I need some advice. I joined LibraryThing when it was first developed, but have recently been updating my book collection on both LibraryThing and Goodreads websites. I need to chose one or the other, because it’s become too much of a hassle to keep both current. Most of my friends on LT have moved on, so I’m not tied to one or the other in that respect, but I do have a lifetime membership on LT.
Which of the two sites do you prefer for book discussion, recommendations, social interface, etc.? I haven’t really explored the Goodreads groups and discussions yet. LT’s social interface seems clunkier to me, but its library organization seems more straightforward to me. I think the reader culture is different on the two sites too. What are your thoughts and experiences?
I belong to both, but I never use LibraryThing anymore. More than half of what I read comes from reviews found on Goodreads. The rest, from the Whatcha Readingthreads, here and serendipity at the library.
Would you mind explaining why you prefer Goodreads? Are you finding lots of reviews because you have a lot of friends there? Or does GR make reviews more accessible somehow?
Well, I’ve been at Goodreads for a long time, so I have a pretty hefty “friends list” of reviewers, who share my taste to some degree, or write very entertaining book reviews. Many of them from here. It’s the sense of community and the aesthetics that decide it for me, though. I looked up my favorite book at each site:
It’s true that LibraryThing has more of a data-management genesis and still reflects that in its lack of emphasis on aesthetics, while Goodreads is brighter, more colorful, and has more white space. It does seem easier to communicate on GR, but I like a lot of LT features, like tracking which books you have in common with other people, etc.
Also, it seems like people who are new to social reading sites tend to join Goodreads. I just wonder if the greater number of members result in greater quality of content. I see a lot more unsophisticated readers on GR, not that “serious” readers aren’t there too.
I was sure that link was gonna take me to English Passengers.
ETA: wonderlust, I like the casual feel of GR reviews. When I put something up at Amazon, I feel like I’m being compared to professional critics. At GR, nobody votes a review down because you like a book and they didn’t.
Does GR even bother with reviewer rankings? That can put a chill on conversation.
