best alternative to GoodReads?

Hoping to find something free and open.

59 points · 18 comments · view on lemmy.world

18 Comments

i_am_not_a_robot@feddit.uk · 42 pts · 1y (3 replies)

Bookwyrm if you want something Fediverse.

Storygraph I think is the other popular one (I've not used it)

y0y0ma@lemmy.sdf.org · 12 pts · 1y (1 reply)

I have been using TheStorygraph and I am amazed by the quality of some of the recommendations.

Vanth@reddthat.com · 6 pts · 1y

Also a Storygraph user. And I'll add in praise for their migration tool that carried over my Goodreads data so I didn't lose my history nor my to-read list.

TheFunkyMonk@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 1y

I’ve been using Storygraph for a couple of years now and love it. The only feature it’s missing for me that Goodreads has (although its implementation is awkward anyway) is the ability to add a note to a book you haven’t started yet.

My workaround for now is a tagging system with friends names like #recommendation #recommendation-amy and if I want some more detailed info, I made a custom shortcut to transform a Storygraph share URL into a note in my book notes folder in Obsidian.

hanrahan@slrpnk.net · 22 pts · 1y

Bookwyrm on the Fediverse ?

https://bookwyrm.social/

illi@lemm.ee · 16 pts · 1y (1 reply)

In case you use it for tracking what you've read and what you would like to read - OpenReads

01189998819991197253@infosec.pub · 2 pts · 1y

I had no idea this existed! This is awesome!

brandon@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 1y (1 reply)

I’ve been using Hardcover. Still very much a WIP and community is still pretty small but it seems very promising with a public api and ambitions to open source.

conciselyverbose@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1y

Well, they let me order my lists (and actually display the order). That's good.

No way to bulk add books to a list? Not so good.

Worth keeping an eye on, though.

solrize@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1y

If you mean a shared server for book comments, Open Library (openlibrary.org) was supposed to be that, though it never gained so much popularity.

EleventhHour@lemmy.world · -47 pts · 1y (9 replies)
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master_of_unlocking@lemmy.world · 34 pts · 1y (1 reply)

Maybe look up Goodreads before coming in and making a condescending comment. Hint: it’s not an e-reader.

Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works · 17 pts · 1y

They could have destroyed me... by just saying "book clubs" but alas, they don't keep up with the times, apparently not even Victorian era...

simple@lemm.ee · 20 pts · 1y
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missingno@fedia.io · 18 pts · 1y

You should probably double check whether you even understood OP's question before acting smug and condescending.

BorgDrone@lemmy.one · 7 pts · 1y (3 replies)

Disregarding that you completely fail to understand OP’s question; physical books suck. We used then until a few decades ago because we didn’t have anything better now we do. It’s called an e-reader and it’s superior to dead tree books in every single way.

proudblond@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1y (2 replies)

Can’t say I agree with you. Call me old fashioned but I like having the physical book. It lends a vibe to the experience that e-readers bypass simply by being digital.

BorgDrone@lemmy.one · 6 pts · 1y (1 reply)

The user-experience of physical books is pretty bad. They are bulky and heavy, unlike an e-reader you can’t keep 1000+ books in your coat pocket. You need an external light source, which limits where and when you can read. If you want to read a new book you have to go to a physical store or library (both have extremely limited selections due to the aforementioned bulkiness) or you have to order online which takes at least a day for delivery. With an e-reader I can pick a book and start reading it 10 seconds later without even leaving the comfort of my bed.

Then there’s small things like full text search.

tal@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 1y

You need an external light source, which limits where and when you can read

It's not as uniform as an ereader's illumination, but book lights are a thing.

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Book-Lights/zgbs/hi/1063290

I'm with you on the search and bulkiness, though.

can@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 1y

Tagging system helps once again