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{{Short description|Social book cataloging website owned by Amazon}}
{{Short description|Social book cataloging website owned by Amazon}}
{{Primary sources|date=January 2022}}
{{Primary sources|date=January 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox website
{{Infobox website
| name = Goodreads
| name = Goodreads
| logo = [[File:Goodreads logo.svg|150px]]
| logo = [[File:Goodreads logo.svg|150px]]
| caption = Goodreads homepage
| caption = Goodreads homepage
| url = {{URL|https://goodreads.com/}}
| url = {{official URL}}
| commercial = Yes
| commercial = Yes
| type = [[Book]]
| type = Book
| registration = Optional
| registration = Optional
| language = [[English language|English]]
| company_type = [[Subsidiary]]
| language = English
| owner = [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]]
| owner = [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]]
| founder = Otis Chandler<br>Elizabeth Khuri
| founder = {{ubl|Otis Chandler|Elizabeth Khuri}}
| founded = {{Start date and age|2006|12|df=yes/no}}
| founded = {{Start date and age|2006|12}}
| current_status = Active
| current_status = Active
}}
}}
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'''Goodreads''' is an American [[Social cataloging application|social cataloging]] website and a subsidiary of [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kaufman|first=Leslie|date=March 28, 2013|title=Amazon to Buy Social Site Dedicated to Sharing Books|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/business/media/amazon-to-buy-goodreads.html|access-date=June 16, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists. They can also create their own groups of book suggestions, surveys, polls, blogs, and discussions. The website's offices are located in [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_22954537/book-lovers-seething-over-amazon-acquisition-goodreads | newspaper = Inside Bay area | title = Book lovers seething over Amazon acquisition of Goodreads| date = April 4, 2013 }}.</ref>
'''Goodreads''' is an American [[Social cataloging application|social cataloging]] website and a subsidiary of [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]]<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kaufman|first=Leslie|date=March 28, 2013|title=Amazon to Buy Social Site Dedicated to Sharing Books|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/business/media/amazon-to-buy-goodreads.html|access-date=June 16, 2019|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists. They can also create their own groups of book suggestions, surveys, polls, blogs, and discussions. The website's offices are located in [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_22954537/book-lovers-seething-over-amazon-acquisition-goodreads | newspaper = Inside Bay area | title = Book lovers seething over Amazon acquisition of Goodreads| date = April 4, 2013 }}.</ref>


Goodreads was founded in December 2006 and launched in January 2007 by Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Khuri Chandler.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lithub.com/elizabeth-khuri-chandler-tells-the-origin-story-of-goodreads/|title=Elizabeth Khuri Chandler Tells the Origin Story of Goodreads|date=December 3, 2018|website=Literary Hub|language=en-US|access-date=April 18, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Miller 2011">{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Claire Cain|title=Need Advice on What to Read? Ask the Internet| date =March 10, 2011 | url= http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/need-advice-on-what-to-read-ask-the-internet/|work=[[The New York Times]] Bits| access-date=November 29, 2012}}</ref> In December 2007, the site had 650,000 members<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.techcoastreview.com/2007/12/good-reads-book-nerds-social-networking.html |publisher=TechCoastReview |title=Good reads: book nerds social networking |access-date=September 17, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219212812/http://www.techcoastreview.com/2007/12/good-reads-book-nerds-social-networking.html |archive-date=December 19, 2007 }}.</ref> and 10,000,000 books had been added.<ref name = TCAngel>{{cite web|title = Goodreads Raises Angel Round To Help You Find That Perfect Book|date = 17 December 2007 |url = https://techcrunch.com/2007/12/17/goodreads-raises-angel-round-to-help-you-find-that-perfect-book/#comment-1853293 |publisher= Tech Crunch |access-date= October 22, 2012}}</ref> By July 2012, the site reported 10 million members, 20 million monthly visits, and thirty employees.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Ellen |title=Goodreads' Otis Chandler reviews growth |url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Goodreads-Otis-Chandler-reviews-growth-3725030.php |work=SF Gate|access-date=October 22, 2012 |date=July 21, 2012}}</ref> On March 28, 2013, Amazon announced its acquisition of Goodreads,<ref>{{cite web | last= Olanoff | first = Drew | title = Amazon Acquires Social Reading Site Goodreads, Which Gives The Company A Social Advantage Over Apple | url = https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/28/amazon-acquires-social-reading-site-goodreads/ | publisher = SF Gate| access-date=October 22, 2012}}</ref> and by July 23, 2013, Goodreads announced their user base had grown to 20 million members.<ref>{{cite web|author=Chandler, Otis |url=https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/425-goodreads-grows-to-20-million-readers |title=Goodreads Grows to 20 Million Readers|date= July 23, 2013|publisher=Goodreads}}</ref>
Goodreads was founded in December 2006 and launched in January 2007 by Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Khuri Chandler.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lithub.com/elizabeth-khuri-chandler-tells-the-origin-story-of-goodreads/|title=Elizabeth Khuri Chandler Tells the Origin Story of Goodreads|date=December 3, 2018|website=Literary Hub|language=en-US|access-date=April 18, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Miller 2011">{{cite news|last=Miller|first=Claire Cain|title=Need Advice on What to Read? Ask the Internet| date =March 10, 2011 | url= http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/need-advice-on-what-to-read-ask-the-internet/|work=[[The New York Times]] Bits| access-date=November 29, 2012}}</ref> In December 2007, the site had 650,000 members<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.techcoastreview.com/2007/12/good-reads-book-nerds-social-networking.html |publisher=TechCoastReview |title=Good reads: book nerds social networking |access-date=September 17, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219212812/http://www.techcoastreview.com/2007/12/good-reads-book-nerds-social-networking.html |archive-date=December 19, 2007 }}.</ref> and 10,000,000 books had been added.<ref name = TCAngel>{{cite web|title = Goodreads Raises Angel Round To Help You Find That Perfect Book|date = December 17, 2007 |url = https://techcrunch.com/2007/12/17/goodreads-raises-angel-round-to-help-you-find-that-perfect-book/#comment-1853293 |publisher= Tech Crunch |access-date= October 22, 2012}}</ref> By July 2012, the site reported 10 million members, 20 million monthly visits, and thirty employees.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Ellen |title=Goodreads' Otis Chandler reviews growth |url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Goodreads-Otis-Chandler-reviews-growth-3725030.php |work=SF Gate|access-date=October 22, 2012 |date=July 21, 2012}}</ref> On March 28, 2013, Amazon announced its acquisition of Goodreads,<ref>{{cite web | last= Olanoff | first = Drew | title = Amazon Acquires Social Reading Site Goodreads, Which Gives The Company A Social Advantage Over Apple | url = https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/28/amazon-acquires-social-reading-site-goodreads/ | publisher = SF Gate| access-date=October 22, 2012}}</ref> and by July 23, 2013, Goodreads announced their user base had grown to 20 million members.<ref>{{cite web|author=Chandler, Otis |url=https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/425-goodreads-grows-to-20-million-readers |title=Goodreads Grows to 20 Million Readers|date= July 23, 2013|publisher=Goodreads}}</ref>


By July 2019, the site had 90 million members.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Goodreads: number of registered members 2019|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/252986/number-of-registered-members-on-goodreadscom/|access-date=2020-12-01|website=Statista|language=en}}</ref>
By September 2023, the site had more than 150 million members.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to Reach More Readers on Goodreads {{!}} News for Authors |url=https://authornews.penguinrandomhouse.com/how-to-reach-more-readers-on-goodreads/ |access-date=May 26, 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref>


== History ==
==History==
⚫
===Founders===

⚫
=== Founders ===
[[File:Otis Chandler.jpg|thumb|Otis Chandler]]
[[File:Otis Chandler.jpg|thumb|Otis Chandler]]


Goodreads founders Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Khuri Chandler first met while studying at Stanford (Engineering and English respectively). After university Chandler initially worked as a programmer in on-line businesses,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stanfordmag.org/contents/book-buddies|title=Book Buddies|first=STANFORD|last=magazine|website=stanfordmag.org|date=January 2012 }}</ref> including dating sites,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mixergy.com/interviews/goodreads-otis-chandler/|title=How A Quiet Developer Built Goodreads.com Into Book Community Of 2.6+ Million Members - with Otis Chandler}}</ref> and Khuri Chandler as a journalist.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.usc.edu/trojan-family/a-well-read-trojan-goodreads-co-founder-builds-a-literary-community/|title=Goodreads Co-Founder Builds a Literary Community|first=Tim|last=Greiving|website=USC News}}</ref> Chandler and Khuri both grew up in California. Chandler is a descendant of the publisher of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]];'' [[Otis Chandler]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Goodreads: Otis and Elizabeth Chandler |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/02/04/1078415544/goodreads-otis-and-elizabeth-chandler |access-date=2022-12-16}}</ref>
Goodreads founders Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Khuri Chandler first met while studying at Stanford (Engineering and English respectively). After university Chandler initially worked as a programmer in on-line businesses,<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2012 |title=Book Buddies |url=https://stanfordmag.org/contents/book-buddies |website=stanfordmag.org}}</ref> including dating sites,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mixergy.com/interviews/goodreads-otis-chandler/|title=How A Quiet Developer Built Goodreads.com Into Book Community Of 2.6+ Million Members - with Otis Chandler}}</ref> and Khuri Chandler as a journalist.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.usc.edu/trojan-family/a-well-read-trojan-goodreads-co-founder-builds-a-literary-community/|title=Goodreads Co-Founder Builds a Literary Community|first=Tim|last=Greiving|website=USC News|date=March 2016 }}</ref> Chandler and Khuri both grew up in California. Chandler is a descendant of the publisher of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]],'' [[Otis Chandler]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Goodreads: Otis and Elizabeth Chandler |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/02/04/1078415544/goodreads-otis-and-elizabeth-chandler |access-date=December 16, 2022}}</ref>


===Foundation and mission===
===Foundation and mission===
Goodreads was founded in 2006. The idea came about when Otis Chandler was browsing through his friend's bookshelf. He wanted to integrate this scanning experience and to create a space where people could write reviews regarding the books that they read.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Goodreads|url=https://www.goodreads.com/about/us|access-date=2020-12-01|publisher=Goodreads}}</ref>
Goodreads was founded in 2006. The idea came about when Otis Chandler was browsing through his friend's bookshelf. He wanted to integrate this scanning experience and to create a space where people could write reviews regarding the books that they read.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About Goodreads|url=https://www.goodreads.com/about/us|access-date=December 1, 2020|publisher=Goodreads}}</ref>


Goodreads addressed what publishers call the "[[discoverability]] problem" by guiding consumers in the digital age to find books they might want to read.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/books/goodreadscom-is-growing-as-a-popular-book-site.html|title=Goodreads.com Is Growing as a Popular Book Site|last=Kaufman|first=Leslie|date=February 12, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref>
Goodreads addressed what publishers call the "[[discoverability]] problem" by guiding consumers in the digital age to find books they might want to read.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/books/goodreadscom-is-growing-as-a-popular-book-site.html|title=Goodreads.com Is Growing as a Popular Book Site|last=Kaufman|first=Leslie|date=February 12, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref>


===Early years===
===Early years===
Before gaining much traction, Otis and Elizabeth Chandler grew the platform through their friends of friends where it reached 800 users. Eventually, it gained attention through the media such as [[Mashable]] and other various blogs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Narula |first=Svati Kirsten |date=2014-02-12 |title=Millions of People Reading Alone, Together: The Rise of Goodreads |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/02/millions-of-people-reading-alone-together-the-rise-of-goodreads/283662/ |access-date=2023-01-08 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> During its first year of business, the company was run without any formal funding. In December 2007, the site received funding estimated at $750,000 from [[angel investors]].<ref name="TCAngel" /> This funding lasted Goodreads until 2009, when Goodreads received two million dollars from True Ventures.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kellogg|first=Carolyn | title =What Goodreads will do with its new millions|url= http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/12/goodreads-venture-capital-millions.html |access-date= August 6, 2012| newspaper= Los Angeles Times|date= December 14, 2009}}</ref>
Before gaining much traction, Otis and Elizabeth Chandler grew the platform through their friends of friends where it reached 800 users. Eventually, it gained attention through the media such as [[Mashable]] and other various blogs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Narula |first=Svati Kirsten |date=February 12, 2014 |title=Millions of People Reading Alone, Together: The Rise of Goodreads |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/02/millions-of-people-reading-alone-together-the-rise-of-goodreads/283662/ |access-date=January 8, 2023 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> During its first year of business, the company was run without any formal funding. In December 2007, the site received funding estimated at $750,000 from [[angel investors]].<ref name="TCAngel" /> This funding lasted Goodreads until 2009, when Goodreads received two million dollars from True Ventures.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kellogg|first=Carolyn | title =What Goodreads will do with its new millions|url= http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/12/goodreads-venture-capital-millions.html |access-date= August 6, 2012| newspaper= Los Angeles Times|date= December 14, 2009}}</ref>


In October 2010, the company opened its [[application programming interface]], which enabled developers to access its ratings and titles.<ref>{{cite web|work=Read write Web|date=October 2010|url=http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2010/10/goodreads-launches-social-read.php|title=Goodreads Launches Social Reading API|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126035249/http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2010/10/goodreads-launches-social-read.php|archive-date=November 26, 2010}}</ref>
In October 2010, the company opened its [[application programming interface]], which enabled developers to access its ratings and titles.<ref>{{cite web|work=Read write Web|date=October 2010|url=http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2010/10/goodreads-launches-social-read.php|title=Goodreads Launches Social Reading API|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126035249/http://www.readwriteweb.com/hack/2010/10/goodreads-launches-social-read.php|archive-date=November 26, 2010}}</ref>
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===2013 acquisition by Amazon===
===2013 acquisition by Amazon===
In March 2013, Amazon made an agreement to acquire Goodreads in the second quarter of 2013 for an undisclosed sum.<ref>{{Cite press release | url = http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1801563&highlight= | title = Amazon.com to Acquire Goodreads | publisher = Corporate IR | access-date = March 28, 2013 | archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20141004075809/http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1801563&highlight= | archive-date = October 4, 2014 | url-status = dead }}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/413-exciting-news-about-goodreads-we-re-joining-the-amazon-family | title = Goodreads | contribution = Exciting News About Goodreads: We're Joining the Amazon Family!}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/business/media/amazon-to-buy-goodreads.html?_r=0 |title= Amazon to Buy Social Site Dedicated to Sharing Books |work= [[The New York Times]] | first = Leslie | last = Kaufman | date = March 28, 2013 |access-date=March 29, 2013}}</ref> Amazon had previously purchased the competitor [[Shelfari]] in 2008,<ref name="BB">{{cite news|last=Kaufman |first=Leslie |date=March 29, 2013 |title=Amazon to Buy Social Site Dedicated to Sharing Books |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/business/media/amazon-to-buy-goodreads.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=August 26, 2019 }}</ref> with the Goodreads purchase "stunning" the book industry. The [[Authors Guild]] called it a "truly devastating act of vertical integration" and that Amazon's "control of online bookselling approaches the insurmountable." There were mixed reactions from Goodreads users, at the time totaling 16 million members.<ref name="BC">{{cite news|last=Flood |first=Allison |date=April 2, 2013 |title=Amazon purchase of Goodreads stuns book industry |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/apr/02/amazon-purchase-goodreads-stuns-book-industry |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=August 26, 2019 }}</ref> Goodreads founder Otis Chandler said that "his management team would remain in place to guard the reviewing process" with the acquisition. Chandler continued running Goodreads until 2019. ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted that Goodreads at the time had a more reputable reviewing system than Amazon's.<ref name="CD">{{cite news|last=Kaufman |first=Leslie |date=February 13, 2013 |title=Amazon to Buy Social Site Dedicated to Sharing Books |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/books/goodreadscom-is-growing-as-a-popular-book-site.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=August 26, 2019 }}</ref>
In March 2013, Amazon made an agreement to acquire Goodreads in the second quarter of 2013 for an undisclosed sum.<ref>{{Cite press release | url = http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1801563&highlight= | title = Amazon.com to Acquire Goodreads | publisher = Corporate IR | access-date = March 28, 2013 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130413171310/http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1801563&highlight= | archive-date = April 13, 2013 | url-status = dead }}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/413-exciting-news-about-goodreads-we-re-joining-the-amazon-family | title = Goodreads | contribution = Exciting News About Goodreads: We're Joining the Amazon Family!}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/business/media/amazon-to-buy-goodreads.html?_r=0 |title= Amazon to Buy Social Site Dedicated to Sharing Books |work= [[The New York Times]] | first = Leslie | last = Kaufman | date = March 28, 2013 |access-date=March 29, 2013}}</ref> Amazon had previously purchased the competitor [[Shelfari]] in 2008,<ref name="BB">{{cite news|last=Kaufman |first=Leslie |date=March 29, 2013 |title=Amazon to Buy Social Site Dedicated to Sharing Books |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/business/media/amazon-to-buy-goodreads.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=August 26, 2019 }}</ref> with the Goodreads purchase "stunning" the book industry. The [[Authors Guild]] called it a "truly devastating act of vertical integration" and that Amazon's "control of online bookselling approaches the insurmountable." There were mixed reactions from Goodreads users, at the time totaling 16 million members.<ref name="BC">{{cite news|last=Flood |first=Allison |date=April 2, 2013 |title=Amazon purchase of Goodreads stuns book industry |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/apr/02/amazon-purchase-goodreads-stuns-book-industry |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=August 26, 2019 }}</ref> Goodreads founder Otis Chandler said that "his management team would remain in place to guard the reviewing process" with the acquisition. Chandler continued running Goodreads until 2019. ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted that Goodreads, at the time of the acquisition, had a more reputable reviewing system than Amazon's.<ref name="CD">{{cite news|last=Kaufman |first=Leslie |date=February 13, 2013 |title=Amazon to Buy Social Site Dedicated to Sharing Books |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/books/goodreadscom-is-growing-as-a-popular-book-site.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=August 26, 2019 }}</ref>


Noting that some authors had been "too aggressive in their self-promotion" (as Goodreads admitted in an email) and that some readers had responded with aggression,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Petri |first=Alexandra|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2013/09/23/is-good-reads-new-policy-really-censorship/|title=Is Goodreads' new policy really censorship?|date=September 23, 2013|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=April 19, 2020}}</ref> in September 2013, Goodreads announced it would delete, without warning, reviews that threatened authors or mentioned authors' behavior.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://the-digital-reader.com/2013/09/20/goodreads-announces-new-content-policy-now-deletes-reviews-mention-author-behavior/|title=Goodreads Announces New Content Policy – Now Deletes Reviews Which Mention Author Behavior|work=The Digital Reader|date=21 September 2013}}</ref> As of April 2020, the site's guidelines still state that "reviews that are predominantly about an author's behavior and not about the book will be deleted."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/review/guidelines|title=Review Guidelines|publisher=Goodreads |access-date=April 19, 2020}}</ref>
Noting that some authors had been "too aggressive in their self-promotion" (as Goodreads admitted in an email) and that some readers had responded with aggression,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Petri |first=Alexandra|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2013/09/23/is-good-reads-new-policy-really-censorship/|title=Is Goodreads' new policy really censorship?|date=September 23, 2013|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=April 19, 2020}}</ref> in September 2013, Goodreads announced it would delete, without warning, reviews that threatened authors or mentioned authors' behavior.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://the-digital-reader.com/2013/09/20/goodreads-announces-new-content-policy-now-deletes-reviews-mention-author-behavior/|title=Goodreads Announces New Content Policy – Now Deletes Reviews Which Mention Author Behavior|work=The Digital Reader|date=September 21, 2013}}</ref> As of April 2020, the site's guidelines still state that "reviews that are predominantly about an author's behavior and not about the book will be deleted."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/review/guidelines|title=Review Guidelines|publisher=Goodreads |access-date=April 19, 2020}}</ref>


===2014–2019===
===2014–2019===
In January 2016, Amazon announced that it would shut down Shelfari in favor of Goodreads, effective March 16, 2016. Users were offered the ability to export data and migrate accounts.<ref name=AmazonKillsShelfari>{{cite web|website=The Reader's Room|title=Amazon Kills Shelfari |url=http://thereadersroom.org/2016/01/12/amazon-kills-shelfari/ |date= January 12, 2016 }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2017}} In April 2016, Goodreads announced that over 50 million user reviews had been posted to the website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/04/07/goodreads-reaches-new-milestone-fifty-million-reviews/ |title=Goodreads Reaches New Milestone: Fifty Million Reviews|work=The Digital Reader|date=7 April 2016}}</ref>
In January 2016, Amazon announced that it would shut down Shelfari in favor of Goodreads, effective March 16, 2016. Users were offered the ability to export data and migrate accounts.<ref name=AmazonKillsShelfari>{{cite web|website=The Reader's Room|title=Amazon Kills Shelfari |url=http://thereadersroom.org/2016/01/12/amazon-kills-shelfari/ |date= January 12, 2016 }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2017}} In April 2016, Goodreads announced that over 50 million user reviews had been posted to the website.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://the-digital-reader.com/2016/04/07/goodreads-reaches-new-milestone-fifty-million-reviews/ |title=Goodreads Reaches New Milestone: Fifty Million Reviews|work=The Digital Reader|date=April 7, 2016}}</ref>


== Features ==
==Features==
=== Book discovery ===
===Book discovery===
On the Goodreads website, users can add books to their personal bookshelves, rate and review books, see what their friends and authors are reading, participate in discussion boards and groups on a variety of topics, and get suggestions for future reading choices based on their reviews of previously read books.<ref>{{cite web | title= Goodreads| url= https://www.goodreads.com/ | access-date =November 29, 2012}}</ref> Once users have added friends to their profile, they will see their friends' shelves and reviews and can comment on friends' pages. Goodreads features a rating system of one to five stars, with the option of accompanying the rating with a written review. The site provides default bookshelves—read, currently-reading, to-read—and the opportunity to create customized shelves to categorize a user's books.<ref>{{cite web | title = Groups| url = https://www.goodreads.com/group |work=Goodreads | access-date=November 15, 2011}}</ref>
On the Goodreads website, users can add books to their personal bookshelves, rate and review books, see what their friends and authors are reading, participate in discussion boards and groups on a variety of topics, and get suggestions for future reading choices based on their reviews of previously read books.<ref>{{cite web | title= Goodreads| url= https://www.goodreads.com/ | access-date =November 29, 2012}}</ref> Once users have added friends to their profile, they will see their friends' shelves and reviews and can comment on friends' pages. Goodreads features a rating system of one to five stars, with the option of accompanying the rating with a written review. The site provides default bookshelves—read, currently-reading, to-read—and the opportunity to create customized shelves to categorize a user's books.<ref>{{cite web | title = Groups| url = https://www.goodreads.com/group |work=Goodreads | access-date=November 15, 2011}}</ref>


=== Content access ===
===Reading challenges===
A popular phenomenon on the site is the so-called reading challenge, where users commit to reading a certain number of books per year and track their progress through the platform. Recent research in literacy studies shows that such challenges encourage participants to read more in their free time.<ref>{{cite web | title= Embarking on the online reading challenge: adolescents' participation motives, gains and impacts on reading routines| url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382824549 | work = Literacy | last=Dera | first=Jeroen | date = 2024 | access-date=August 12, 2024}}</ref>
⚫
Goodreads users can read or listen to a preview of a book on the website using Kindle Cloud Reader and Audible.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2015/05/media/audio/audiobook-samples-added-to-goodreads/|title=Audiobook Samples Added to Goodreads|last=Klose|first=Stephanie|date=May 7, 2015|newspaper=Library Journal Reviews|access-date=October 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012075913/http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2015/05/media/audio/audiobook-samples-added-to-goodreads/|archive-date=October 12, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Goodreads also offers quizzes and trivia, quotations, book lists, and free giveaways. Members can receive the regular newsletter featuring new books, suggestions, author interviews, and poetry. If a user has written a work, the work can be linked on the author's profile page, which also includes an author's blog.<ref>{{cite web|last= Strickland|first= Jonathan|title= How Goodreads Works | url = http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/social-networking/networks/goodreads.htm | work =How Stuff Works |access-date=November 29, 2012|date= July 14, 2009}}</ref> Goodreads organizes offline opportunities as well, such as in-person book exchanges and "literary pub crawls".<ref>{{cite news|last=Kellogg|first=Carolyn|title=Goodreads reaches 10 million users|url = http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/14/news/la-jc-goodreads-reaches-10-million-users-20120813 |work=Los Angeles Times| access-date=November 29, 2012|date=August 14, 2012}}</ref>


=== User interaction ===
===Content access===
⚫
Goodreads users can read or listen to a preview of a book on the website using Kindle Cloud Reader and Audible.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2015/05/media/audio/audiobook-samples-added-to-goodreads/|title=Audiobook Samples Added to Goodreads|last=Klose|first=Stephanie|date=May 7, 2015|newspaper=Library Journal Reviews|access-date=October 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012075913/http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2015/05/media/audio/audiobook-samples-added-to-goodreads/|archive-date=October 12, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Goodreads also offers quizzes and trivia, quotations, book lists, and free giveaways. Members can receive the regular newsletter featuring new books, suggestions, author interviews, and poetry. If a user has written a work, the work can be linked on the author's profile page, which also includes an author's blog.<ref>{{cite web|last= Strickland|first= Jonathan|title= How Goodreads Works | url = http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/social-networking/networks/goodreads.htm | work =How Stuff Works |access-date=November 29, 2012|date= July 14, 2009}}</ref> Goodreads organizes offline opportunities as well, such as in-person book exchanges and "literary pub crawls".<ref>{{cite news|last=Kellogg|first=Carolyn|title=Goodreads reaches 10 million users|url = https://www.latimes.com/books/la-xpm-2012-aug-14-la-jc-goodreads-reaches-10-million-users-20120813-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times| access-date=November 29, 2012|date=August 14, 2012}}</ref>

===End-of-year reading review===
Goodreads offers a "My Year in Books" report in which a user can review their reading history from the prior year. The Goodreads tradition, created by Fionnuala Lirsdottir in 2014, encourages users to reflect on their past reading, by offering statistic of the number of pages read; the number of books read; the user's average book length and their average ratings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Goodreads Year in Review Series by Various |url=https://www.goodreads.com/series/194938-goodreads-year-in-review |access-date=August 22, 2024 |website=goodreads.com}}</ref>

===User interaction===
The website facilitates reader interactions with authors through the interviews, giveaways, authors' blogs, and profile information. There is also a special section for authors with suggestions for promoting their works on Goodreads.com, aimed at helping them reach their target audience.<ref>{{cite web| title = Author Program | url= https://www.goodreads.com/author/program| work= Goodreads |access-date=November 29, 2012}}</ref> By 2011, "seventeen thousand authors, including [[James Patterson]] and [[Margaret Atwood]]" used Goodreads to advertise.<ref name="Miller 2011" />
The website facilitates reader interactions with authors through the interviews, giveaways, authors' blogs, and profile information. There is also a special section for authors with suggestions for promoting their works on Goodreads.com, aimed at helping them reach their target audience.<ref>{{cite web| title = Author Program | url= https://www.goodreads.com/author/program| work= Goodreads |access-date=November 29, 2012}}</ref> By 2011, "seventeen thousand authors, including [[James Patterson]] and [[Margaret Atwood]]" used Goodreads to advertise.<ref name="Miller 2011" />


Users can add each other as "Friends", enabling them to share reviews, posts, book recommendations, and messages.
Users can add each other as "friends", enabling them to share reviews, posts, book recommendations, and messages.


Goodreads has a presence on [[Facebook]], [[Pinterest]], [[Twitter]], and other social networking sites.<ref name="techcrunch1">{{cite web|last= Ha | first = Anthony|title= Reading Is Alive And Well At Social Reading Site Goodreads, Which Just Hit 10M Members|url= https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/13/goodreads-10-million-members/ |work= Tech Crunch| date = 13 August 2012| publisher= AOL Tech| access-date= November 29, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title= Goodreads | url = https://twitter.com/goodreads | work = Twitter | access-date=December 20, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Goodreads |url= http://pinterest.com/goodreads/ | work = Pinterest | access-date =December 20, 2012}}</ref> Linking a Goodreads account with a social networking account like Facebook enables the ability to import contacts from the social networking account to Goodreads, expanding one's Goodreads "Friends" list. There are settings available, as well, to allow Goodreads to post straight to a social networking account, which informs, e.g., Facebook friends, what one is reading or how one rated a book.<ref>{{cite web|title=Goodreads|url=http://www.goodreads.com/|website=Goodreads|access-date=June 15, 2014}}</ref>
Goodreads has a presence on [[Facebook]], [[Pinterest]], [[Twitter]], and other social networking sites.<ref name="techcrunch1">{{cite web|last= Ha | first = Anthony|title= Reading Is Alive And Well At Social Reading Site Goodreads, Which Just Hit 10M Members|url= https://techcrunch.com/2012/08/13/goodreads-10-million-members/ |work= Tech Crunch| date = August 13, 2012| publisher= AOL Tech| access-date= November 29, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title= Goodreads | url = https://twitter.com/goodreads | work = Twitter | access-date=December 20, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Goodreads |url= http://pinterest.com/goodreads/ | work = Pinterest | access-date =December 20, 2012}}</ref> Linking a Goodreads account with a social networking account like Facebook enables the ability to import contacts from the social networking account to Goodreads, expanding one's Goodreads "Friends" list. There are settings available, as well, to allow Goodreads to post straight to a social networking account, which informs, e.g., Facebook friends, what one is reading or how one rated a book.<ref>{{cite web|title=Goodreads|url=http://www.goodreads.com/|website=Goodreads|access-date=June 15, 2014}}</ref>


The [[Amazon Kindle]] Paperwhite (version 2) and Kindle Voyage feature integration with Goodreads' social network via a user interface button.<ref>[https://techcrunch.com/2013/09/03/amazons-next-kindle-paperwhite-outed-ahead-of-official-launch-via-amazons-own-leak/ Amazon's next Kindle Paperwhite outed ahead of its official launch via Amazon's own leak] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905204323/http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/03/amazons-next-kindle-paperwhite-outed-ahead-of-official-launch-via-amazons-own-leak/ |date=2013-09-05 }}.</ref>
The [[Amazon Kindle]] Paperwhite (version 2) and Kindle Voyage feature integration with Goodreads' social network via a user interface button.<ref>[https://techcrunch.com/2013/09/03/amazons-next-kindle-paperwhite-outed-ahead-of-official-launch-via-amazons-own-leak/ Amazon's next Kindle Paperwhite outed ahead of its official launch via Amazon's own leak] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905204323/http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/03/amazons-next-kindle-paperwhite-outed-ahead-of-official-launch-via-amazons-own-leak/ |date=September 5, 2013 }}.</ref>


== Catalog data ==
==Catalog data==
Book catalog data was seeded with large imports from various closed and open data sources, including individual publishers, [[Ingram Content Group|Ingram]],<ref>{{cite web|access-date=January 9, 2017|title=Goodreads Librarians Group – New Ingram Import|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/894961-new-ingram-import |publisher=Goodreads}}</ref> Amazon (before 2012 and after 2013),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1620164-large-book-data-import|title=Goodreads Librarians Group – Adding New Books: Large Book Data Import (showing 1-50 of 472)|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=September 20, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/776968-amazon-is-going-away-as-a-data-source| title= Amazon is going away as a data source| quote=At Goodreads, we make it a priority to use book information from the most reliable and open data sources}}</ref> [[WorldCat]] and the [[Library of Congress]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/766331-announcement-goodreads-to-import-worldcat-library-of-congress-data-to|author= Patrick |title= Goodreads Librarians Group discussion – Announcement: Goodreads to Import WorldCat & Library of Congress Data Tonight|date=January 9, 2012}}</ref>
Book catalog data was seeded with large imports from various closed and open data sources, including individual publishers, [[Ingram Content Group|Ingram]],<ref>{{cite web|access-date=January 9, 2017|title=Goodreads Librarians Group – New Ingram Import|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/894961-new-ingram-import |publisher=Goodreads}}</ref> Amazon (before 2012 and after 2013),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1620164-large-book-data-import|title=Goodreads Librarians Group – Adding New Books: Large Book Data Import (showing 1-50 of 472)|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=September 20, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/776968-amazon-is-going-away-as-a-data-source| title= Amazon is going away as a data source| quote=At Goodreads, we make it a priority to use book information from the most reliable and open data sources}}</ref> [[WorldCat]] and the [[Library of Congress]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/766331-announcement-goodreads-to-import-worldcat-library-of-congress-data-to|author= Patrick |title= Goodreads Librarians Group discussion – Announcement: Goodreads to Import WorldCat & Library of Congress Data Tonight|date=January 9, 2012}}</ref>


Goodreads librarians improve book information on the website, including editing book and author information and adding cover images. Goodreads members can apply to become volunteer librarians after they have 50 books on their profile.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/help/show/6-what-is-a-goodreads-librarian|title=What is a goodreads librarian?|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref> Goodreads librarians coordinate on the Goodreads Librarian Group.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/220-goodreads-librarians-group|title=Goodreads Librarians Group|publisher=Goodreads|access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref>
Goodreads librarians improve book information on the website, including editing book and author information and adding cover images. Goodreads members can apply to become volunteer librarians after they have 50 books on their profile.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/help/show/6-what-is-a-goodreads-librarian|title=What is a goodreads librarian?|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref> Goodreads librarians coordinate on the Goodreads Librarian Group.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/220-goodreads-librarians-group|title=Goodreads Librarians Group|publisher=Goodreads|access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref>


User data becomes proprietary to Goodreads<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/about/terms|title=Terms of use|quote=By posting any User Content on the Service, you expressly grant, and you represent and warrant that you have a right to grant, to Goodreads a royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide ....}}</ref> though available via an [[application programming interface]], or API,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/776968-amazon-is-going-away-as-a-data-source|title=Goodreads Librarians Group – Amazon is going away as a data source (showing 1-50 of 1,601)|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=September 20, 2018}}</ref> unlike similar projects like [[The Open Library]] which publish the catalog and user edits as [[open data]]. In December 2020, Goodreads deactivated API keys more than 30 days old and said it would no longer be issuing new API keys.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://joealcorn.co.uk/blog/2020/goodreads-retiring-API|title=Goodreads plans to retire API access, disables existing API keys|date=December 13, 2020|access-date=December 15, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.stephanieawilkinson.com/posts/2020-12-10-yonderbook-and-goodreads/ |title=Goodreads shutters all APIs, breaking my open source app|date=December 10, 2020|access-date=December 15, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Mek |title=Importing your Goodreads & Accessing them with Open Library's APIs |url=https://blog.openlibrary.org/2020/12/13/importing-your-goodreads-accessing-them-with-open-librarys-apis/ |website=The Open Library Blog |access-date=16 May 2021 |date=13 Dec 2020}}</ref>
User data becomes proprietary to Goodreads<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/about/terms|title=Terms of use|quote=By posting any User Content on the Service, you expressly grant, and you represent and warrant that you have a right to grant, to Goodreads a royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, worldwide ....}}</ref> though available via an [[application programming interface]], or API,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/776968-amazon-is-going-away-as-a-data-source|title=Goodreads Librarians Group – Amazon is going away as a data source (showing 1-50 of 1,601)|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=September 20, 2018}}</ref> unlike similar projects like [[The Open Library]] which publish the catalog and user edits as [[open data]]. In December 2020, Goodreads deactivated API keys more than 30 days old and said it would no longer be issuing new API keys.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://joealcorn.co.uk/blog/2020/goodreads-retiring-API|title=Goodreads plans to retire API access, disables existing API keys|date=December 13, 2020|access-date=December 15, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.stephanieawilkinson.com/posts/2020-12-10-yonderbook-and-goodreads/ |title=Goodreads shutters all APIs, breaking my open source app|date=December 10, 2020|access-date=December 15, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Mek |title=Importing your Goodreads & Accessing them with Open Library's APIs |url=https://blog.openlibrary.org/2020/12/13/importing-your-goodreads-accessing-them-with-open-librarys-apis/ |website=The Open Library Blog |access-date=May 16, 2021 |date=December 13, 2020}}</ref>


=== Metadata source change ===
===Metadata source change===
In January 2012, Goodreads switched from using Amazon's public Product Advertising API for book [[metadata]] (such as title, author, and number of pages) to book wholesaler Ingram. Goodreads felt Amazon's requirements for using its API were too restrictive, and the combination of Ingram, the [[Library of Congress]], and other sources would be more flexible. Some users worried that their reading records would be lost, but Goodreads had a number of plans in place to ease the transition and ensure that no data was lost, even for titles that might be in danger of deletion because they were available only through Amazon, such as Kindle editions and self-published works on Amazon.<ref>{{cite web|last=Owen|first=Laura Hazard|title=As Goodreads Ends Sourcing From Amazon, Users Fear Lost Books|url=http://paidcontent.org/2012/01/27/419-as-goodreads-ends-agreement-with-amazon-users-fear-lost-books/|work=Paid Content: The Economics of Digital Content|publisher=Gigaom|access-date=November 29, 2012|date=January 27, 2012|archive-date=April 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419041648/http://paidcontent.org/2012/01/27/419-as-goodreads-ends-agreement-with-amazon-users-fear-lost-books/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In January 2012, Goodreads switched from using Amazon's public Product Advertising API for book [[metadata]] (such as title, author, and number of pages) to book wholesaler Ingram. Goodreads felt Amazon's requirements for using its API were too restrictive, and the combination of Ingram, the [[Library of Congress]], and other sources would be more flexible. Some users worried that their reading records would be lost, but Goodreads had a number of plans in place to ease the transition and ensure that no data was lost, even for titles that might be in danger of deletion because they were available only through Amazon, such as Kindle editions and self-published works on Amazon.<ref>{{cite web|last=Owen|first=Laura Hazard|title=As Goodreads Ends Sourcing From Amazon, Users Fear Lost Books|url=http://paidcontent.org/2012/01/27/419-as-goodreads-ends-agreement-with-amazon-users-fear-lost-books/|work=Paid Content: The Economics of Digital Content|publisher=Gigaom|access-date=November 29, 2012|date=January 27, 2012|archive-date=April 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419041648/http://paidcontent.org/2012/01/27/419-as-goodreads-ends-agreement-with-amazon-users-fear-lost-books/|url-status=dead}}</ref>


In May 2013, as a result of Goodreads' acquisition by Amazon, Goodreads began using Amazon's data again.<ref>{{cite web|author=Rivka|title=The Announcement You've All Been Waiting For |url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1338564-the-announcement-you-ve-all-been-waiting-for|work=Goodreads Librarians Group forums|publisher=goodreads.com|access-date=July 17, 2013|date=May 23, 2013}}</ref>
In May 2013, as a result of Goodreads' acquisition by [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]], Goodreads began using Amazon's data again.<ref>{{cite web|author=Rivka|title=The Announcement You've All Been Waiting For |url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1338564-the-announcement-you-ve-all-been-waiting-for|work=Goodreads Librarians Group forums|publisher=goodreads.com|access-date=July 17, 2013|date=May 23, 2013}}</ref>


== Competition and review fairness ==
==Competition and review fairness==
In 2012, after a receiving a poor review on her novel [[The Selection]], author [[Kiera Cass]] encouraged her Twitter followers to "knock [the review] off" the front page of Goodreads' section on the book. This sparked public outrage and started a discussion on the relationship between authors and reviewers on Goodreads.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Matthews |first1=Jolie C |title=Professionals and nonprofessionals on Goodreads: Behavior standards for authors, reviewers, and readers|journal=[[New Media & Society]]|date=July 9, 2016|volume=18|issue=10|pages=2305–2322 r|doi=10.1177/1461444815582141|s2cid=26264609 }}</ref> That same year, Goodreads received criticism from users about the availability and tone of reviews posted on the site,<ref name=SALON>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Laura|title=How Amazon and Goodreads could lose their best readers |url=http://www.salon.com/2013/10/23/how_amazon_and_goodreads_could_lose_their_best_readers/ |work=Salon |date=October 23, 2013 |access-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref> with some users and websites stating that certain reviewers were harassing and encouraging attacks on authors. Goodreads publicly posted its review guidelines in August 2012 to address these issues.<ref name=Reviewguidelines>{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Patrick |title=Review Guidelines & Updated Author Guidelines |url=http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/983509-review-guidelines-updated-author-guidelines|publisher=Goodreads |date=August 6, 2012|access-date=September 9, 2012}}</ref> After Amazon's acquisition of Goodreads, this policy was modified to include deletion of any review containing "an ad hominem attack or an off-topic comment".<ref name=Announcements>{{cite web|last=Erikson|first=Kara|title=Important Note Regarding Reviews|url=http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1499741-important-note-regarding-reviews |publisher=Goodreads |date=September 20, 2013|access-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref> Several news sources reported the announcement, noting Amazon's business reasons for the move:
In 2012, after a receiving a poor review on her novel ''[[The Selection]]'', author [[Kiera Cass]] encouraged her Twitter followers to "knock [the review] off" the front page of Goodreads' section on the book. This sparked public outrage and started a discussion on the relationship between authors and reviewers on Goodreads.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Matthews |first1=Jolie C |title=Professionals and nonprofessionals on Goodreads: Behavior standards for authors, reviewers, and readers|journal=[[New Media & Society]]|date=July 9, 2016|volume=18|issue=10|pages=2305–2322 r|doi=10.1177/1461444815582141|s2cid=26264609 }}</ref> That same year, Goodreads received criticism from users about the availability and tone of reviews posted on the site,<ref name=SALON>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Laura|title=How Amazon and Goodreads could lose their best readers |url=http://www.salon.com/2013/10/23/how_amazon_and_goodreads_could_lose_their_best_readers/ |work=Salon |date=October 23, 2013 |access-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref> with some users and websites stating that certain reviewers were harassing and encouraging attacks on authors. Goodreads publicly posted its review guidelines in August 2012 to address these issues.<ref name=Reviewguidelines>{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Patrick |title=Review Guidelines & Updated Author Guidelines |url=http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/983509-review-guidelines-updated-author-guidelines|publisher=Goodreads |date=August 6, 2012|access-date=September 9, 2012}}</ref> After Amazon's acquisition of Goodreads, this policy was modified to include deletion of any review containing "an ad hominem attack or an off-topic comment".<ref name=Announcements>{{cite web|last=Erikson|first=Kara|title=Important Note Regarding Reviews|url=http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1499741-important-note-regarding-reviews |publisher=Goodreads |date=September 20, 2013|access-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref> Several news sources reported the announcement, noting Amazon's business reasons for the move:


{{quote|Where authors were threatening a mass account cancellation to protest the bullying, many of the reader users who commented on the announcement are now threatening the same thing. And while much of this might seem like nothing more than petty playground behavior between children who honestly do not have a clear good guy or bad guy, keep in mind that several e-book retailers incorporate the Goodreads' API into their sales pages, effectively posting book reviews that many in the Goodreads community know to be false, and nothing more than an act of revenge against an author; real-world sales decisions have been made by consumers based on these reviews.|Mercy Pilkington|Good E-Reader News<ref>{{cite web| last=Pilkington|first=Mercy|title=Goodreads Modifies User Terms to Prevent Author Bullying, Reviewers Outraged |url=http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/goodreads-modifies-user-terms-to-prevent-author-bullying-reviewers-outraged |publisher=goodereader.com |date=September 21, 2013 |access-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref>}}
{{quote|Where authors were threatening a mass account cancellation to protest the bullying, many of the reader users who commented on the announcement are now threatening the same thing. And while much of this might seem like nothing more than petty playground behavior between children who honestly do not have a clear good guy or bad guy, keep in mind that several e-book retailers incorporate the Goodreads' API into their sales pages, effectively posting book reviews that many in the Goodreads community know to be false, and nothing more than an act of revenge against an author; real-world sales decisions have been made by consumers based on these reviews.|Mercy Pilkington|Good E-Reader News<ref>{{cite web| last=Pilkington|first=Mercy|title=Goodreads Modifies User Terms to Prevent Author Bullying, Reviewers Outraged |url=http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/goodreads-modifies-user-terms-to-prevent-author-bullying-reviewers-outraged |publisher=goodereader.com |date=September 21, 2013 |access-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref>}}
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Regarding the 2013 Amazon acquisition of Goodreads, ''[[The New York Times]]'' said that: "Goodreads was a rival to Amazon as a place for discovering books" and that this deal "consolidates Amazon's power to determine which authors get exposure for their work".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kaufman |first=Leslie |date=March 28, 2013 |title=Amazon to Buy Goodreads |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/business/media/amazon-to-buy-goodreads.html |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref>
Regarding the 2013 Amazon acquisition of Goodreads, ''[[The New York Times]]'' said that: "Goodreads was a rival to Amazon as a place for discovering books" and that this deal "consolidates Amazon's power to determine which authors get exposure for their work".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kaufman |first=Leslie |date=March 28, 2013 |title=Amazon to Buy Goodreads |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/29/business/media/amazon-to-buy-goodreads.html |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref>


== Goodreads Choice Awards ==
==Goodreads Choice Awards==
{{main|Goodreads Choice Awards}}
{{main|Goodreads Choice Awards}}
{{:Goodreads Choice Awards}}<!--This transcludes (automatically copies) the beginning of the Goodreads Choice Awards article. See Help:Transclusion for details.-->


==Criticism==
==Criticism==
Critics of the Goodreads platform feel that Goodreads' dominant position, coupled with limited development by Amazon, has prevented better tools emerging for personalized book recommendations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2020/08/better-goodreads-possible-bad-for-books-storygraph-amazon|title=Why Goodreads is bad for books|website=www.newstatesman.com|date=10 September 2020}}</ref> Goodreads has also fallen under criticism from users who feel that the site is outdated and prone to frequent crashes and bugs, and that the recommendations are poor, frequently suggesting popular books at random rather than anything more personalized.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://onezero.medium.com/almost-everything-about-goodreads-is-broken-662e424244d5|title=Almost Everything About Goodreads Is Broken|first=Angela|last=Lashbrook|date=September 10, 2019|website=Medium}}</ref>
Critics have assailed Goodreads' lack of development and maintenance, coupled with its dominant position in the book-review marketplace.<ref name=Manavis>{{Cite web|author=Sarah Manavis|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2020/08/better-goodreads-possible-bad-for-books-storygraph-amazon|title=Why Goodreads is bad for books|website=New Statesman|date=September 10, 2020}}</ref><ref name=O'Donovan>Caroline O'Donovan, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/07/01/amazon-goodreads-elizabeth-gilbert/ Goodreads was the future of book reviews. Then Amazon bought it.], ''Washington Post'' (July 1, 2023).</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://onezero.medium.com/almost-everything-about-goodreads-is-broken-662e424244d5|title=Almost Everything About Goodreads Is Broken|first=Angela|last=Lashbrook|date=September 10, 2019|website=Medium}}</ref> For example, Goodreads' [[recommendation algorithm]] was increasingly seen as primitive.<ref name=O'Donovan/><ref name=Manavis/> [[The StoryGraph]] was established in 2019 as a competitor to Goodreads.<ref name=Manavis/>

===Review bombing===
Goodreads' review system is more easily "gamed" than other online book-review platforms, although Goodreads remains by far the most popular website for book reviews.<ref name=AlterHarris/><ref name=McCluskey/> [[Amazon.com]] does not allow reviews to be posted for most books that have not yet been released, and Amazon book reviews indicate whether the user leaving the review purchased the book.<ref name=AlterHarris/> By contrast, any registered user on Goodreads (which Amazon purchased for $150 million in 2013) may rate or review a book, even before publication,<ref name=AlterHarris/><ref name=McCluskey/> and even without receiving an [[advance copy]].<ref name=O'Donovan/> Goodreads' system, as well as lax [[content moderation]], has been criticized.<ref name=AlterHarris/><ref name=O'Donovan/> The moderation system is manual and faces a backlog of flagged reviews.<ref name=O'Donovan/>

Manipulative reviews ("[[review bombing]]") have occurred, with novels flooded with negative (one-star) reviews, sometimes even before publication.<ref name=AlterHarris>{{Cite web|author=Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris|title=How Review-Bombing Can Tank a Book Before It's Published |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/26/books/goodreads-review-bombing.html |newspaper=New York Times|date=June 26, 2023}}</ref> Such "weaponized" reviews<ref name=AlterHarris/> have been described as a form of [[cyberbullying]] and targeted harassment of authors.<ref name=O'Donovan/><ref name=McCluskey>{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/6078993/goodreads-review-bombing/|title=How Extortion Scams and Review Bombing Trolls Turned Goodreads Into Many Authors' Worst Nightmare|first=Megan|last=McCluskey|date=August 9, 2021|magazine=Time}}</ref> Author Gretchen Felker-Martin's debut horror novel, about a [[trans woman]], was review-bombed in what she suspected to be an organized campaign.<ref name=AlterHarris/> [[Young adult fiction]] authors Keira Drake and Amélie Wen Zhao delayed publication of their fantasy novels after facing a tsunami of criticism on Twitter and Goodreads from users who deemed their fantasy universes to be racially insensitive.<ref name=AlterHarris/> [[Elizabeth Gilbert]], the author of ''[[Eat, Pray, Love]]'', was flooded with negative ratings on Goodreads for her not-yet-published novel ''The Snow Forest'' from users who objected to its setting in 1930s Russia.<ref name=AlterHarris/> [[Cecilia Rabess]], a Black author, was flooded with negative reviews on Goodreads for her debut novel ''Everything's Fine'', which focuses on a young Black woman who falls in love with a bigoted white fellow employee at [[Goldman Sachs]]; the negative reviewers had not read the work, yet deemed its premise to be racist.<ref name=AlterHarris/> Some scammers and cyberstalkers have used "review bombing" threats as part of [[extortion]] campaigns, threatening to flood a work with poor reviews unless an author pays.<ref name=McCluskey/><ref name=O'Donovan/>


Goodreads said in 2021 that it takes "swift action to remove users when we determine that they violate our guidelines" and were developing technology to "prevent bad actor behavior and inauthentic reviews in order to better safeguard our community."<ref name=McCluskey/> However, authors have criticized the website's lax moderation; fantasy novelist [[Rin Chupeco]] has noted that authors from marginalized groups are often a target, saying that Goodreads only enforces its rules against reviews that specifically target "the authors with big enough marketing and publicity teams to demand these removals."<ref name=McCluskey/>
Authors who are aware of the site have noted problematic qualities of Goodreads affecting discoverability and search engine results, particularly the platform's inability to sort pseudonyms, and its refusal to allow authors to choose the primary author name that appears on book records.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://help.goodreads.com/s/question/0D51H00004K2oIx/i-write-under-a-pseudonym-is-it-possible-to-have-an-author-page-and-account-for-the-pseudonym-|title=Goodreads Help|website=help.goodreads.com}}</ref> According to Goodreads, [[transgender]] authors who [[Deadnaming|published under a different name before coming out]] can contact the website directly to request exceptions, although there are no known or notable cases where trans authors have been given such choices.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://help.goodreads.com/s/question/0D51H00005lBApT/ive-noticed-a-few-books-on-here-that-continue-to-credit-the-author-by-their-dead-name-eg-the-books-of-sophie-campbell-daniel-m-lavery-daisy-mcguire-etc-how-do-we-get-this-fixed|title=Goodreads Help|website=help.goodreads.com}}</ref>
Some authors have criticized Goodreads's stance on functioning like a public library rather than giving authors any control over how their information is displayed, noting that for most authors, Goodreads is the first page people see when they search on a web browser. It has also been criticized that Goodreads allows both users and authors to post quotes attributed to an author without verification of any sort; removal of such quotes is left largely in the hands of volunteer "librarians", as authors have little to no individual control over quotes posted to their own profiles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://help.goodreads.com/s/question/0D51H00005coEuo/how-do-i-report-a-fake-quote|title=Goodreads Help|website=help.goodreads.com}}</ref> Having false or invalid quotes removed can be a difficult process; problematically the quotes can be picked up by third-party websites like [[Pinterest]] and [[Instagram]] in the meantime, spreading invalid quotes attributed to the author even further, as Goodreads quotes bring a high amount of web traffic. Goodreads often refuses to remove quotes with "likes" from an author's profile, even if the quotes are false or invalid.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1029848-editing-deleting-my-quotes|title=Goodreads Librarians Group - Issues with Quotes: Editing & Deleting My Quotes Showing 1-50 of 53|website=www.goodreads.com}}</ref>


Late in 2023 author [[Cait Corrain review bombing controversy|Cait Corrain]] was discovered to have created fake accounts that posted negative reviews of authors with upcoming debut novels, many of them women of color. Her publisher, [[Del Rey Books|Del Rey]], cancelled the May 2024 publication of her own upcoming [[science fantasy]] debut novel, ''Crown of Starlight''; her agent dropped her as a client. After initially denying the documented accusations, she blamed them on a friend and then finally accepted responsibility.<ref name="Cait Corrigan WP story">{{cite news|last=Bella|first=Timothy|title=First-time author loses book deal for 'review bombing' authors on Goodreads|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2023/12/12/author-cait-corrain-goodreads-review-bombing-controversy/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 12, 2023|access-date=December 17, 2023}}</ref> On X (formerly Twitter), she attributed her actions to worsening depression and the attendant alcohol and substance abuse that had recently culminated in a "complete psychological breakdown", saying she would be going into rehab and apologizing profusely to not only those authors she had disparaged but a friend who had defended her initially against the accusations.<ref name="Corrain tweet">{{Cite tweet |user=CaitCorrain|number=1734447140041359751 |title=A sincere apology. I know this is long, but that's because I'm trying to own and openly address every aspect of what I did.}}</ref> Some of the authors said she needed to do more to make things right.<ref name="Cait Corrigan WP story" />
Both authors and readers have noted an increase in political banter, [[Internet troll|trolling]], [[cancel culture]] and [[cyberbullying]] afflicting the website. Goodreads has tried to address this, implementing rules such as only allowing reviewers to criticize a book itself, not author behaviour or political affiliations. Critics of Goodreads have considered this decision to be a form of [[censorship]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gigaom.com/2013/09/23/goodreads-growing-pains-attempt-to-curtail-author-bullying-angers-many-users/,%20https://gigaom.com/2013/09/23/goodreads-growing-pains-attempt-to-curtail-author-bullying-angers-many-users/|title=Goodreads' growing pains: Attempt to curtail author bullying angers many users|first=Laura|last=Owen|date=September 23, 2013|website=gigaom.com}}</ref> A form of [[Extortion|extortion scam]] known as "review bombing", in which trolls post numerous 1-star ratings and poor reviews on an author's new book from different [[Sock puppet account|sock-puppet accounts]] to make the book look bad (sometimes demanding money or that the author quit Goodreads usage to stop the bad reviews from coming in), has also been widely reported as a growing form of bullying on Goodreads, targeting both traditional and self-published authors. Popular [[Fantasy|fantasy]] novelist [[Rin Chupeco]] has noted that authors from [[Protected group|marginalized groups]] are often a target, and she also criticized the minimalist approach Goodreads takes to moderation, saying, "Goodreads only removes reviews that specifically target the author, but they do not do that for every book, either—just for the authors with big enough marketing and publicity teams to demand these removals." Other victims of review bombing have pointed out that once a record for a book is created on Goodreads, even if the book has never been released to the public, is not in fact a "book" by Goodreads's definition, or will never be released to the public due to errors or delays in publishing, one-star ratings can still appear from accounts with no access to the title. Because Goodreads allows reviews for any book record as soon as it first appears on Goodreads, and cannot verify that any account-holder in fact owns the book they claim to have read, there is no clear way to police this. Some authors have suggested that Goodreads take a stricter approach to public review postings in the same manner that Amazon has done in the past, such as requiring a [[Telephone number|telephone number]], a [[Account verification|verified account by email address]], and a [[Legal name|real name]] before any account-holder can post public ratings or reviews.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://time.com/6078993/goodreads-review-bombing/|title=How Extortion Scams and Review Bombing Trolls Turned Goodreads Into Many Authors' Worst Nightmare|first=Megan|last=McCluskey|date=August 9, 2021|website=www.time.com}}</ref>


==Removal from site==
==Fraudulent books==
Jane Friedman<ref name="janefriedman/books">{{cite web |title=Books by Jane Friedman |url=https://janefriedman.com/books/ |website=Jane Friedman .com |access-date=August 9, 2023}}</ref> discovered a 6 listings of books, probably written using AI generative models ([[Large language model|LLM]]), fraudulently using her name, on [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] and Goodreads. Amazon and Goodreads resisted removing the fraudulent titles until the author's complaints went viral on social media, in a blog post titled "I Would Rather See My Books Get Pirated Than This (Or: Why Goodreads and Amazon Are Becoming Dumpster Fires)."<ref name="janefriedman/rather-my-books-pirated">{{cite web |last1=Friedman |first1=Jane |title=I Would Rather See My Books Get Pirated Than This (Or: Why Goodreads and Amazon Are Becoming Dumpster Fires) |url=<!-- https://web.archive.org/web/20230807174329/https://janefriedman.com/i-would-rather-see-my-books-pirated/ -->https://janefriedman.com/i-would-rather-see-my-books-pirated/ |website=Jane Friedman |access-date=August 9, 2023 |date=August 7, 2023}}</ref><ref name="arstechnica/2023/08/ai-generated-counterfeit-books-amazon">{{cite news |last1=Edwards |first1=Benj |title=Author discovers AI-generated counterfeit books written in her name on Amazon |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/08/author-discovers-ai-generated-counterfeit-books-written-in-her-name-on-amazon/ |access-date=August 9, 2023 |work=Ars Technica |date=August 8, 2023 |language=en-us}}<!-- https://www.thedailybeast.com/author-jane-friedman-finds-ai-fakes-being-sold-under-her-name-on-amazon https://gizmodo.com/amazon-jane-friedman-ai-generated-books-removed-1850718989 https://www.thestreet.com/technology/author-levels-troubling-new-accusation-at-amazons-publishing-practices --></ref><ref name="vice/v7b774">{{cite web |last1=Roscoe |first1=Jules |title=AI-Generated Books of Nonsense Are All Over Amazon's Bestseller Lists |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7b774/ai-generated-books-of-nonsense-are-all-over-amazons-bestseller-lists |website=Vice |access-date=August 9, 2023 |language=en |date=June 28, 2023}}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost/amazon-goodreads">{{cite news |last1=O'Donovan |first1=Caroline |title=Goodreads was the future of book reviews. Then Amazon bought it. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/07/01/amazon-goodreads-elizabeth-gilbert/ |access-date=August 9, 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=July 2, 2023}}</ref>
In early 2021, Amazon removed all new and used copies of [[William Luther Pierce|William Luther Pierce's]] white supremacist novel ''[[The Turner Diaries]]'' from sales on its platform and subsidiary platforms, citing concerns with the [[QAnon|QAnon movement]] as the cause.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/12/22227049/amazon-the-turner-diaries-q-anon-purge-removal-capitol-attack|title=Amazon pulls white supremacist novel The Turner Diaries alongside QAnon purge|website=www.theverge.com|date=12 January 2021}}</ref> As a result, Goodreads, an Amazon company, stripped the [[metadata]] from its record for the offending title, segregating ''The Turner Diaries'' to its "NOT A BOOK" author moniker (a category typically used to weed non-book items and [[Plagiarism|plagiarized titles]] from the platform).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/530270.NOT_A_BOOK|title=NOT A BOOK by NOT A BOOK|website=www.goodreads.com}}</ref>


== See also ==
==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=10em}} <!-- column width of 10em ; default width is 30em -->
* [[aNobii]]
* [[aNobii]]
* [[Babelio]]
* [[Babelio]]
Line 113: Line 126:
* [[The StoryGraph]]
* [[The StoryGraph]]
* [[Library 2.0]] the concept behind Goodreads and similar sites
* [[Library 2.0]] the concept behind Goodreads and similar sites
{{div col end}}


==References==
==References==
Line 123: Line 137:
* {{cite magazine|author=Sharick, Catherine |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686305_1691167,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212160256/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686305_1691167,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 12, 2007 |title=Top 10 Websites of 2007|magazine=Time|date= December 11, 2007}}
* {{cite magazine|author=Sharick, Catherine |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686305_1691167,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212160256/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686305_1691167,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 12, 2007 |title=Top 10 Websites of 2007|magazine=Time|date= December 11, 2007}}


== External links ==
==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{commons category}}
* {{Official|https://www.goodreads.com/}}
* {{Official website|goodreads.com}}


{{Amazon|state=expanded}}
{{Amazon|state=expanded}}

Latest revision as of 05:10, 7 November 2024

Goodreads
Type of businessSubsidiary
Type of site
Book
Available inEnglish
FoundedDecember 2006; 18 years ago (2006-12)
OwnerAmazon
Founder(s)
  • Otis Chandler
  • Elizabeth Khuri
URLwww.goodreads.com Edit this at Wikidata
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Current statusActive

Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon[1] that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists. They can also create their own groups of book suggestions, surveys, polls, blogs, and discussions. The website's offices are located in San Francisco.[2]

Goodreads was founded in December 2006 and launched in January 2007 by Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Khuri Chandler.[3][4] In December 2007, the site had 650,000 members[5] and 10,000,000 books had been added.[6] By July 2012, the site reported 10 million members, 20 million monthly visits, and thirty employees.[7] On March 28, 2013, Amazon announced its acquisition of Goodreads,[8] and by July 23, 2013, Goodreads announced their user base had grown to 20 million members.[9]

By September 2023, the site had more than 150 million members.[10]

History

[edit]

Founders

[edit]
Otis Chandler

Goodreads founders Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Khuri Chandler first met while studying at Stanford (Engineering and English respectively). After university Chandler initially worked as a programmer in on-line businesses,[11] including dating sites,[12] and Khuri Chandler as a journalist.[13] Chandler and Khuri both grew up in California. Chandler is a descendant of the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, Otis Chandler.[14]

Foundation and mission

[edit]

Goodreads was founded in 2006. The idea came about when Otis Chandler was browsing through his friend's bookshelf. He wanted to integrate this scanning experience and to create a space where people could write reviews regarding the books that they read.[15]

Goodreads addressed what publishers call the "discoverability problem" by guiding consumers in the digital age to find books they might want to read.[16]

Early years

[edit]

Before gaining much traction, Otis and Elizabeth Chandler grew the platform through their friends of friends where it reached 800 users. Eventually, it gained attention through the media such as Mashable and other various blogs.[17] During its first year of business, the company was run without any formal funding. In December 2007, the site received funding estimated at $750,000 from angel investors.[6] This funding lasted Goodreads until 2009, when Goodreads received two million dollars from True Ventures.[18]

In October 2010, the company opened its application programming interface, which enabled developers to access its ratings and titles.[19]

In 2011, Goodreads acquired Discovereads, a book recommendation engine that employs "machine learning algorithms to analyze which books people might like, based on books they've liked in the past and books that people with similar tastes have liked."[4][20] After a user has rated 20 books on its five-star scale, the site will begin making recommendations. Otis Chandler believed this rating system would be superior to Amazon's, as Amazon's includes books a user has browsed or purchased as gifts when determining its recommendations.[4][20] Later that year, Goodreads introduced an algorithm to suggest books to registered users and had over five million members.[21] The New Yorker's Macy Halford noted that the algorithm was not perfect, as the number of books needed to create a perfect recommendation system is so large that "by the time I'd got halfway there, my reading preferences would have changed and I'd have to start over again."[22]

As of 2012, membership was required to use but free.[23] In October 2012, Goodreads announced it had grown to 11 million members with 395 million books cataloged and over 20,000 book clubs created by its users.[24] A month later, in November 2012, Goodreads had surpassed 12 million members, with the member base having doubled in one year.[25]

2013 acquisition by Amazon

[edit]

In March 2013, Amazon made an agreement to acquire Goodreads in the second quarter of 2013 for an undisclosed sum.[26][27][28] Amazon had previously purchased the competitor Shelfari in 2008,[29] with the Goodreads purchase "stunning" the book industry. The Authors Guild called it a "truly devastating act of vertical integration" and that Amazon's "control of online bookselling approaches the insurmountable." There were mixed reactions from Goodreads users, at the time totaling 16 million members.[30] Goodreads founder Otis Chandler said that "his management team would remain in place to guard the reviewing process" with the acquisition. Chandler continued running Goodreads until 2019. The New York Times noted that Goodreads, at the time of the acquisition, had a more reputable reviewing system than Amazon's.[31]

Noting that some authors had been "too aggressive in their self-promotion" (as Goodreads admitted in an email) and that some readers had responded with aggression,[32] in September 2013, Goodreads announced it would delete, without warning, reviews that threatened authors or mentioned authors' behavior.[33] As of April 2020, the site's guidelines still state that "reviews that are predominantly about an author's behavior and not about the book will be deleted."[34]

2014–2019

[edit]

In January 2016, Amazon announced that it would shut down Shelfari in favor of Goodreads, effective March 16, 2016. Users were offered the ability to export data and migrate accounts.[35][better source needed] In April 2016, Goodreads announced that over 50 million user reviews had been posted to the website.[36]

Features

[edit]

Book discovery

[edit]

On the Goodreads website, users can add books to their personal bookshelves, rate and review books, see what their friends and authors are reading, participate in discussion boards and groups on a variety of topics, and get suggestions for future reading choices based on their reviews of previously read books.[37] Once users have added friends to their profile, they will see their friends' shelves and reviews and can comment on friends' pages. Goodreads features a rating system of one to five stars, with the option of accompanying the rating with a written review. The site provides default bookshelves—read, currently-reading, to-read—and the opportunity to create customized shelves to categorize a user's books.[38]

Reading challenges

[edit]

A popular phenomenon on the site is the so-called reading challenge, where users commit to reading a certain number of books per year and track their progress through the platform. Recent research in literacy studies shows that such challenges encourage participants to read more in their free time.[39]

Content access

[edit]

Goodreads users can read or listen to a preview of a book on the website using Kindle Cloud Reader and Audible.[40] Goodreads also offers quizzes and trivia, quotations, book lists, and free giveaways. Members can receive the regular newsletter featuring new books, suggestions, author interviews, and poetry. If a user has written a work, the work can be linked on the author's profile page, which also includes an author's blog.[41] Goodreads organizes offline opportunities as well, such as in-person book exchanges and "literary pub crawls".[42]

End-of-year reading review

[edit]

Goodreads offers a "My Year in Books" report in which a user can review their reading history from the prior year. The Goodreads tradition, created by Fionnuala Lirsdottir in 2014, encourages users to reflect on their past reading, by offering statistic of the number of pages read; the number of books read; the user's average book length and their average ratings.[43]

User interaction

[edit]

The website facilitates reader interactions with authors through the interviews, giveaways, authors' blogs, and profile information. There is also a special section for authors with suggestions for promoting their works on Goodreads.com, aimed at helping them reach their target audience.[44] By 2011, "seventeen thousand authors, including James Patterson and Margaret Atwood" used Goodreads to advertise.[4]

Users can add each other as "friends", enabling them to share reviews, posts, book recommendations, and messages.

Goodreads has a presence on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and other social networking sites.[45][46][47] Linking a Goodreads account with a social networking account like Facebook enables the ability to import contacts from the social networking account to Goodreads, expanding one's Goodreads "Friends" list. There are settings available, as well, to allow Goodreads to post straight to a social networking account, which informs, e.g., Facebook friends, what one is reading or how one rated a book.[48]

The Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (version 2) and Kindle Voyage feature integration with Goodreads' social network via a user interface button.[49]

Catalog data

[edit]

Book catalog data was seeded with large imports from various closed and open data sources, including individual publishers, Ingram,[50] Amazon (before 2012 and after 2013),[51][52] WorldCat and the Library of Congress.[53]

Goodreads librarians improve book information on the website, including editing book and author information and adding cover images. Goodreads members can apply to become volunteer librarians after they have 50 books on their profile.[54] Goodreads librarians coordinate on the Goodreads Librarian Group.[55]

User data becomes proprietary to Goodreads[56] though available via an application programming interface, or API,[57] unlike similar projects like The Open Library which publish the catalog and user edits as open data. In December 2020, Goodreads deactivated API keys more than 30 days old and said it would no longer be issuing new API keys.[58][59][60]

Metadata source change

[edit]

In January 2012, Goodreads switched from using Amazon's public Product Advertising API for book metadata (such as title, author, and number of pages) to book wholesaler Ingram. Goodreads felt Amazon's requirements for using its API were too restrictive, and the combination of Ingram, the Library of Congress, and other sources would be more flexible. Some users worried that their reading records would be lost, but Goodreads had a number of plans in place to ease the transition and ensure that no data was lost, even for titles that might be in danger of deletion because they were available only through Amazon, such as Kindle editions and self-published works on Amazon.[61]

In May 2013, as a result of Goodreads' acquisition by Amazon, Goodreads began using Amazon's data again.[62]

Competition and review fairness

[edit]

In 2012, after a receiving a poor review on her novel The Selection, author Kiera Cass encouraged her Twitter followers to "knock [the review] off" the front page of Goodreads' section on the book. This sparked public outrage and started a discussion on the relationship between authors and reviewers on Goodreads.[63] That same year, Goodreads received criticism from users about the availability and tone of reviews posted on the site,[64] with some users and websites stating that certain reviewers were harassing and encouraging attacks on authors. Goodreads publicly posted its review guidelines in August 2012 to address these issues.[65] After Amazon's acquisition of Goodreads, this policy was modified to include deletion of any review containing "an ad hominem attack or an off-topic comment".[66] Several news sources reported the announcement, noting Amazon's business reasons for the move:

Where authors were threatening a mass account cancellation to protest the bullying, many of the reader users who commented on the announcement are now threatening the same thing. And while much of this might seem like nothing more than petty playground behavior between children who honestly do not have a clear good guy or bad guy, keep in mind that several e-book retailers incorporate the Goodreads' API into their sales pages, effectively posting book reviews that many in the Goodreads community know to be false, and nothing more than an act of revenge against an author; real-world sales decisions have been made by consumers based on these reviews.

— Mercy Pilkington, Good E-Reader News[67]

Regarding the 2013 Amazon acquisition of Goodreads, The New York Times said that: "Goodreads was a rival to Amazon as a place for discovering books" and that this deal "consolidates Amazon's power to determine which authors get exposure for their work".[68]

Goodreads Choice Awards

[edit]
Main article: Goodreads Choice Awards

The Goodreads Choice Awards is a yearly award program, first launched on Goodreads in 2009.

Winners are determined by users voting on books that Goodreads has nominated or books of their choosing, released in the given year. Most books that Goodreads nominates are from verified Goodreads authors. The final voting round collects the top 10 books from 20 different categories.[69]

Criticism

[edit]

Critics have assailed Goodreads' lack of development and maintenance, coupled with its dominant position in the book-review marketplace.[70][71][72] For example, Goodreads' recommendation algorithm was increasingly seen as primitive.[71][70] The StoryGraph was established in 2019 as a competitor to Goodreads.[70]

Review bombing

[edit]

Goodreads' review system is more easily "gamed" than other online book-review platforms, although Goodreads remains by far the most popular website for book reviews.[73][74] Amazon.com does not allow reviews to be posted for most books that have not yet been released, and Amazon book reviews indicate whether the user leaving the review purchased the book.[73] By contrast, any registered user on Goodreads (which Amazon purchased for $150 million in 2013) may rate or review a book, even before publication,[73][74] and even without receiving an advance copy.[71] Goodreads' system, as well as lax content moderation, has been criticized.[73][71] The moderation system is manual and faces a backlog of flagged reviews.[71]

Manipulative reviews ("review bombing") have occurred, with novels flooded with negative (one-star) reviews, sometimes even before publication.[73] Such "weaponized" reviews[73] have been described as a form of cyberbullying and targeted harassment of authors.[71][74] Author Gretchen Felker-Martin's debut horror novel, about a trans woman, was review-bombed in what she suspected to be an organized campaign.[73] Young adult fiction authors Keira Drake and Amélie Wen Zhao delayed publication of their fantasy novels after facing a tsunami of criticism on Twitter and Goodreads from users who deemed their fantasy universes to be racially insensitive.[73] Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, was flooded with negative ratings on Goodreads for her not-yet-published novel The Snow Forest from users who objected to its setting in 1930s Russia.[73] Cecilia Rabess, a Black author, was flooded with negative reviews on Goodreads for her debut novel Everything's Fine, which focuses on a young Black woman who falls in love with a bigoted white fellow employee at Goldman Sachs; the negative reviewers had not read the work, yet deemed its premise to be racist.[73] Some scammers and cyberstalkers have used "review bombing" threats as part of extortion campaigns, threatening to flood a work with poor reviews unless an author pays.[74][71]

Goodreads said in 2021 that it takes "swift action to remove users when we determine that they violate our guidelines" and were developing technology to "prevent bad actor behavior and inauthentic reviews in order to better safeguard our community."[74] However, authors have criticized the website's lax moderation; fantasy novelist Rin Chupeco has noted that authors from marginalized groups are often a target, saying that Goodreads only enforces its rules against reviews that specifically target "the authors with big enough marketing and publicity teams to demand these removals."[74]

Late in 2023 author Cait Corrain was discovered to have created fake accounts that posted negative reviews of authors with upcoming debut novels, many of them women of color. Her publisher, Del Rey, cancelled the May 2024 publication of her own upcoming science fantasy debut novel, Crown of Starlight; her agent dropped her as a client. After initially denying the documented accusations, she blamed them on a friend and then finally accepted responsibility.[75] On X (formerly Twitter), she attributed her actions to worsening depression and the attendant alcohol and substance abuse that had recently culminated in a "complete psychological breakdown", saying she would be going into rehab and apologizing profusely to not only those authors she had disparaged but a friend who had defended her initially against the accusations.[76] Some of the authors said she needed to do more to make things right.[75]

Fraudulent books

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Jane Friedman[77] discovered a 6 listings of books, probably written using AI generative models (LLM), fraudulently using her name, on Amazon and Goodreads. Amazon and Goodreads resisted removing the fraudulent titles until the author's complaints went viral on social media, in a blog post titled "I Would Rather See My Books Get Pirated Than This (Or: Why Goodreads and Amazon Are Becoming Dumpster Fires)."[78][79][80][81]

See also

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References

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Bibliography

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