Either, Both, or Neither: GoodReads vs. Library Thing
January 28, 2011
I’m curious about who uses Library Thing, who uses GoodReads, who uses both, and who uses none at all… and what percent of these people are book bloggers versus not book bloggers.
There are several answers so please take just a few seconds to read them all before choosing yours. If there is not an answer that fits you, you can write one in the comments section. Also, if you’re open to sharing more about why you use one, the other, both, or neither, please do so in the comments section — I’d love to hear your reasons!
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But, I actually started out using Shelfari, and still do. I LOVE it, but I do like the fact that Goodreads has a giveaway section that I don’t recall ever seeing at Shelfari.
I’m not a book blogger and I use GoodReads…because you told me to, LOL! I’ve never heard of Library Thing, headed over there now to check it out
I answered the poll but wanted to say that if it weren’t for LT’s Early Reviewer program, I’d just be using Goodreads. Currently I use both but find GR so much easier to use and so easy on the eyes.
Oh and GR has GR mobile for your phone which makes book shopping soooo much easier. I check out my shelves all the time while at the bookstore.
For the longest time, I just did LibraryThing. The thought of doing both – the time it would take – gave me the willies. But I must say that I am glad I did. I find Goodreads much more user friendly, and I find it easier to get involved in discussions there. LT, though, has a much better filing system in place in my opinion. Doing both is not quite as time consuming as I thought, so that would be my recommendation.
I have been using Goodreads long before I started blogging, and LOVE it! And that’s why I’m not on Library Thing: because I started on Goodreads, and think it’s unnecessary to be on both (and wouldn’t want to constantly update my every read on 2 sites..)
I’ve used Goodreads since 2008 and I just started blogging in June of 2010. I actually just joined LibraryThing a week or two ago but I wouldn’t say I use it. I’m just curious about it after seeing some bloggers use it. I’m really active on Goodreads groups although since I started blogging I’ve been less active because I’ve found I like to keep up with the blogging community a little bit more.
Using either one would be completely daunting for me – I have wayyyyy too many books! We converted our dining room into a library (two English majors marry – what else can you expect!). I use all of my cataloging energy in logging my teas. Much smaller group to obsess over: http://steepster.com/JacquelineM
I’m a LT girl all the way. I find it so much tidier and more user-friendly (sorry Trisha
). I do have a GoodReads account, but I don’t seem to get on with their interface at all.
I use GoodReads and find it far more friendly user than LibraryThing…it is also more friendly in connecting with others too. My only issue with GoodReads is its limited shelving. Sure, I can tag books, but that must belong on To Read, Read, Have Read shelves, and I don’t always want all of my books in those specific shelves. I also will say, I have greatly neglected my GoodReads account, and I need to take some time to clean it up.
You know, you can create shelves as you want
I use GR. I used to use LT but I never really liked it then… I think the review system on GR is much clearer and easier to find reviews – it’s also more ‘booky’ and easier to read. Also, I really like the community feeling and that the people who own/run Goodreads are actually there and available.
LT was actually the first book cataloguing thing I joined, but I just never ‘felt’ anything with it. Goodreads however… I just found a desire to catalogue every book I owned.
I haven’t really looked into LT gorups though… and though I wouldn’t say I use GR any more for social activities – preferring to stick to a few small groups rather then big ones – I do find it much more of a community freedom. I like how you can keep up with what your friends are reading and talk about it, making it more then just some old catalogue.
Also, you can get in contact with authors who are on GR and it feels much more of a sort of place. Their cataloguing ‘shelf’ system I also think is really good – being able to differentiate between reading/to-reads/read rather then the usual old tags. The way it is laid out feels much more natural. Maybe that is what I’ve become used to though, having used it the most.
Shelfari I think looks very pretty but there isn’t much else to add.
I do have accounts with all three but I’ve pretty much forgotten about the others. Keeping up with GR is hard enough!
I signed up for both Library Thing and Shelfari and wasn’t really happy with either. Then I found Goodreads and I never went back to the others. I love Goodreads.
I started off on LibraryThing, but I soon switched over to GoodReads. Not only is it free, regardless of the size of your library (critical for me since I apparently have over 600 books listed!), but GoodReads just calls to the geekish side of me. I love the interface, and I especially love that I can track my reading progress… I love watching that little bar fill up!
I joined LT in 2006 and didn’t start blogging until Jan. 2010. I love LT and have been cataloguing, rating and reviewing books there for years. I love the way it’s set up, but I’ve heard good things about both sites.
Wallace, I use GoodReads, but only when I remember to use it which is not as often as I would like. Also I don’t use all the doodads they have. I just list my books and rate them. When I think of it.
I’m probably missing out on some more useful way of handling it.
I technically use both, but mostly use LT. I do bulk updates on GoodReads when I remember, but LT’s cataloging functions work so much better for my needs – and I get my “social” book needs met via book blogging.
I tend to use LT for books I actually have had a physical relationship with–books I own or have read. I find the interface generally easier and cleaner to work with, and tagging is much, much simpler on LT, IMO. I’m a member of a few LT groups, but I mostly just lurk.
I use Goodreads for my wishlist and to track my current reading. I would have just stuck with LT for that too, but I kept getting annoyed when I actually read a wishlist book in a different edition from the one on my wishlist. I like to have the editions right, and the process of fixing it was clunky. And like Steph, I do enjoy the status bar. I do sometimes find the social features a little too “in your face” at GR, because the main page shows so many types of activity the GR friends are engaging in. That probably just means I need to clean up my feed on my main page to only show certain activities or certain friends.
I used to use Shelfari and LibraryThing but Goodreads is so much better. There’s no fee with Goodreads, which is important to me since I have a ton of books listed. It’s easy to use too.
Wallace, are you going to put up a sign-up post for the 48 Hour TBR read-a-thon soon?
Yes, it’s going up tomorrow.
Yay! *doing a little dance*
You know, I actually use both sites. I’m not sure why, but I like to keep my books and reviews for my blog organized in a couple of different places. I do like that LT doesn’t send me too many updates, which is hypocritical of me, because I check GR more because of people’s updates. It’s silly, but I have my reasons on both accounts. I like GR to socialize about books, and I like LT as a nice and tidy organization tool.
This is interesting because I would like to know the pros and cons of these two sites! I use Library Thing, btw!
I love both sites for different reasons.
I am neither a book blogger or a food blogger, but a combination of both and then just some randomness thrown in for good measure. B UT, I use Goodreads. I used to use Library Thing, but I reached a point where they wanted to charge me, and I couldn’t justify paying to catalog my books.
I’ve used both sporadically, although I mostly use Goodreads now. Library Thing is better for tracking someone’s whole book collection, where Goodreads is better for tracking what you’re reading currently. That’s how I seem to divide it these days anyway. They both have their strengths and weaknesses.
I use both – Goodreads to keep up with everything I read (books borrowed, etc) and LibraryThing for cataloging my books. LibraryThing has saved me from buying duplicates on more than one occasion (and I prefer LibraryThing for finding similar books or looking at all the books by an author).
I mostly use Librarything and lurk on goodreads. Librarything’s format is so much easier to use, while goodreads layout is sort of junky. Goodreads has more users though because it’s free unlimited cataloguing. I think Goodreads has more current books listed. A book that came out in November 2010 might be catalogued by 5 people on LT and 150 people on GR. I’ve gladly paid for a LT lifetime membership, but I think LT would have more active users if they moved to a free/donation based site.
I\’m so glad that the internet alwlos free info like this!
For a more vibrant community, more interesting reviews the lists, ease of use, a good layout, the ability to catalog an unlimited amount of books free, and connecting with authors (yes, authors), Goodreads wins. I’ve heard lots of snobbish individuals say, “Oh, LibraryThing is for serious readers, while Goodreads is only for those who want a social network,” but having used both, I can tell you that is nonsense. I am tenfold the reader I am today because of Goodreads. I have become more broadminded and self-aware in my tastes. LibraryThing has better recommendations, it’s true, and the feature where one can take a glance at famous authors’ bookshelves is nice, but with Goodreads you have everyone, not just librarians. That means that one does find even the people who have more friends than books, but overall, it’s a tolerable compromise. Better that than sorting through a bland, lifeless community and paying money for cataloging over two hundred books. Community is what matters with sites such as these.