Goodreads Is Terrible for Books. Why Can’t We All Quit It? | The Walrus

Gradually, things started to go off the rails. My to-read list ballooned alarmingly, not from titles I felt drawn to out of genuine desire but ones the algorithm pushed on me. The thrill of discovery, too, felt compromised: every time my feed told me a friend had added a book that I'd found first, I felt a frisson of annoyance. Have some imagination. Then, after I posted a review of a recently published novel, the author reached out to thank me for it. I froze. The review had been positive, but that wasn't the point-I thought this was a private party, not the town square. There were writers here? Just hanging around and watching us? The pressure to moderate my ratings for an invisible audience was immediate. It was one thing to show off for my friends; this felt like a reminder that the stakes were people's livelihoods. It was my first hint that Goodreads wasn't-or wasn't only-a place for readers to gather and connect. It was trying to cater to authors and publishers too-groups whose priorities are very different.