommended books, and just put random books on there?? I could miss out on so many good books this way😩

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    • THEY WOUDL CHANGE LIVES AND WORLDS. Why is Goodraeds denying us this.😂 I never know whether to round up or down either?!? I tend to round up but that feels like being too generous.😂 And 4.5 is NOT 5 stars so #help.

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  84. Oh GOD PLEASE LET US HAVE RECAPS OF PREVIOUS BOOKS IN SERIES. You have NO IDEA how many Goodreads reviews I have read HOPING I will get a decent overview of what happened in a previous book because I NEVER REMEMBER. NEVER. And then I am forced to go begging people on Twitter if they remember the plot of whatever book it is. IT IS A STRUGGLE. And HOW LONG have we asked for half stars?? And we STILL don’t have them! I am frustrated, to say the least. Also, the sticker system reminds me of the one we have at my local library’s summer reading program where I am volunteering. Hey, if the kids like it, then why not us? I love this post Cait. Like a lot. SO MUCH LOVE.

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    • I ABSOLUTELY DO THE SAME THING. Or I’ll be like “I know there was a plot twist but what the heck was it” and then search fruitlessly for spoiler reviews.😂😂

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  85. So basically if you worked for Goodreads the world would be 37% better. I NEED ALL OF THESE NEW FEATURES (especially becoming a master of the dark arts, because what else am I going to do when I’m old and alone with all my books? Do something productive? Probably not. Take up knitting? Maybe. Dabble in the Dark Arts? Definitely.

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  86. I’m still in a state of intense excitement about the fact that they added a reread feature, because I reread A LOT (too much).

    Also 1000% agreement about half stars! I think that would be my number one thing that I want out of Goodreads… because it would spare me the crisis of deciding if something is 2 stars (a.k.a. less than 50% a.k.a. has not achieved a passing grade) or 3 (which is not a fail). (It is possible that I’m a little institutionalised from all that time at school.) Some things are just 2.5 stars… which is super different from a 3 star, but not bad enough to be a 2 star, you know?

    Reply

    • I LOVE THE REREAD FEATURE SO SO MUCH!! I swear I’ve re-read like triple the amount of books this year because I can log them.😂

      aNd SO much agreement. Like 2.5 is hugely different from 2 and 3. We are lying to books and ourselves here. Fiiiiix it, Goodreads.

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  87. Fun suggestions (also excellent). Half stars–YES!!

    I wish there were specific warnings you could give–like animal cruelty or really extremely raunchy sex or overuse of hipster stuff like shit for stuff. That makes me want to scream..

    And fun things like “Jeremy Irons would be perfect in the movie version.” Or “Have Allison Janney do the audio..” I often blog about who I want in the movie version. (It’s usually Jeremy Irons…lol)

    It would be fun, too, for artists to be able to upload proposed cover designs! I love to see all the different covers.

    Link a bookstagram to your review would be fun.

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    • I’m glad you liked them, Lisa, THANK YOU.😂 And I like your suggestions too! Having an area where you could see like content warnings and trigger warnings seems super helpful too?! But like optional, in case you don’t want to see them *nods*

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  88. Cait, there are so many good ideas here. I would instantly hire you if I were Goodreads’ CEO. Or someone responsible for hiring. Also. the pop up warnings made me laugh. 😀 There is SUCH a huge difference between 3 and 3.5 stars and I think Goodreads’ reasons for continuously refusing to give us half stars are ridiculous. Buuuut I guess I still love them. Recaps and links to bonus material like extra chapters etc. would be fantastic! And definite yes to threaded replies!! Also, easier notification systems? I feel like I can either subscribe to new comments on a post and get every single comment after mine which is annoying AF and makes me mute them or just not subscribe which means I miss replies to my comments. It’s not ideal. Or maybe I’m just too stupid to use it, there is that option. And I feel like there should be some sort of reward for long books, because goddammit I read the first two books in the Kingkiller Chronicle this year AND DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THEY ARE CAIT? I could literally have read five books for that number of pages. I don’t feel like this is adequately represented in my reading challenge haha.

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    • I’M GLAD YOU WOULD HIRE ME, VLORA. YOU ARE KIND. I would hire me too, my brain is amazing. And like how DARE they deny us half stars!??? We are doing books a huge disservice here!!!

      And YES to the comments subscriptions…half the time I don’t WANT to comment because I get stuck in like a million notifications. 🙈 It’d be nice to have it work more like blog comments?

      I READ THE FIRST KINGKILLER BOOK TOO. SO LONG. SO MUCH LONG.

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  89. Visiting again! Catching up is hard work 😀

    Where and how do those buttheads talk to you on GR??? It’s terrible! I’ve been so lucky so far, I guess it’s cause I’m relatively small (I mean in blogging, although it’s safe to say I’m small in real life too :D) But that “YA writer” dude is both mean and plain hilarious. So he hates YA and writes YA? If I could be bothered right now, I would find a GIF for that phenomenon 😀 how does it even work?? I mean, most people hate their jobs, but this… 😀

    I used to know a book recap website. Do you know a good one? Cause I also need those dreadfully xD I mean. How is one supposed to remember books when they read 100+ a year? If I read 10, then I’d remember. But not 100 😀 yes, that would be a lovely feature on GR. But I’m glad they have rereads AAAAAAND emotes now! So at least they’re listening to us! Maybe it’s a matter of time (half stars please half stars please…)

    OR LIKE. What they could do wish half stars! Leave normal stars for the default user, yes? And then include a button for “enable half stars?” 99% wouldn’t bother! But for us? LIFE CHANGING.

    Oh my! Stats are my jam! Can you write a post about the stats you track??? I would so gobble it up. I would also like GR to track follower stats, cause now I have to keep an excel of EVERY SINGLE FRIEND AND FOLLOWER to know my audience regions, and that list involves me going through 500+ profiles every half a year to check if it’s still current. THAT IS HOW DEDICATED TO STATS I AM.

    Oh yeah! Stickers and badges! I love my NetGalley badges!!!

    But also, do you know what would be great? Or rather, what wouldn’t suck? If Goodreads LET ME CHANGE my profile NetGalley badges. Because last time I checked, it was saying “links in profiles are temporarily disabled”, meaning, I either keep my old boring bio with the old NG badges, or I replace it with JUST TEXT and no badges, because I can’t include an img tag. I am really annoyed at this :/ I should check – maybe they’ve removed it.

    Font sizes would be great! And threaded responses. And name tagging, for that matter. GR could learn those from Facebook, really. I miss tagging friends there.

    I think I would also love it if the editions weren’t so messed up. Like, if I want to choose a different cover for the edition I’m reading, it will mess it up and somehow make it that I’ve read the book twice?? Why does switching the edition never work for me? 😂

    Oh yeah, and I tagged you in that post we were talking about the other time! I hope you like it enough to do it xD but I though, hell, the biggest books you’ve read? You’d surely like that. I had fun with that meme.

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    • Haha don’t feel pressured to catch up!😂 It’s fine!! I appreciate your comments though. <3

      I KNOW THOUGH RIGHT?!? It's such elitism to be like "oh YA is dumb so I'll do it better"...I bet he writes horrible YA because he has no idea what teens want/are like. *rolls eyes* I just attract trolls for some reason too.😂I can't even.

      I like the recaptains.com but I haven't used them for AGES. I've taken up doing a lot of re-reading lately which I like but it's kind of inconvenient when there are sooo many books on the TBR. *hides*

      I WILL WRITE A STAT POST AT THE END OF THE YEAR! I did stats in my mid-year recap but I'll do like an overall conglomeration in December. I loooove stats. *heart eyes to stats*

      (Also tagging in comments would be helpful. Half the time it gets so confusing and I don't know who's talking to who. 😭)

      Reply

      • Tell me about about it! (I mean the rereads.) Thanks for the link though! I will definitely try it cause there are some series I will have to finish up.

        And I’m glad you like my comments 🙂

        Reply

  90. Do you remember good reads from 2-3 years ago?!?
    Haha they’ve made lots of changes which is good, but they’ve gotta do the half stars!!!

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  91. Not to jump on the bandwagon but I second EVERYTHING except for becoming a Master of the Dark Arts. My soul is not as dark and bloody as yours 😉

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  94. I agree with half stars. I don’t like rounding my reviews up or down. Also, I wouldn’t mind stickers, but reading’s the reward.

    While I’d like gifs to be easily added, I’d fear gif-heavy reviews. I don’t want Tumblr 2.0. Maybe they’d put a limit lock to prevent this.

    Great post. I love GR and I’d like to see it progress.

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    • But you can put gifs in already!😂 You just have to use the html and it’s a lot of bother I find haha. And DNFing is haaard. I feel bad for saying it’s “read” when it’s not! But what can we do. *sigh*

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  95. Cait, why have Goodreads not hired you already? These are totally sound suggestions and I think they should implement them. I would love half stars so much. And I love stats but I’m too lazy to figure it out myself so Goodreads should just do it all for me! I hate how comments aren’t threaded on there, do people even know I’ve replied? It’s ridiculous. Goodreads could be so much more awesome but it’ll just have to stay being useful, for now.

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  96. I absolutely agree with the half-stars and especially the recaps! More stats would be nice, too. Apparently LibraryThing has been doing stats for awhile….I don’t know how long. I’ve been using it for years and just discovered the stats this week! Goodreads should take a peek!

    Reply

      • Ha! Well, I use both. It was actually pretty easy to export my list form Goodreads and import into LibraryThing, but it’s been awhile so I don’t remember how I did it!

        Reply

  97. I totally agree with the half stars! I still rate books as being half stars but then I have to put them as full star ratings on goodreads, so inconvenient!
    Also the sticker thing is such a good idea! That would encourage me to do so much more on the site!

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  98. Great post, you made me laugh and it’s 5:30 in the morning:-) On a serious side, I would also say “improve the phone ap!” It’s pretty terrible. I mean it’s OK, but I struggle with several features. Aren’t aps supposed to make life easier?

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  99. Nods head vigorously. YES! I was so thankful when they added the reread section, but there is still so much to be desired on goodreads. ANDDD maybe they should get rid of the suggestions because they never help.

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  102. 2 – Where is this study?! I call balogne cakes!
    In vet med we use a Body Condition Score on a scale of 5, and you know why I resisted using it for like 8 years? BECAUSE IT DID NOT ALLOW FOR HALVES.
    But where I work now, it is free form records not a picky little box, and if I want to say 3.5/5 I TOTALLY CAN AND NOW I RATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY PATIENTS.
    And obviously if the allowance of halves makes ME rate more, that should apply to all people. I am clearly very representative of all of the people. Naturally.

    4 – I love stickers. Love. This is why I became obsessed with my fitbit. It has never occurred to me, however, that goodreads could have stickers… but now that it has, I am deeply dissatisfied with my stickerless goodreads experience.

    9 – you know what I have never understood? When I finish a book and goodreads is all “you finished book #1 in this series, what’s next?” and *none* of the recommendations are the next book in the series? Really? I just gave that book 4 stars… chances are I would like to next read book #2? Probably? I mean, I am no psychic buuuuut….

    I seriously can’t think of anything to add to your list. Mostly because I am not obsessed with the idea of stickers, and I feel like goodreads needs to just DROP EVERYTHING AND GIVE US STICKERS YESTERDAY.

    (but, as with any public internet area that allows commenting, I would like an upgrade on your troll warning pop up that is a pop up that actually keeps the trolls from posting at all. “This comment contains word suggesting it is trollish in nature. We reject it.” I get trolled a lot as a veterinarian who is willing to speak openly on social media about issues… and it is nothing compared to the stuff an acquaintance I know gets because she works for the womens council and speaks up for womens rights… Trolls actually rot me. Every now and then I have to unleash an epic rant at one… not because I think I will “win” or change their mind, but just because the rant makes me feel better 😉 )

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    • omg i didn’t proof read before hitting send because cat jumped on my lap and now i see a typo and my life is horrible.

      :'(

      (I am overly dramatic today. My child is sick.)

      (My child is a dog. FYI. skin children are gross.)

      Reply

    • I was about to say I am sad for your child, but I am ALSO sad for your dog because obviously dogs are the most precious things in this planet. Unless they eat your books?? But tbh skin children do too, so you can’t win.

      I’m sorry for helping you to see that out sticker-less life is a problem though. At least we can like be dissatisfied together????? CRY WITH ME, MAGGIE. WE NEED STICKERS.

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  103. HALF STARS!!!! I still don’t understand why they don’t have half stars 😒 I think the world would sing their praises if they were to get half stars. PLEASE MAKE HALF STARS A THING. That is my biggest complaint with them. SCREW THE STUDIES! No one likes fancy studies that are wrong anyway…

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  105. YES TO ALL OF THESE I NEED THEM. *WE* NEED THEM. GOODREADS GET ON IT PLEASE!

    P.S. Thank God I’m not the only blogger that doesn’t want to show their face on the Internet!!

    Reply

  107. I didn’t even know I wanted half of these until I read your post?? Like stickers?? I NEED THEM. I feel like stickers would definitely help when you’re in a reading slump. Also yes please to ‘you also won’t like’ recs because,, I don’t have the time to read all the reviews to see if maybe, MAYBE, it’s like some other books I disliked. Help us out here Goodreads
    Seriously tho we should all send this post to Goodreads so they can hire you and you can make all of this a reality

    Reply

  108. I WAS WAITING FOR A MENTION OF A BOOKISH TWIN FEATURE BUT 🤔🤔🤷🏻

    I completely agree with all of these though. Like seriously…the fact that Goodreads doesn’t have half stars annoys me so much. And I love the idea of threaded replies and more formatting options. Recapping series would be nice too, as long as there’s a way to keep it spoiler-free. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous post! <3

    Reply

    • So I did this sort of post a year ago or so and I DID mention the bookish twin feature there.😂I was trying to shake things up haha. And like can goodreads please just hurry up and give us half stars AT LEAST?!? The rest are negotiable. But…half stars…

      Although I think series recaps would NEED spoilers or else they’d be pointless?!?

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  109. Fantastic post! And I’m 100 % with you on the sticker option!! I neeeeeeed stickers to keep me happy. And I wouldn’t say no to the Dragon Ratio stats either ;)) Thank you for this fun and entertaining and 100% accurate post 🙂

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  110. Unfollow certain things without unfriending someone. Reading progress percentages clog up the timeline, so there’s no point to the social media part

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