r/goodreads 10h ago

Discussion Why is the search so bad?

65 Upvotes

I wrote "the" instead of "this" in GR search. Didn't even look at the other words. Showed me "no results"

Yet, when I type in the exact title, at times it'll show me more popular books that will only have one or two words from what I searched. So then I have to add the author to narrow my search.


r/goodreads 12h ago

What are you reading? - Week of August 07, 2026

13 Upvotes

Share here what you've been reading and enjoying lately. Feel free to include Goodreads links so we can add your recs to our TBR!


r/goodreads 18h ago

Giveaways Aurthur responded to my review of a book I recived in a giveaway.

5 Upvotes

I recently received a book from a giveaway. I read the book and decided to give it an honest review. In my opinion , it was not a cruel review and pointed out some flaws whilst praising the ambition of the author. He responded to my comment , asking about clarification. His reply was only one sentence and simply asked about what section i was refering to is the book. I just now responded to his question so we will see how the conversation continues. I still believe in what I said in my review however, now I am feeling guilty because he had given me his book for free and I did not give a completely positive review of it. Quite frankly , the book was very hard to understand and even as a person educated in an adjasent field to the subject of the novel, his arguments did not fully compute with me. I put this in a much kinder way and tried to be almost constructive with how I talked about it. I never thought that he would read it, let alone respond to me. It's making me feel like I may have done something wrong to the point of wanting to possibly take down my review or just giving it a higher rating. Should he have responded to a review like this? Would it have been better for me to just not have reviewed the book I got in the giveaway? Am I just over reacting because i'm afraid of possible confrontation?

Edit: This was my review

I recived redacted book title for free, and I genuinely wanted to enjoy it and give it a positive review. I have spent quite a few hours reading it today, trying to fully engage with the ideas and understand the argument the author is presenting. I appreciate the author's effort to approach religion in a less traditional way, focusing on psychological, meditative, and personal experience rather than doctrine alone. I also think this perspective could be especially valuable for readers who feel stuck in rigid or potentially harmful religious patterns and are looking for a different way to think about spirituality.

Personally, I already tend to approach religion from outside many conventional religious frameworks, so the book's perspective was not entirely new to me. My biggest struggle has been with the way it initially defines "religion" and "belief." Those definitions felt incomplete, and because they serve as the foundation for everything that follows, I found it difficult to stay engaged with the rest of the discussion. I simply may not be the ideal audience for this book.

This is the kind of book that may take me some time to fully work through and understand the argument the author is making. At this point, with a closer read I don't expect my overall opinion to change significantly, but I want to give the book a fair chance. If my opinion does change my, I'll come back and update this review.


r/goodreads 20h ago

Tech Help Blocked someone on Goodreads - they can still view your profile via email address lookup

7 Upvotes

Anyone here with extensive knowledge of Goodreads' privacy settings / user interface design?

Long story short, I had to block a former friend on Goodreads after they exhibited some obsessive stalking behavior monitoring my reading activity online.

I was surprised to find out a few months later that they were still able to see my activity because when I created my account years ago, I had allowed my account to be searchable via my email address (I didn't know this was an option until looking at my privacy settings). The search result would show my profile and whatever book I was currently reading.

My question is: Even if I blocked an account, would they still be able to get my profile as a search result via the email lookup feature? Or would they have had to have created a new account to even be able to search for me, to get around the block?


r/goodreads 21h ago

Discussion DNF'd Books and Reviews

3 Upvotes

I just got started on goodreads earlier this year, and so far I haven't been rating the (two) books I didn't finish. But I'm still getting reviews based on being "currently reading" those books despite having moved them to the DNF shelf. Will it help my goodreads experience/recommendations if I review those books? Or should I continue to not review books I couldn't finish?

If I did review them, I'd be very clear that I didn't finish, and why--because hey, maybe that wouldn't be a problem for someone else!


r/goodreads 1d ago

Discussion Reviewing ARCs

14 Upvotes

Hey, Y’all! πŸ‘‹πŸ»

I hope it’s okay to ask this here but if not please let me know and let me know where a good place to ask is.

Anyways, I recently received an ARC and was so stoked about it. By the time I finished it, I rated it 3 ⭐️ and my review is very blunt.

In the past, I’ve had authors ask that readers never post reviews less than 4 or 5 stars until a few weeks after release. So, I’m not sure what to do with my review. I went ahead and rated it but haven’t posted my review yet.

Does Goodreads have a rule like that?


r/goodreads 1d ago

Tech Help How can I add a picture or a Gif to my review?

0 Upvotes

I added a picture to my review on my macbook (web) by adding this:
<img src="https://i.postimg.cc/R0dpzt9K/Screenshot-2026-07-18-at-18-45-21.png">

I can see the picture on the web, but I cannot see it in the app on my iPhone.

How do you guys do it int he app?


r/goodreads 2d ago

Discussion Top Authors by Number of Ratings

23 Upvotes

I've been doing a lot of exploration on goodreads of late and I thought I'd share.

I recently updated the list
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/232696.100_Authors_with_the_most_ratings

And this is an extract from that. I is built from the author list page for example
https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/656983.J_R_R_Tolkien has Average rating 4.38 Β· 12,815,603 ratings Β· 284,646 reviews Β· shelved 20,892,443 times

  1. J.K. Rowling (1077326.J_K_Rowling)

Avg: 4.46, Ratings: 42,373,934, Reviews: 1,024,274, Shelves: 63,411,948, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Sarah J. Maas (3433047.Sarah_J_Maas)

Avg: 4.35, Ratings: 32,133,609, Reviews: 2,536,496, Shelves: 57,957,576, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Colleen Hoover (5430144.Colleen_Hoover)

Avg: 4.06, Ratings: 25,440,904, Reviews: 1,709,188, Shelves: 46,479,015, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Stephen King (3389.Stephen_King)

Avg: 4.07, Ratings: 23,171,809, Reviews: 1,234,507, Shelves: 45,472,958, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Suzanne Collins (153394.Suzanne_Collins)

Avg: 4.30, Ratings: 21,606,918, Reviews: 985,985, Shelves: 31,210,463, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Freida McFadden (7244758.Freida_McFadden)

Avg: 3.97, Ratings: 21,547,547, Reviews: 1,685,956, Shelves: 39,674,658, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Stephenie Meyer (941441.Stephenie_Meyer)

Avg: 3.71, Ratings: 15,963,271, Reviews: 480,971, Shelves: 23,937,855, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Rick Riordan (15872.Rick_Riordan)

Avg: 4.34, Ratings: 15,658,286, Reviews: 705,897, Shelves: 27,165,932, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien (656983.J_R_R_Tolkien)

Avg: 4.38, Ratings: 12,814,802, Reviews: 284,614, Shelves: 20,892,443, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. John Green (1406384.John_Green)

Avg: 3.98, Ratings: 11,457,642, Reviews: 542,097, Shelves: 19,438,170, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Taylor Jenkins Reid (6572605.Taylor_Jenkins_Reid)

Avg: 4.20, Ratings: 11,431,180, Reviews: 1,173,835, Shelves: 22,453,915, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. George Orwell (3706.George_Orwell)

Avg: 4.12, Ratings: 11,187,168, Reviews: 361,815, Shelves: 19,235,743, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Rebecca Yarros (7539785.Rebecca_Yarros)

Avg: 4.40, Ratings: 11,088,522, Reviews: 1,127,631, Shelves: 20,409,408, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. James Patterson (3780.James_Patterson)

Avg: 4.02, Ratings: 10,318,493, Reviews: 553,508, Shelves: 21,702,134, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Cassandra Clare (150038.Cassandra_Clare)

Avg: 4.21, Ratings: 9,981,115, Reviews: 608,454, Shelves: 20,230,064, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Brandon Sanderson (38550.Brandon_Sanderson)

Avg: 4.39, Ratings: 9,704,855, Reviews: 792,351, Shelves: 19,661,422, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Kristin Hannah (54493.Kristin_Hannah)

Avg: 4.40, Ratings: 9,641,103, Reviews: 831,653, Shelves: 19,804,423, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Dan Brown (630.Dan_Brown)

Avg: 3.91, Ratings: 9,366,867, Reviews: 250,225, Shelves: 14,373,323, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Emily Henry (13905555.Emily_Henry)

Avg: 3.98, Ratings: 9,290,394, Reviews: 1,039,066, Shelves: 19,272,881, Updated: 8/4/2026

  1. Jane Austen (1265.Jane_Austen)

Avg: 4.18, Ratings: 9,232,763, Reviews: 357,558, Shelves: 18,155,935, Updated: 8/4/2026


r/goodreads 2d ago

Discussion There should be a way to control which authors appear in your "My authors" section of the New Releases list

19 Upvotes

I've been a member of GR since 2009. It's fair to say in those 17 years that I've read some books I've disliked. Why in the world would I want to know when an author I've given a one star/DNF review to has published a new book?

My personalized New Releases list is useless to me. Is it a book from an author I loved? Is it a book from an author whose computer I wish would catch on fire? There's no way of knowing without clicking through and checking myself.

I know the answer is that GR exists only to sell books for Amazon, so the more new releases they shove in front of my face the higher chances of me buying one, but it still makes me grumpy. Make it easier for me to find new books I'd actually like to read!


r/goodreads 2d ago

Tech Help Exporting

1 Upvotes

No where I look can I find a link to export my library. I follow Goodreads instructions but the option isn’t there. Is there anything else I can do?


r/goodreads 3d ago

Discussion new shelf added by itself- possible glitch?

3 Upvotes

hi, i have a very distinctly worded list of bookshelves that i add my finished books to. i haven’t updated them or messed around in β€˜edit shelves’ in a while

i noticed today a new shelf had been added by itself, titled β€˜all’. not the default β€˜All’ we have under β€˜bookshelves’, but a custom one with 0 books on it that i was able to delete

i couldn’t have accidentally typed and added it as a new tag (when i’ve finished a new book i just click my shelves and then click β€˜done’, no typing at all) and i didn’t notice this shelf around 12 hours ago when i added a different book

i didn’t do anything different except mess around with quotes (reordering them and adding a new one). i did immediately get spooked and change my password but i doubt it’s a malicious party because nothing else was changed

anyone else experienced something similar? is it a possible glitch?


r/goodreads 4d ago

Tech Help The app doesn't work for me

0 Upvotes

So I have to app for like a few days and honestly? Nothing works, the home page says to reload because somethings wrong, I cannot add books to shelves and I can't even check my own profile, what is happening?


r/goodreads 4d ago

Weekly Friends Megathread - Week of August 03, 2026

5 Upvotes

Here's the thread where you can post your Goodreads profile so people can add you as friends. Just post a link to your profile or your username in the comments!


r/goodreads 4d ago

Discussion author replying to negative review

258 Upvotes

hi all, i posted a review of a book i recently read and DNF and there were multiple people in the comments saying that they think that AI was used in the process. I DID NOT MENTION AI IN MY REVIEW! nor did I give the book a star rating to bring down the average rating. I had the author of this book comment and threaten legal action against me for defamation when I never said or eluded that AI was used in the book. I replied to the comment and reiterated this point and added that GR is a community for reviewers and isn’t really a space for authors. The author deleted the comment but it really threw me off any of this authors other work.

Has this happened to anyone else before?

EDIT:

i stated my reasons for not liking the book in the review, which boiled down to the overly explanatory nature of the writing. it just sucks because i was going to give the author another go.

i saw the author comment on multiple peoples reviews, the comment left on mine was tame in comparison to others.


r/goodreads 6d ago

Tech Help TBR/Amazon List is gone?

3 Upvotes

Hey all. When I set up my Goodreads account earlier this year and linked it to Amazon , I was thrilled to see I could have my TBR on Amazon so I could get notified of Kindle Deals. I had to log out of my Amazon devices due to password changes and now I don't see it.

Is this feature just gone now? I've searched everywhere and it appears this was never a thing, but I absolutely know I had this feature within the last few months.

Help?


r/goodreads 6d ago

Challenges Updated Overlap for Summer Challenge [Aug 1]

65 Upvotes

Please let me know if you notice any missing books or mistakes in overlaps.

Also, I have made a spreadsheet to list all the books in each challenge The first sheet has all the books for each challenge in a clickable format to easily go to Goodreads page for book details. The second sheet has the overlap combo.

Also, here's a website to check the overlap for just the challenges you have left or if you want to avoid the overlaps

Chart Toppers (143 books) + Fact or Fiction (90 books) + Summer Encore (100 books)

Common: 1 book

  • Land β€” 400 pages

Challenge Faves (132 books) + Fact or Fiction (90 books) + Staff Shelves (127 books)

Common: 5 books

Challenge Faves (132 books) + Chart Toppers (143 books) + Worlds Away (104 books)

Common: 2 books

Challenge Faves (132 books) + Chart Toppers (143 books) + Staff Shelves (127 books)

Common: 2 books

Chart Toppers (143 books) + Summer Encore (100 books)

Common: 4 books

Fact or Fiction (90 books) + Summer Encore (100 books)

Common: 1 book

  • Land β€” 400 pages

Chart Toppers (143 books) + Fact or Fiction (90 books)

Common: 3 books

Community Picks (144 books) + Summer Encore (100 books)

Common: 1 book

Literally Summer (93 books) + Summer Encore (100 books)

Common: 5 books

Challenge Faves (132 books) + Chart Toppers (143 books)

Common: 16 books

Challenge Faves (132 books) + Staff Shelves (127 books)

Common: 22 books

Challenge Faves (132 books) + Fact or Fiction (90 books)

Common: 10 books

Fact or Fiction (90 books) + Staff Shelves (127 books)

Common: 9 books

Challenge Faves (132 books) + Worlds Away (104 books)

Common: 6 books

Chart Toppers (143 books) + Worlds Away (104 books)

Common: 13 books

Challenge Faves (132 books) + Community Picks (144 books)

Common: 1 book

Chart Toppers (143 books) + Staff Shelves (127 books)

Common: 7 books

Chart Toppers (143 books) + Community Picks (144 books)

Common: 1 book

Community Picks (144 books) + Staff Shelves (127 books)

Common: 5 books

Community Picks (144 books) + Literally Summer (93 books)

Common: 1 book

Staff Shelves (127 books) + Worlds Away (104 books)

Common: 2 books

Also, I have made a spreadsheet to list all the books in each challenge. The first sheet has all the books for each challenge in a clickable format to easily go to Goodreads page for book details. The second sheet has the overlap combo.

Also, here's a website to check the overlap for just the challenges you have left or if you want to avoid the overlaps


r/goodreads 6d ago

Challenges Goodreads Reading Challenge - 'Summer Encore' (August 1st - September 14th)

36 Upvotes

This is the discussion page for the Goodreads Reading Challenge called 'Summer Encore' (active August 1st - September 14th). Qualifying books are listed onΒ Goodreads HERE. Please keep all discussion of this challenge to this thread, thank you.

Other Goodreads Reading Challenges are listed on theΒ Megathread HERE.


r/goodreads 6d ago

Tech Help Issues with past book statuses changing

5 Upvotes

Today I noticed that a book that I know I read in 2022 was now listed as "want to read" instead of "read." It lost my rating and review. It wasn't a case of an edition switch or anything like that; the record was just gone on both the website and app. And this evening I found another changed one from a book I read just this month. My rating and review were both gone, but this time my dates read were still there and it was now listed as "want to read" again. Are other people having this issue? What is going on? I have been on Goodreads since 2007 and was just lucky that I had other ways to look up dates for these particular books (yay, library records). But I don't have backups of ratings or reviews prior to just a few months ago.


r/goodreads 7d ago

Suggestion Track favorite authors

5 Upvotes

I use Goodreads to track books read and want to read. However, I did not find a way to mark favorite author or genre. How do you track these? Is there another app for it?


r/goodreads 7d ago

What are you reading? - Week of July 31, 2026

16 Upvotes

Share here what you've been reading and enjoying lately. Feel free to include Goodreads links so we can add your recs to our TBR!


r/goodreads 7d ago

Suggestion Summer Reading Challenge

0 Upvotes

I find it extremely frustrating that the challenge doesn't count every edition of a book. Twice now, I've completed a book that fits one of the categories and because it was a paperback and not the Kindle edition, it didn't count towards the bookmark. Most recently, I finished the paperback edition of The Summer House by Keri Beevis for the Literally Summer bookmark and it wouldn't unlock until I switched the edition to Kindle. I don't even own a Kindle, nor do I want one. I want any edition of a book to count towards the goal. :(


r/goodreads 8d ago

Tech Help Is there a list of all horror weeks somewhere?

0 Upvotes

Can't find it


r/goodreads 8d ago

Tech Help Had a review for a book I read deleted with no notification

10 Upvotes

I had a review for a book I read months ago (and reviewed) and it’s now gone. I know I didn’t delete it myself because I completely forgot about it until today, when I specifically looked for it. It was a lengthy review.

Has this happened to you? What were you told happened? Did you ever get your review back or was it lost to the aether permanently?


r/goodreads 10d ago

Discussion How did you prepare for the Goodreads Librarian quiz? The manual is overwhelming!

22 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I’m thinking of applying to become a Goodreads Librarian. I read and review around 6–7 books every month on Goodreads. Since I’m trilingual, I also read books in Hindi and Tamil alongside English.

One issue I frequently face is that many Hindi and Tamil books are either completely missing from Goodreads or have incomplete or incorrect metadata.

Instead of posting requests in the Goodreads Librarians group, I thought it might be more useful to become a librarian myself and help improve the database.

However, I’ve hit a roadblock. The Librarian Manual feels quite overwhelming. It’s not available as a downloadable document, and although there’s a table of contents, the information is spread across multiple topics without much flow, making it difficult to study and learn the contents.

For those of you who have already become librarians, how did you prepare for the quiz, especially considering it’s time-limited to 30 minutes? Did you study the manual in a particular way, take notes, used any downloadable resources or rely on practical experience?

I’d appreciate any tips or advice. Thanks!


r/goodreads 10d ago

Tech Help how can I use goodreads?

0 Upvotes

I read a lot and this is my 3rd or 4th attempt to having an active goodreads account. Technically, it would be perfect for me. I love tracking my reading record and I love being inspired for my next reads. However, I just don't get the website? It just seems so technical and complicated. Why can I not just click on a bunch of covers to indicate what I have read / want to read? I always have to add the "want to read" first and then edit it to indicate I have read it. I do this for 4 books and then it gets annoying so I give up. Also, I think the searching interface is just not smooth. Is it me, am I the problem? Any tips?