Lisa’s status > Likes and Comments
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Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe most members will like this or at least not mind it.
I usually finish most books, Lisa, but tonight I posted a book as "skimmed." I do think that GR should be paying more attention to things their members actually care about, but that will never happen.
I was annoyed by their "You wanted this!" email.
Margie wrote: "I usually finish most books, Lisa, but tonight I posted a book as "skimmed." I do think that GR should be paying more attention to things their members actually care about, but that will never happen."
Margie, I actually have 17 books on an otherwise named DNF shelf. I changed its name because I didn't want that shelf to be made an exclusive shelf. I get it because if we dnf a book it doesn't exactly belong on our read shelf but I don't like that we can't opt out of the new shelf. I'm also worried that if we export our books to another book site such as LibraryThing that it won't know what to do with the books on it. Which of their exclusive shelves will they go to, if they export at all? And, yes, there are so many things that this site could improve and there are so many things that they could stop making worse.
Mir wrote: "I was annoyed by their "You wanted this!" email."
Mir, Ha! Well I accept that *maybe* they got more feedback from members who wanted this than those who didn't and at least we got warning this tie. I was able to change the name of my dnf shelf before the new shelf went live. I could also be wrong that a lot of members will hate this as much as I do but I'm sure that I'm not alone.
Margie wrote: "posted a book as "skimmed.""
You know what's also weird? I'm surprised that Amazon would want to. highlight books that members didn't want to finish. Their aim is to sell books so why put a spotlight on books people disliked enough to not continue reading. There are other reasons people do not finish books too and, like you Margie, there are books where skimming or dipping in are the best way to read them (reference books, for example) but many times people don't finish books because they're not enjoying them.
Lisa wrote: "there are books where skimming or dipping in are the best way to read them (reference books, for example) but many times people don't finish books because they're not enjoying them."
That's one of the reasons my currently-reading is so long.
I'm not currently reading most of them!
Agree, Lisa! Did you get the email from GR a few weeks before the feature was added? I feel like many didn't or else lots of statuses would have been posted about this change at that time.
I had the same thought as what you say in post 6. Amazon will change the site only in ways that benefit Amazon, not to make users happy; this isn't GR circa 2007! There's something in this for Amazon that we're not understanding. I chose to rename my shelf, per the instructions in the announcement email, so that what I'd put on my DNF shelf wouldn't default to Amazon's new DNF shelf. Unfortunately, the shelf formatting now looks stupid, as I have both my "did not complete" shelf (renamed by me) and the default DNF shelf. But I don't care much. If I weren't suspicious of the change I would have chosen to use the new feature.
Margie wrote: "I usually finish most books, Lisa, but tonight I posted a book as "skimmed." I do think that GR should be paying more attention to things their members actually care about, but that will never happen."
Yeah, we didn't truly need this when we were already easily able to create an exclusive DNF shelf. If we couldn't, that'd be another story. All this new feature offers is convenience.
Mir wrote: "That's one of the reasons my currently-reading is so long.
I'm not currently reading most of them!"
Mir, I know that you and many others do this.
Caroline wrote: "Agree, Lisa! Did you get the email from GR a few weeks before the feature was added? I feel like many didn't or else lots of statuses would have been posted about this change at that time.
Yeah, we didn't truly need this when we were already easily able to create an exclusive DNF shelf. If we couldn't, that'd be another story. All this new feature offers is convenience. "
Caroline, Yes, I got several emails from them about it and I also renamed my dnf shelf.
I do not understand why Amazon would want to highlight dnf books. They want to sell books so why focus on those readers might not have liked enough to finish?! I realize sometimes books belong on that shelf that aren't meant to be read in full, such as reference books, but most are books that readers were not enjoying.
I do understand the logic of making an exclusive shelf and dnf books nof belonging on read or to-read. If not all the pages were read then the the number or pages read would not be accurate, but I don't want additional exclusive shelves.
Members were NOT asking for this! If they had they could have been given instructions on how to make their dnf shelves exclusive.
I was grateful for the notice.
I do not like that I now have an exclusive shelf that will always have 0 books on it and that I have to see on a regular basis. It's dumb!
To Lisa Vegan: I always enjoy coming across readers who are vegan. My 2020 novel, "Cat's Whisker" features veganism, animal intelligence, and the sadly growing rift between science and spirituality. Best of luck to you in all you do.
I actually like it. It helps me keep things organized, and it keeps the books that weren't worth finishing cut off from the rest of the herd... and if anyone following me with similar tastes wants they can look at the books i didn't think were worth finishing and decide on whether or not they want to read it, likewise i can look at someone else dnf list for the same reason.
Robert Steven wrote: "To Lisa Vegan: I always enjoy coming across readers who are vegan. My 2020 novel, "Cat's Whisker" features veganism, animal intelligence, and the sadly growing rift between science and spirituality..."
Hi Robert, Nice to meet you too. There are many, many vegans here at Goodreads.
QuietIdea wrote: "I actually like it. It helps me keep things organized, and it keeps the books that weren't worth finishing cut off from the rest of the herd... and if anyone following me with similar tastes wants ..."
QuietIdea, Why push it on everyone though? Any member can make their own exclusive shelves. Many had already made an dnf exclusive shelf. You could have done the same. Having made did not finish as one of the few default exclusive shelves though means that all of us are stuck with it and many won't use it so it will forever have 0 books on it and just be annoying. This update was 100% unnecessary.
Yes, lots of people never dnf, or don't add their unenjoyed books.
Mir wrote: "Yes, lots of people never dnf, or don't add their unenjoyed books."
Mir, True! That's often true for me. If I start a book and don't like it I often just take it off my shelves, whether I've read a page or most of its pages.
It should not have been made an exclusive shelf for every member. Given that members could already make their own exclusive shelf the more I think about it the more I don't understand Goodreads doing this.
Why don’t you like it? I was so excited that they were finally adding the feature and I thought everyone was waiting for it, as well
Sky wrote: "Why don’t you like it? I was so excited that they were finally adding the feature and I thought everyone was waiting for it, as well"
Sky, I hate it because 1. Many of us will never use it and having an exclusive shelf with 0 books on it looks dumb, and 2. It wasn't needed. Why were you waiting?! Members here can add as many shelves as they want including making whatever shelves they want exclusive. Before this change members could add an exclusive shelf that was named dnf or did not finish or whatever they wanted to name it. You didn't have to wait. You could have made your own did not finish shelf and could have made it exclusive.
Sky, P.S.
Go to My Books and then at
Bookshelves (Edit)
Click on the (Edit) and you can make new shelves, rename shelves, and make whichever of them you want exclusive.
Rather than foist this "feature" on all members Goodreads should have just been providing instructions, including a suggested name for did not finish if they wanted so many members could have chosen the same name for the dnf shelf.
Lisa wrote: "Caroline, Yes, I got several emails from them about it and I also renamed my dnf shelf.
I do not understand why Amazon would want to highlight dnf books. They want to sell books so why focus on those readers might not have liked enough to finish?! I realize sometimes books belong on that shelf that aren't meant to be read in full, such as reference books, but most are books that readers were not enjoying.
I do understand the logic of making an exclusive shelf and dnf books nof belonging on read or to-read. If not all the pages were read then the the number or pages read would not be accurate, but I don't want additional exclusive shelves.
Members were NOT asking for this! If they had they could have been given instructions on how to make their dnf shelves exclusive.
I was grateful for the notice.
I do not like that I now have an exclusive shelf that will always have 0 books on it and that I have to see on a regular basis. It's dumb!"
I wonder whether Amazon is throwing members a bone. Maybe numbers are down, in both activity level and new-account creation, so Amazon is giving members this thing, something easy for the company to code for and not something that changes anything. As you've pointed out, Lisa, this wasn't a needed feature as we already were able to create the shelf. It's therefore a "fake improvement," but most members seem elated to have it and feel a little warmer toward GR, so that's happy news for Amazon.
Caroline wrote: "I wonder whether Amazon is throwing members a bone. Maybe numbers are down, in both activity level and new-account creation, so Amazon is giving members this thing, something easy for the company to code for and not something that changes anything. As you've pointed out, Lisa, this wasn't a needed feature as we already were able to create the shelf. It's therefore a "fake improvement," but most members seem elated to have it and feel a little warmer toward GR, so that's happy news for Amazon. "
Caroline, You might be right. If so then I'm even more annoyed.
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Lisa
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Mar 18, 2026 10:32PM
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe most members will like this or at least not mind it.
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I usually finish most books, Lisa, but tonight I posted a book as "skimmed." I do think that GR should be paying more attention to things their members actually care about, but that will never happen.
I was annoyed by their "You wanted this!" email.
Margie wrote: "I usually finish most books, Lisa, but tonight I posted a book as "skimmed." I do think that GR should be paying more attention to things their members actually care about, but that will never happen."Margie, I actually have 17 books on an otherwise named DNF shelf. I changed its name because I didn't want that shelf to be made an exclusive shelf. I get it because if we dnf a book it doesn't exactly belong on our read shelf but I don't like that we can't opt out of the new shelf. I'm also worried that if we export our books to another book site such as LibraryThing that it won't know what to do with the books on it. Which of their exclusive shelves will they go to, if they export at all? And, yes, there are so many things that this site could improve and there are so many things that they could stop making worse.
Mir wrote: "I was annoyed by their "You wanted this!" email."Mir, Ha! Well I accept that *maybe* they got more feedback from members who wanted this than those who didn't and at least we got warning this tie. I was able to change the name of my dnf shelf before the new shelf went live. I could also be wrong that a lot of members will hate this as much as I do but I'm sure that I'm not alone.
Margie wrote: "posted a book as "skimmed.""You know what's also weird? I'm surprised that Amazon would want to. highlight books that members didn't want to finish. Their aim is to sell books so why put a spotlight on books people disliked enough to not continue reading. There are other reasons people do not finish books too and, like you Margie, there are books where skimming or dipping in are the best way to read them (reference books, for example) but many times people don't finish books because they're not enjoying them.
Lisa wrote: "there are books where skimming or dipping in are the best way to read them (reference books, for example) but many times people don't finish books because they're not enjoying them."That's one of the reasons my currently-reading is so long.
I'm not currently reading most of them!
Agree, Lisa! Did you get the email from GR a few weeks before the feature was added? I feel like many didn't or else lots of statuses would have been posted about this change at that time.I had the same thought as what you say in post 6. Amazon will change the site only in ways that benefit Amazon, not to make users happy; this isn't GR circa 2007! There's something in this for Amazon that we're not understanding. I chose to rename my shelf, per the instructions in the announcement email, so that what I'd put on my DNF shelf wouldn't default to Amazon's new DNF shelf. Unfortunately, the shelf formatting now looks stupid, as I have both my "did not complete" shelf (renamed by me) and the default DNF shelf. But I don't care much. If I weren't suspicious of the change I would have chosen to use the new feature.
Margie wrote: "I usually finish most books, Lisa, but tonight I posted a book as "skimmed." I do think that GR should be paying more attention to things their members actually care about, but that will never happen."Yeah, we didn't truly need this when we were already easily able to create an exclusive DNF shelf. If we couldn't, that'd be another story. All this new feature offers is convenience.
Mir wrote: "That's one of the reasons my currently-reading is so long.I'm not currently reading most of them!"
Mir, I know that you and many others do this.
Caroline wrote: "Agree, Lisa! Did you get the email from GR a few weeks before the feature was added? I feel like many didn't or else lots of statuses would have been posted about this change at that time.Yeah, we didn't truly need this when we were already easily able to create an exclusive DNF shelf. If we couldn't, that'd be another story. All this new feature offers is convenience. "
Caroline, Yes, I got several emails from them about it and I also renamed my dnf shelf.
I do not understand why Amazon would want to highlight dnf books. They want to sell books so why focus on those readers might not have liked enough to finish?! I realize sometimes books belong on that shelf that aren't meant to be read in full, such as reference books, but most are books that readers were not enjoying.
I do understand the logic of making an exclusive shelf and dnf books nof belonging on read or to-read. If not all the pages were read then the the number or pages read would not be accurate, but I don't want additional exclusive shelves.
Members were NOT asking for this! If they had they could have been given instructions on how to make their dnf shelves exclusive.
I was grateful for the notice.
I do not like that I now have an exclusive shelf that will always have 0 books on it and that I have to see on a regular basis. It's dumb!
To Lisa Vegan: I always enjoy coming across readers who are vegan. My 2020 novel, "Cat's Whisker" features veganism, animal intelligence, and the sadly growing rift between science and spirituality. Best of luck to you in all you do.
I actually like it. It helps me keep things organized, and it keeps the books that weren't worth finishing cut off from the rest of the herd... and if anyone following me with similar tastes wants they can look at the books i didn't think were worth finishing and decide on whether or not they want to read it, likewise i can look at someone else dnf list for the same reason.
Robert Steven wrote: "To Lisa Vegan: I always enjoy coming across readers who are vegan. My 2020 novel, "Cat's Whisker" features veganism, animal intelligence, and the sadly growing rift between science and spirituality..."Hi Robert, Nice to meet you too. There are many, many vegans here at Goodreads.
QuietIdea wrote: "I actually like it. It helps me keep things organized, and it keeps the books that weren't worth finishing cut off from the rest of the herd... and if anyone following me with similar tastes wants ..."QuietIdea, Why push it on everyone though? Any member can make their own exclusive shelves. Many had already made an dnf exclusive shelf. You could have done the same. Having made did not finish as one of the few default exclusive shelves though means that all of us are stuck with it and many won't use it so it will forever have 0 books on it and just be annoying. This update was 100% unnecessary.
Yes, lots of people never dnf, or don't add their unenjoyed books.
Mir wrote: "Yes, lots of people never dnf, or don't add their unenjoyed books."Mir, True! That's often true for me. If I start a book and don't like it I often just take it off my shelves, whether I've read a page or most of its pages.
It should not have been made an exclusive shelf for every member. Given that members could already make their own exclusive shelf the more I think about it the more I don't understand Goodreads doing this.
Why don’t you like it? I was so excited that they were finally adding the feature and I thought everyone was waiting for it, as well
Sky wrote: "Why don’t you like it? I was so excited that they were finally adding the feature and I thought everyone was waiting for it, as well"Sky, I hate it because 1. Many of us will never use it and having an exclusive shelf with 0 books on it looks dumb, and 2. It wasn't needed. Why were you waiting?! Members here can add as many shelves as they want including making whatever shelves they want exclusive. Before this change members could add an exclusive shelf that was named dnf or did not finish or whatever they wanted to name it. You didn't have to wait. You could have made your own did not finish shelf and could have made it exclusive.
Sky, P.S.Go to My Books and then at
Bookshelves (Edit)
Click on the (Edit) and you can make new shelves, rename shelves, and make whichever of them you want exclusive.
Rather than foist this "feature" on all members Goodreads should have just been providing instructions, including a suggested name for did not finish if they wanted so many members could have chosen the same name for the dnf shelf.
Lisa wrote: "Caroline, Yes, I got several emails from them about it and I also renamed my dnf shelf.I do not understand why Amazon would want to highlight dnf books. They want to sell books so why focus on those readers might not have liked enough to finish?! I realize sometimes books belong on that shelf that aren't meant to be read in full, such as reference books, but most are books that readers were not enjoying.
I do understand the logic of making an exclusive shelf and dnf books nof belonging on read or to-read. If not all the pages were read then the the number or pages read would not be accurate, but I don't want additional exclusive shelves.
Members were NOT asking for this! If they had they could have been given instructions on how to make their dnf shelves exclusive.
I was grateful for the notice.
I do not like that I now have an exclusive shelf that will always have 0 books on it and that I have to see on a regular basis. It's dumb!"
I wonder whether Amazon is throwing members a bone. Maybe numbers are down, in both activity level and new-account creation, so Amazon is giving members this thing, something easy for the company to code for and not something that changes anything. As you've pointed out, Lisa, this wasn't a needed feature as we already were able to create the shelf. It's therefore a "fake improvement," but most members seem elated to have it and feel a little warmer toward GR, so that's happy news for Amazon.
Caroline wrote: "I wonder whether Amazon is throwing members a bone. Maybe numbers are down, in both activity level and new-account creation, so Amazon is giving members this thing, something easy for the company to code for and not something that changes anything. As you've pointed out, Lisa, this wasn't a needed feature as we already were able to create the shelf. It's therefore a "fake improvement," but most members seem elated to have it and feel a little warmer toward GR, so that's happy news for Amazon. "Caroline, You might be right. If so then I'm even more annoyed.