Marquise > Status Update

I wouldn't. I'd like to keep record of the ones I know I read and at least rated. But for what you're trying to do, it may be a good move for your process.

I wouldn’t! I’d keep them and write reviews for them when I randomly reflect and realize that I do have something to say, which usually occurs at two in the morning. *Sighs*

If you don’t need to keep track then go for it! For me I like keeping a record of them.

I can see why you would feel that way. Heck, I've been re-reading all the books I've rated over the years but not reviewed, to give all those books a proper review.

Still, it feels like a bit of a waste, no? You did read all those books. I'd keep them if I were you, just to keep a record of all the books you've read. So you won't forget them. Or even re-read a bad book by mistake.

But I can also see the benefit of decluttering. It really depends on your motivation and if you think you could regret it in the future should you get rid of them now. That's what you need to figure out for yourself. So the choice is yours. I'm not helping at all, am I? :P

I agree with Thibault, so I guess two of us are no help to you now. 🤷🏼‍♀️😂

I use GR to keep track of what I’ve read. So often someone will recommend a book to me and I immediately pull up GR to check whether I’ve read it; whether I once found a review of it intriguing enough it spurred me to add it to my never ending “want to read” list; whether I hated it after a couple chapters and DNFed it. I try to write a little something about each book so I can guide my future self. My ACOTAR review has made me steer clear no matter how many friends suggest I read the series. It’s not for me. I know I have looked that book up at least twice over the years. My “fun book but stupid heroine” assessment saved me both times from a reread. I think your “star reviews only” can save you too.

It is understandable that you might very well need to with your lengthy lists! I need the list but mu numbers aren't as vast as yours....whatever works my friend!

"A paltry 2k". What does that say for the rest of us?😉

Personally it’s clearing the ‘to read’ shelf that does the trick…somehow that blimmin shelf weighs on my subconscious every time I log in. A towering ‘in’ tray.

I worry that some books Ive read will pass from memory as I get older…happened a couple of times. A non-reviewed reminder dusts the cogs :)
Ive forgotten what the question was now.
*creakily sits*

What is your motivation? You are not required to write a review, if you choose to do so it is for others and they should be thankful. I agree with Thibault's comment, you have to decide what this is for. Also, Morts. comment about the nightmare of the TBR shelf is valid for me, but might not be for you.

You don't get paid for this. If you do, then you can spend hours perfecting it. But honestly, I'd just port the reviews to their new location and ignore the rest. My two cents, fwiw.

^Kalinka^ said: "I wouldn't. I'd like to keep record of the ones I know I read and at least rated."
I totally agree with this advice!

I joined GR in 2011 and many of my early reads are star-rated only. I started writing reviews about four or five years ago and now I leave some sort of written comments, even for DNFs.

I am currently conducting another major clean-up of of my TBR audiobooks pile. This involves removing from GR and archiving separately, by author, books I have either never listened to, or am unlikely to listen to in the future. My current archive is 1,800 books.

Note: I do not remove an author, if I have previously rated and/or reviewed any of their books. I like to keep records for my own enjoyment and which may prove helpful to my fellow GR readers. :))

I like to note any book I've read or part read as reference for myself - it has saved me wasting time or money when I check and find I've already read or book or something by the author - particularly when I've been unimpressed.

But I also feel that if I rate a book I should say something about why I have rated it - so currently I am trying to catch up on a backlog of unreviewed or rated books I've read in the past ten years. I don't have to but I want to review all my books - which may be a ego trip as well!

I always rate at least one star because those are books I've disliked and rating one star may reduce the books average rating - which a no star review won't do.

Overall I think reviewing and rating all books is useful for friends and followers - I always look to see what any of mine say about a book and there are some of my GR friends and followers I respect and what they say helps me decide upon a TBR book - do I really need to say you are one of them?!

But ultimately your GR page, how you do things are first of all for your pleasure - it should never be a chore - but finally I would remember that a good intelligent review on GR is so helpful because so many of the outlets that reviewed books twenty years ago no longer do so or don't exist. GR reviews can provide guidance that isn't available plus, unlike media reviews you can be much more sure GR reviewers have actually read the book they are reviewing - which even in the past was't always the case with professional reviewers!

Vivian wrote: "What is your motivation?"

A bad case of the Marie Kondo virus, miss ma'am. 😂

Two main reasons:
a. Declutter my shelves, I have too many (more than triple) the number of starred books than reviewed. And personally stars only don't help me.
b. Not a fan of having old star-only 'reviews' refloated by new 'likes' and comments. A few friends are in that habit, and I honestly don't like it. It's in the past, I don't remember those books, and I don't wanna discuss them either.

Besides that, most of those books were added not as I read them but from memory, lots and lots of them are from my pre-GR life that I added simply because I needed to build my profile during the first years here when I had nothing and I was learning my way 'round Goodreads.

I also want to revamp (read: repost) some select reviews that I intend to move to my own place outside of GR, and the star-only ones are in my way to find those, and also act like the shrub that covers the view for those.

^Kalinka^ (On Semi-Hiatus) wrote: "I wouldn't. I'd like to keep record of the ones I know I read and at least rated. But for what you're trying to do, it may be a good move for your process."

Yeah, could help... It's a theory, though, not something I'm sure of doing.

Tammy wrote: "I wouldn’t! I’d keep them and write reviews for them when I randomly reflect and realize that I do have something to say, which usually occurs at two in the morning. *Sighs*"

Hehe, unfortunately I don't have that good a memory to go back and add thoughts to my old starred-only stuff. :)

Anne wrote: "If you don’t need to keep track then go for it! For me I like keeping a record of them."

With the oldest ones from the first 3-4 years here? No need to keep track of, as they're from memory and not 'current'. From 2015 onwards they were added as I was reading them, as I picked up speed from that year onwards.

Thibault wrote: "Still, it feels like a bit of a waste, no? You did read all those books. I'd keep them if I were you, just to keep a record of all the books you've read."

I don't envision GR as a 'keeping track of' place, for the reasons I state in my replies upthread.

Would I regret deleting them? Nah, I don't even remember NOW that I have them, so why would I regret them when I don't. They're of no use for me. And also, I already have many books that I never added here.

I wouldn't delete all the stars-only reviews either, only the great majority of them. I'd keep the ones for the genre I intend to work towards my site. And those I intend to reread to review later.

Sarah wrote: "I agree with Thibault, so I guess two of us are no help to you now. 🤷🏼‍♀️😂"

Hehe, appreciate that very much, doll! <3

JULIA wrote: "I think your “star reviews only” can save you too."

Even when you don't remember anything? Like, I see a 1-star review of mine from 2023 and can't recall why I didn't like it as there's no review proper, or a 5-star review from 2010 when I joined this site and I also can either not recall or most likely wouldn't think the same anymore.

I do agree that even star-only reviews are useful to keep track of our evolution as readers.

Cindy wrote: "It is understandable that you might very well need to with your lengthy lists! I need the list but mu numbers aren't as vast as yours....whatever works my friend!"

Thank you, Cindy! Hehe, not all my reviews are long and thoughtful, I do have some embarrassing one-liners out there too. ;)

Betsie wrote: ""A paltry 2k". What does that say for the rest of us?😉"

That you are the new generation of GRers! :P

I've been here for 15 years this December. There's others that have been for shorter periods and have as much or more than I do...

Morts. wrote: "Personally it’s clearing the ‘to read’ shelf that does the trick…somehow that blimmin shelf weighs on my subconscious every time I log in. A towering ‘in’ tray."

Hahaha! Oh, thank you for the good belly laugh, darling Morts! Loved your humour. *hugs*

Terence M - [Quot libros, quam breve tempus!] wrote: "I joined GR in 2011 and many of my early reads are star-rated only. I started writing reviews about four or five years ago and now I leave some sort of written comments, even for DNFs..."

Yeah, that's broadly my experience here too. Only that I didn't add books as I read them in the first years but from memory (ergo why I also feel like they don't reflect me or my tastes that accurately as if they had been 'in present time').

It depends what your goals are and how you use the site. If those old books are meaningless and just get in the way, then sure, delete them.

Liam wrote: ".But ultimately your GR page, how you do things are first of all for your pleasure - it should never be a chore - but finally I would remember that a good intelligent review on GR is so helpful because so many of the outlets that reviewed books twenty years ago no longer do so or don't exist. GR reviews can provide guidance that isn't available plus, unlike media reviews you can be much more sure GR reviewers have actually read the book they are reviewing - which even in the past was't always the case with professional reviewers!"

That's an excellent point, Liam, I hadn't thought of that. Now that you say it, I can see it's spot on. The people that brought me to GR 15 years ago ran their own blogs or reviewed for places that either don't exist anymore or are so inactive/have lost their lustre that they might as well have disappeared.

That's also part of the reason I want to revamp my old reviews, most of them have little to no 'likes' or comments, and I could dust them off, re-edit them, and give them visibility. The star-only reviews are the majority and make it a bit more difficult to find them. That's more or less what I was thinking when I posted this question.

Oh, and thank you for the compliment! That was unexpected, and so kind of you. <3 Feel like preening 'round now. :D

Audrey wrote: "It depends what your goals are and how you use the site. If those old books are meaningless and just get in the way, then sure, delete them."

I have stated my goals...

I only started on GR in 2021, after I had retired from the swamps of Academe. I made a conscious decision to not go back and fill in many thousands of titles read in years past. My books here only cover things read or reread since then. A few are just starred, most have some randome thoughts, and a small number have actual reviews. So I am in a different situation. I guess my question would be: is it worth the effort to go back through and delete a lot of titles?

Fred wrote: "I only started on GR in 2021, after I had retired from the swamps of Academe. I made a conscious decision to not go back and fill in many thousands of titles read in years past."

I should have done that in the beginning. :'( I wouldn't be considering this step if I had done like you.

I was new to the site, had no idea what 'reviewing' books was (though I had been active on book discussion groups for some years before, but that's not reviewing), and I was going through my longest literary dry spell (there is a big gap from 2011 to 2013 in which I didn't read ANY fiction, everything was for work or study/analysis, so I didn't add those), so when facing the matter of how to fill my empty profile, I looked back and starred all the books I could remember I read.

Of course, those starrings from memory were often just . . . memories. Sometimes I didn't know how to feel about a book I had read ages ago and wouldn't reread to review it, so I went for the stars that 'felt right'. Hence I feel like they don't reflect me accurately.

That's how I ended up with over 5k books added (that would be about 6k or thereabouts if I had added everything I didn't).

But you're not going to leave altogether, right???

I decided to review every book I read when I started here, & I have stuck with that, even if some of the reviews are only a couple of lines long. The only problem is if someone askes about one of my old reviews, as I'm not going to remember (probably) a read from 10 years ago!

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "But you're not going to leave altogether, right???"

Who, me?

Nah, y'all need me and this site will die without my Lucy Ricardo misadventures. Who else is going to ragebait fans and authors with her reviews and bug y'all every week with Just Asking Questions updates? 🤣

Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂ wrote: "I decided to review every book I read when I started here, & I have stuck with that, even if some of the reviews are only a couple of lines long."

Aaaaaarrrgh! I made so many bad decisions back then when I first joined this site, I should have done like you and Fred-sensei above. But oh no, I had to be the dumb Hobbit who starred-only everything from mere memory and now remembers nuthin'... 🥹

Same, I think Fred has it right - some of my old reviews and/or star-only ratings are from memory. In our defense Marquise, I don't know if you felt the same, but I was trying to use GR to find people with similar tastes so I could indirectly get recs from their own reviews, but to do that and use the "compare books" function, I needed a few books in ^^ I have definitely thought of going back and deleting those now that I don't need to rely on those anymore, so I get you! Maybe keep the ones that are for books that were special to you, either in love or hate or perfect meh, I don't know, just the ones that left a more vivid mark? Maybe? Dunno!

Late-ish response, but I've been thinking about doing this for AGES. It bothers me that there are so many books on my account that just have ratings and nothing else. I was also thinking of going back and adding reviews into the books that I've read and remember clearly and just maybe rereading some books. I just have to find the time. Probably after I finally finish grad school lol

I deleted my old reviews 3-sentence and felt bad much later. It would have been nice to be able to fully track how my reading has changed

Mwanamali wrote: "I deleted my old reviews 3-sentence and felt bad much later. It would have been nice to be able to fully track how my reading has changed"

Out of curiosity, why did you delete your reviews that had at least one line?

I am not thinking of deleting the ones that have at least one word in it, only the 'empty' ones. Because even a single line helps my memory.

Angela wrote: "Late-ish response, but I've been thinking about doing this for AGES. It bothers me that there are so many books on my account that just have ratings and nothing else. I was also thinking of going b..."

Yeah, I'm at this same stage myself. It's been bugging me for a long while, but the moving forward with my place for my reviews exacerbated it. As you said, time is also the problem of going back and reviewing them after a reread.

Leilin wrote: "Maybe keep the ones that are for books that were special to you, either in love or hate or perfect meh, I don't know, just the ones that left a more vivid mark? Maybe? Dunno!"

Good idea! I could create a shelf to keep track of the unreviewed-but-starred books I liked and maybe also add some I might reread in the mid-to-long term? Could be...

Hehe, yeah. At the time I was such a newbie I didn't know how to review stuff, I learnt on the go. There were all these ladies who wrote great reviews for 2-3 books a week, always so eloquently, and I was there sitting and twiddling my thumbs all like, "What's a review, mummy?" :D I wanted to be part of that community, read the same books, etc., and for that I needed to build a profile because . . . who pays attention to folks that don't have anything to show?

An additional thought. In my case, at least, looking back at a lifetime of reading, sometimes focused (usually by school or work), usually not, there are distinct phases. I have actually owned several libraries over the years, as interests changed and books came and went. There were times when I read mostly history, mostly mysteries, mostly fantasy, mostly Latin and Greek classics, mostly Buddhist and Gurdjieff books, mostly historical mysteries. Now a random and eclectic mix. So what I have on GR probably is a fairly accurate reflection of current reading interests, with a few trial balloons. If I had been on it from the beginning, it would merely be a bizarre diachronic psycho-social document. And only someone who spent far too long in higher ed could write that last sentence.

You're definitely in the minority for wanting to do this, that much for sure. Do you have any other place to keep track of the unreviewd books you read? A notebook or app?

While I would not take such a mighty step currently, my goal is to try and reduce the gap between only-rating reviews and those coming with a genuine review attached! When I download my reviews, I rename the file xxxx-yyyy where x is the number of reviews and y the total number of rates given to books :) Helps me keep the count and make sure there is nothing amiss (book pages purged on GR, a review I forgot to post...). The previous is merely to try and tell you how I duly appreciate this undertaking of yours to revamp your book page! ;)

I don't have the mental energy to give each book a full review, but since I often look back at my list to gauge if I should read another by an author, I wouldn't want to get rid of my star ratings! But I have a terrible memory, and started goodreads (or shelfari at the time) specifically because I had, several times, picked up and started reading books that I had already read! And didn't realize for a couple chapters!

Since you don't use GR as a tracking tool, then it sounds like it won't affect you. The biggest con I can see right now is the physical effort of deleting 3K reviews from your profile, best of luck with that.