topic Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads in Book Club

Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

smoochy — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 23:42:32 GMT

tried it a few years ago, left it. Recently installed the app again and reactivated my account. Im currently reading two books. I was updating my progress when I decided to look at the reviews. And voila. Spoilers. Dammit. This has happened so many times. Can people possibly review a book without summarizing the entire plot and throwing in spoilers!? You don't know its coming then its too late. It irritates me beyond belief. Getting rid of this app once and for all. Honestly I don't know why goodreads is so popular.

Will track my reading in my own journal.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

Kachina624 — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 23:50:28 GMT

@smoochy. Can't you just skip the reviews?

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

smoochy — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 00:15:10 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@smoochy. Can't you just skip the reviews?

yeah I could. But I don't feel like I should have to. Ya know?

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

Q-Checker — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 00:57:44 GMT

Why don't you read only high quality reviews written by professional reviewers? They are all about the the quality and style of the writing and don't stoop to spoilers or even reveal much of the plot line. I am talking about reviews from Publishers Weekly, New York Times, Kirkus, Washington Post, etc. These sources also review the better books. Goodreads reviews are not written by professional reviewers, and their fluctuating quality reflects that. As for keeping track of what you have read, think about paper and pen in, perhaps, a special notebook?

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

jackthebear — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 01:11:03 GMT

book reviews there tended to be like a Jr High book report

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

smoochy — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 01:14:46 GMT

@Q-Checker wrote:
Why don't you read only high quality reviews written by professional reviewers? They are all about the the quality and style of the writing and don't stoop to spoilers or even reveal much of the plot line. I am talking about reviews from Publishers Weekly, New York Times, Kirkus, Washington Post, etc. These sources also review the better books. Goodreads reviews are not written by professional reviewers, and their fluctuating quality reflects that. As for keeping track of what you have read, think about paper and pen in, perhaps, a special notebook?

Excellent suggestion. I agree with you about goodreads reviewers. Im picky about the quality of writing for any book I choose. I probably will avail myself of the many professional reviewers instead of the amateurs who tell the entire plot and can't discern good writing from poor.

I have a very nice reading journal that I got from Amazon. Many cool features. Im already using it.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

smoochy — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 01:40:12 GMT

@jackthebear wrote:
book reviews there tended to be like a Jr High book report

I was literally about to say that same thing.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

CalminHeart — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 11:18:04 GMT

I don't understand why Goodreads should hide reviews so you don't have to choose to read or not read them. There are reviews on everything everywhere. Just skip past them.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

SWEET — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 19:11:29 GMT

I've been on Goodreads for a while and I don't even read reviews until after I finish the book. I don't want anyone's opinion to influence me since they might love/hate the book and I might like it.

As for repeating the plot, I try not to but use it as a beginning as a short line occasionally if I feel like it, and then my own opinion. Sometimes it's hard for me to form my personal review at first.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

Winkk — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 11:45:00 GMT

I love Goodreads. I've been using it for years. I just look at how many stars a book gets and don't bother with the comments. As someone else has said, these reviews are by people who read the book, not professional.

Quite frequently after I've read a book with a good rating I find that I didn't like it all. Everybody's taste is different.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

Carolina925 — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 12:04:42 GMT

I love using Goodreads and rarely, if ever, read reviews. Books, as in all things, are quite relative so I don't take much notice in what others think. I've loved books before and referred them to friends who didn't like them at all. I find Goodreads is the perfect venue to keep up with books I've read so I don't repurchase.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

beckyb1012 — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 13:13:40 GMT

I never read anyone's review on Goodreads, Amazon ect.... I just read the synopsis and that is usually sufficient to know if it will peak my interest.

The monthly book forum is the only review I read since most are very good about not giving the ending away.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

AZfem — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:19:39 GMT

I also don't like reading reviews before reading or viewing a show. Will read after if I want. Have found different things speak to different people & someone else's viewpoint will not necessarily align with mine or resonate with me.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

gardenman — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:00:52 GMT

Customer reviews on books are "iffy" at best. There was a "customer" who gave every self-published book a one-star review, and the entire text of their reviews was, "This book is self-published." Given the hundreds/thousands of reviews they posted, they were either an amazingly fast reader or just spent all their time looking for self-published books to give a one-star review to. (Kudos to Amazon/Goodreads for eventually deleting most of those.)

I don't hear much about Fiverr these days, but writers used to be able to buy reviews from Fiverr. (I never did.) You'd pay X amount of dollars per review. Whenever you see a brand new book hit the market with a hundred or so reviews on day one, it's usually bought reviews. In general, books get one review for every hundred copies sold. That's pretty much how the math works. To get a hundred reviews on day one, something fishy is going on.

There were also review blackmailers who would threaten to post multiple negative reviews unless you paid them to drive down your review rank. If you see a book with lots of one-star reviews, they're either a horrible writer, or they didn't pay a blackmailer. (Kudos to Amazon/Goodreads again for sorting out those reviews.)

Some people love to spoil important storylines. Some people are just idiots. Some people have way too much free time to post useless reviews. Goodreads and Amazon try their best to sort things out, but there are more idiots posting reviews than there are Amazon employees.

In general, with book reviews, read the synopsis, check the review numerical score, and avoid the full written reviews unless you want to be spoiled. Because some idiot will spoil things given the chance.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

teganslaw — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 13:41:22 GMT

Star reviews don't always mean anything IMO. There are certain books on Goodreads with 5 star ratings or close that were disappointing to me or that I didn't finish reading. I usually stay away from books with multiple 5 star ratings, as my tastes are often different from the majority. When a book gets great reviews there is a high possibillity that I won't like it.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

icezeus — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 20:35:02 GMT

I love good reads. I use it primarily to keep track of books that I have read, as well as to access the author's published summary of the story, which is essentially what you would find on the inside of the jacket or the back of the book.

Every blue moon, I may look at how many stars a book has.

Re: Now i remember why i stopped using Goodreads

smoochy — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 04:07:18 GMT

@icezeus wrote:
I love good reads. I use it primarily to keep track of books that I have read, as well as to access the author's published summary of the story, which is essentially what you would find on the inside of the jacket or the back of the book.

Every blue moon, I may look at how many stars a book has.

I decided to give it another try. It really does make it simple to record your reading habits, catalog books etc. I don't bother with the reviews and concentrate on organizing my library instead