Goodreads

{{Short description|American social book cataloging website owned by Amazon}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}} {{Infobox website | name = Goodreads | logo = Goodreads logo 2025.svg | caption = | url = {{official URL}} | commercial = Yes | type = Book reviews | registration = Optional | company_type = Subsidiary | language = English | owner = Amazon | founder = {{ubl|Otis Chandler|Elizabeth Khuri}} | founded = {{Start date and age|2006|12}} | current_status = Active }} '''Goodreads''' is an American social cataloging website operated by Goodreads, Inc., a subsidiary of 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> Users can search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews and expand the database by registering 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 million 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 30 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 its user base had grown to 20 million members.<ref group="‡">{{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 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== ===Founders=== 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 online businesses, including dating sites, while Khuri Chandler worked 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><ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2012 |title=Book Buddies |url=https://stanfordmag.org/contents/book-buddies |website=stanfordmag.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How A Quiet Developer Built Goodreads.com Into Book Community Of 2.6+ Million Members - with Otis Chandler |url=https://mixergy.com/interviews/goodreads-otis-chandler/}}</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=== Goodreads was founded in 2006. The idea came about when Otis Chandler was browsing through his friend's bookshelf. He wanted to recreate that browsing experience and create a space for people to review the books they read.<ref group="‡">{{Cite web|title=About Goodreads|url=https://www.goodreads.com/about/us|access-date=December 1, 2020|publisher=Goodreads}}</ref>

Goodreads aimed to address the “discoverability problem” in the digital age by providing a platform for readers to find, discuss, and share books, using user-generated reviews, recommendations, and community features to guide consumers toward titles they might enjoy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kwak |first=JeeEun |title=Design Critique: Goodreads – Good Books Meet Bad UX (iOS App) |url=https://ixd.prattsi.org/2024/09/design-critique-goodreads-good-books-meet-bad-ux-ios-app/ |website=Pratt Institute |date=September 2024 |access-date=April 4, 2025}}</ref>

===Early years=== Before gaining much traction, Otis and Elizabeth Chandler grew the platform through word of mouth, initially reaching 800 users. Eventually, it gained attention through the media such as Mashable<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 sustained Goodreads until 2009, when they received $2 million from True Ventures.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kellogg|first=Carolyn | title =What Goodreads will do with its new millions|url= https://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 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."<ref name = "Miller 2011" /><ref name = "hopkins1">{{cite web| last= Hopkins| first= Curt| title = Goodreads Buys Recommendation Service Discovereads | url = http://readwrite.com/2011/03/10/goodreads_buys_recommendation_service_discovereads | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130704120950/http://readwrite.com/2011/03/10/goodreads_buys_recommendation_service_discovereads | url-status = usurped | archive-date = July 4, 2013 | publisher = ReadWrite| date= March 10, 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref name = "Miller 2011" /><ref name="hopkins1"/> Later that year, Goodreads introduced an algorithm to suggest books to registered users and had over five million members.<ref name=usatoday>{{cite news|last=Frassica|first=Matt|title=For ebook devotees, reading is a whole new experience|url = https://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2011-07-03-digital-library-ebooks_n.htm |agency=''The Courier-Journal'' (Louisville) | work= USA Today | access-date =July 28, 2011|date= July 2, 2011}}</ref> ''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."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Halford|first= Macy|date=November 2011 | title= Getting Good at Goodreads|url = https://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2011/09/getting-good-at-goodreads-1.html |magazine= The New Yorker|access-date=November 15, 2011}}</ref>

As of 2012, membership was required to use but free.<ref name="BD">{{cite news|last=Zukerman |first=Erez |date=March 5, 2012 |title=Find New Favorite Books With Goodreads |url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/251286/goodreads.html |work=PCWorld |access-date=August 26, 2019 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|last=Fidelman|first=Mark|title=These are Top 25 Book Reviewers on Goodreads | type = infographic |url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/markfidelman/2012/10/16/goodreads-ceo-these-top-25-book-reviewers-represent-the-future-infographic/ |work= Forbes|access-date=October 22, 2012 |date=October 16, 2012}}</ref> A month later, in November 2012, Goodreads had surpassed 12 million members, with the member base having doubled in one year.<ref>{{Citation |date = November 8, 2012 |last = Greenfield |first = Jeremy |title = Goodreads CEO Otis Chandler on the Future of Discoverability and Social Reading |url = http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/goodreads-ceo-otis-chandler-on-the-future-of-discoverability-and-social-reading/ |newspaper = Digital Book World. |access-date = November 15, 2012 |archive-date = November 14, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121114051630/http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/goodreads-ceo-otis-chandler-on-the-future-of-discoverability-and-social-reading/ |url-status = dead }}</ref>

===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://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 group="‡">{{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. The paper also 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 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 |access-date=August 26, 2019 |work=The New York Times}}</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=https://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 group="‡">{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/review/guidelines|title=Review Guidelines|publisher=Goodreads |access-date=April 19, 2020}}</ref>

===2014–2023=== 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=https://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=https://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>

In 2023, Jane Friedman<ref name="janefriedman/books">{{cite web |title=Books by Jane Friedman |url=https://janefriedman.com/books/ |access-date=August 9, 2023 |website=Jane Friedman.com}}</ref> discovered listings of six books, which she believed to have been 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.<ref name="janefriedman/rather-my-books-pirated">{{cite web |last1=Friedman |first1=Jane |date=August 7, 2023 |title=I Would Rather See My Books Get Pirated Than This (Or: Why Goodreads and Amazon Are Becoming Dumpster Fires) |url=https://janefriedman.com/i-would-rather-see-my-books-pirated/ |access-date=August 9, 2023 |website=Jane Friedman}}</ref><ref name="arstechnica/2023/08/ai-generated-counterfeit-books-amazon">{{cite news |last1=Edwards |first1=Benj |date=August 8, 2023 |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 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name="vice/v7b774">{{cite web |last1=Roscoe |first1=Jules |date=June 28, 2023 |title=AI-Generated Books of Nonsense Are All Over Amazon's Bestseller Lists |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/ai-generated-books-of-nonsense-are-all-over-amazons-bestseller-lists/ |access-date=August 9, 2023 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost/amazon-goodreads">{{cite news |last1=O'Donovan |first1=Caroline |date=July 2, 2023 |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=The Washington Post}}</ref>

==Features== ===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 group="‡">{{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 provides the opportunity to create customized shelves to categorize a user's books.<ref group="‡">{{cite web | title = Groups| url = https://www.goodreads.com/group |work=Goodreads | access-date=November 15, 2011}}</ref>

===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>

===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 group="‡">{{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 group="‡">{{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.

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 group="‡">{{cite web| title= Goodreads | url = https://twitter.com/goodreads | work = Twitter | access-date=December 20, 2012}}</ref><ref group="‡">{{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 group="‡">{{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=September 5, 2013 }}.</ref>

==Catalog data== Book catalog data was seeded with large imports from various closed and open data sources, including individual publishers, Ingram,<ref group="‡">{{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 group="‡">{{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 group="‡">{{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 group="‡">{{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 group="‡">{{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 group="‡">{{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 group="‡">{{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 group="‡">{{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}}{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</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=== 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 group="‡">{{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== In 2012, after 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=https://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 group="‡">{{cite web |last=Brown |first=Patrick |title=Review Guidelines & Updated Author Guidelines |url=https://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 group="‡">{{cite web|last=Erikson|first=Kara|title=Important Note Regarding Reviews|url=https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1499741-important-note-regarding-reviews |publisher=Goodreads |date=September 20, 2013|access-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref>

==Goodreads Choice Awards== {{main|Goodreads Choice Awards}} {{:Goodreads Choice Awards}}

==Criticism== 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. While Amazon does not allow reviews to be posted for most books that have not yet been released, any registered user on Goodreads may rate or review a book before publication.<ref name="O'Donovan" /><ref name=AlterHarris/><ref name=McCluskey/> Goodreads has also been criticized for lax content moderation.<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/>

=== ‌Restrictions in Iran === Access to Goodreads has faced intermittent restrictions for Iranian users, imposed both by the Iranian government and by Goodreads’ parent company, Amazon.

==== Blocking in Iran ==== In February 2010, traffic from Iranian users to Goodreads dropped sharply. This occurred during a broader wave of internet censorship in Iran, including the temporary blocking of Gmail.<ref name="goodreads2010" group="‡">{{cite web |last=Jessica |title=Goodreads now blocked in Iran |url=https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/204-goodreads-now-blocked-in-iran |date=February 11, 2010|publisher=Goodreads |access-date=27 June 2025}}</ref> At the time, Goodreads confirmed that over 114,000 Iranian members had collectively added more than 714,000 books to their digital bookshelves. The platform praised Iranian users for engaging in literary and political discussions, and condemned the filtering as an attack on freedom of expression.<ref name="guardian2010">{{cite web |last=Flood |first=Alison |title=Iran blamed for blocking Goodreads networking site |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/feb/15/goodreads-block-iran-censorship |date=February 15, 2010 |access-date=27 June 2025}}</ref>

==== Account Suspensions and closure by Goodreads ==== In June 2019, shortly after the reimposition of U.S. sanctions against Iran, several Iranian users reported that their Goodreads accounts had been suspended. Emails sent by Goodreads cited “government sanctions and export control regulations” as the reason for the action.<ref name="popula2019">{{cite web |last=Snaije |first=Olivia |title=On the forbidding of cultural exchange with Iran |url=https://popula.com/2019/06/24/on-the-forbidding-of-cultural-exchange-with-iran/ |date=June 24, 2019 |access-date=27 June 2025}}</ref>

Writers, translators, and cultural users — including Iranian authors Arash Azizi and Barbad Golshiri — condemned the move as a form of cultural censorship, inconsistent with principles of information freedom. The suspensions drew significant attention on social media.<ref name="popula2019"/> Notably, Goodreads does not offer financial or commercial services, and Iranian users were primarily using it to review books and organize their reading.

The platform's 2010 statement, in which it had criticized Iran for blocking access and declared that “books make no harm,” was widely referenced in these discussions.<ref name="goodreads2010" group="‡"/>

In late June 2025, Goodreads initiated a new wave of account removals targeting Iranian users without prior warning. In order to restore access, Goodreads requested documents such as a passport, proof of residence, and employment verification. In response, Iranian users launched a public campaign to protest this action.<ref name="donya-e-eqtesad-4191837">{{cite web |title=اقدام عجیب گودریدز در تحریم کتابخوان‌‌های ایرانی |url=https://donya-e-eqtesad.com/بخش-فرهنگ-هنر-32/4191837-اقدام-عجیب-گودریدز-در-تحریم-کتابخوان-های-ایرانی |website=Donya-e Eghtesad|lang=fa|access-date=29 June 2025 |date=29 June 2025}}</ref><ref name="khabaronline-2083324">{{cite web |title=ممنوعیت کتابخوانی ایرانیان در گودریدرز |lang=fa|url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/2083324/ممنوعیت-کتابخوانی-ایرانیان-در-گودریدرز |website=Khabaronline|access-date=29 June 2025 |date=28 June 2025}}</ref>

==See also== {{div col|colwidth=10em}}  * aNobii * Babelio * BookArmy * Bookish * douban * iDreamBooks * LibraryThing * Open Library * Readgeek * Shelfari * The StoryGraph * Library 2.0 the concept behind Goodreads and similar sites * {{anl|The Hawaii Project}} {{div col end}}

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography== * {{cite news|author=Keegan, Victor Keegan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2007/jun/21/comment.guardianweeklytechnologysection |title=It's a new online chapter for books|work=The Guardian|date= June 21, 2007}} * {{cite news|author=Méndez, Teresa |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0615/p11s02-bogn.html |title=Peer-to-peer book reviews fill a niche|work=The Christian Science Monitor|date= June 15, 2007}} * {{cite news|author=Roy, Nilanjana S. |url=http://business-standard.com/opinionanalysis/storypage.php?leftnm=4&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=299416&tab=r |title=The world's largest reading room |work=Business Standard |date=September 27, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021053817/http://business-standard.com/opinionanalysis/storypage.php?leftnm=4&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=299416&tab=r |archive-date=October 21, 2007 }} (archived) * {{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== {{commons category}} * {{Official website|goodreads.com}}

Category:Amazon (company) acquisitions Category:American review websites Category:Book review websites Category:Companies based in San Francisco Category:Internet properties established in 2006 Category:Library 2.0 Category:Social cataloging applications Category:Goodreads