Marquise > Status Update

Thank you for doing this research. I’ve been thinking about switching but it looks like unfortunately good reads is still the better option which isn’t saying much 😅

BOOKAMORY: Glorified notebook.
TWITTER: Promotional linking mostly, no discussions, and politics muscle their way in too often.
BLUESKY: Do they even read on this platform? 😂

I didn't even bother with Bookstagram, Booktok, and Booktube for obvious reasons.

My conclusions: We're cooked. The alternatives are simply lacking, the "best" is a mess-in-progress and you have to be willing to be used as a lab rat for the sake of gradual improvement that may not even come. And they have paid membership that's basically alms for a good purpose, because you get little to nothing in return compared to the free version.

And yes, I'm speaking of Storygraph.

I'm sinking with the Titanic, folks. None of the alternatives is the safety boat to escape this wreckage for me.

Clarice wrote: "Thank you for doing this research. I’ve been thinking about switching but it looks like unfortunately good reads is still the better option which isn’t saying much 😅"

You're welcome! You replied before I posted the 2nd part. 😅

Not going to lie, I would be ecstatic about half stars…I admit it😂. I think I mentioned them in my last review of ‘25 and my first one of ‘26🤦🏼‍♀️. My world doesn’t revolve around them, BUT my world would be better with them😂😂😂🩵.
Not being able to sleep sucks….hope you are able to tonight.

Thank you for doing this! I like Fable but it lacks the community and comments/debates or what not. Do we think GR have an actual goal with GR? Why buy it, have kindle and audible, and not have a plan? I wish I knew.

Thank you for doing this research for our sake (and suffering).
😂

I don’t know why it is so hard to find a good book site that put readers experience as a priority. A reader can be both a fan girl (imagining fans that send heart ❤️ emoji through out an online performance) and also a hater who boo a book whenever it is possible. While being poetic or literary critics on a melodrama rainy day.
I used to keep an Excel spreadsheet on book read as I want to know if I have read a diverse enough selection in terms of gender, age, race, culture and other characteristics.

So the annual summary is not good enough in any book site that I have been.

Urgh

Marquise wrote: "My conclusions: We're cooked"

Hope there's at least a good sauce to go with?

All joking aside, the alternatives don't exactly look good.

Ya idk why but the internet/social media seems to be getting worse and worse. It’s no longer for users, but for corporations to meet their shareholders quarterly expectations.

Thank you! Priceless research. I had already checked a few of those sites in the past (I think I got two storygraph accounts because I forgot I already had an account and used a different email), but you saved me the trouble of going to check if anything had changed.

I just want to comment, and chronological feeds of ONLY people I choose to follow. I suspect it is all about hardware and being underpowered...

Thank you for this so much - It was on my list of NY resolutions & you've just saved me a bunch of time & effort.

I also like Margins! It’s so aesthetic😌✨

I tried Storygraph a couple of years ago but it reeeally didn’t work for me then promptly gave up before looking further. Thanks for looking into the rest so I can save my time!

Marta wrote: "Not going to lie, I would be ecstatic about half stars…I admit it😂. I think I mentioned them in my last review of ‘25 and my first one of ‘26🤦🏼‍♀️.."

I'd like half stars as well, but not above functionality and community. Too many people out there praise Storygraph for precisely these small bells and whistles that are largely inconsequential and decorative in the grand scheme.

I don't mind if others love SG for them, it's only that they don't work for me and don't compensate for what it lacks. :)

Annika wrote: "Do we think GR have an actual goal with GR? Why buy it, have kindle and audible, and not have a plan? I wish I knew."

The theory is that they're going to do a soft shutdown, so there's only Amazon Book Reviews with no competition. :( The slow taking away of features gives credence to this hypothesis.

Morphing_kashi wrote: "Thank you for doing this research for our sake (and suffering).
😂"

Taking one for the team seems to be my motto on this site. 😅

XOX wrote: "I don’t know why it is so hard to find a good book site that put readers experience as a priority..."

The big takeaway is, after this nocturnal experience, that the issue is this: EACH PLATFORM IS TRYING TO CATER TO A SPECIFIC PORTION OF THE READERSHIP.

Hence why they each offer a different thing that will appeal to a certain demographic. None of them is bothering to do a universal appeal type of platform, not even Storygraph, which I can see was founded by a certain type of ex-Goodreader that will always think in terms of what Goodreads lacked rather than in terms of what made this site universally appealing.

Like it or not and with all its issues and outdates and glitches, Goodreads did have (and still does or we'd not be here) a more universal, broader appeal. It catches more diverse segments of readers than the others.

Gabrielle (Reading Rampage) wrote: "Urgh"

Yeah... :(

Thibault wrote: "Marquise wrote: "My conclusions: We're cooked"

Hope there's at least a good sauce to go with?"

Either too spicy or lacking in salt 'n' pepper. 😂

To be honest, the "better" alternatives are the visual ones. But considering that so many readers are shy/introverted and don't want to show their face or let their voice be heard... The written/text alternatives aren't good, the visual ones are but their very nature makes them a no-no for many.

Not to mention not everyone wants to do visual reviews even if they don't mind showing their face/voice. We can't all be influencers or want to.

Clarice wrote: "Ya idk why but the internet/social media seems to be getting worse and worse. It’s no longer for users, but for corporations to meet their shareholders quarterly expectations."

For corporations and for the sellers, not the consumers. It's all being geared to sell, sell, sell...

The visual reviewing platforms already have paid reviewers. I was surprised at how many Bookstagrammers/Booktokers have "DM for paid review/promotion" upfront and casually. It's far more common than I knew it was.

Hirondelle (not getting notifications) wrote: "I just want to comment, and chronological feeds of ONLY people I choose to follow. I suspect it is all about hardware and being underpowered..."

It's a work in progress, and still messy and unwieldly, unfortunately.

Dee wrote: "Thank you for this so much - It was on my list of NY resolutions & you've just saved me a bunch of time & effort."

Hehehe, perks of being an insomniac. You're welcome!

Deeksha wrote: "I also like Margins! It’s so aesthetic😌✨"

Aw, no more to try... I'm tired...😌

C wrote: "I tried Storygraph a couple of years ago but it reeeally didn’t work for me then promptly gave up before looking further. Thanks for looking into the rest so I can save my time!"

They all are for certain segments only, and all have more downsides than upsides.

Marquise wrote: "None of them is bothering to do a universal appeal type of platform"

Exactly. Make it simple and let readers do their own things and interact with each other.

I learned so much by interacting with people who hold different opinions. This is how we learn to interact and disagree, even passionately, with an increased level of civility.

PRECISELY!

Why is it so hard to understand? It's not rocket science.

I don't know what my life would be like without Goodreads. I can't think of an alternative.

"I'm sinking with the Titanic, folks. None of the alternatives is the safety boat to escape this wreckage for me." - me too, glad to hear you're hanging on here, Marquise! 💚

Luís wrote: "I don't know what my life would be like without Goodreads. I can't think of an alternative."

We have been here for so long, Luis. <3 We're practically part of the landscape here.

Margo wrote: ""I'm sinking with the Titanic, folks. None of the alternatives is the safety boat to escape this wreckage for me." - me too, glad to hear you're hanging on here, Marquise! 💚"

I'm nothing if not stubbornly loyal to the bitter end. 💚 Hugs, Margo!

Marquise wrote: "Luís wrote: "I don't know what my life would be like without Goodreads. I can't think of an alternative."

We have been here for so long, Luis. <3 We're practically part of the landscape here."

That's really true, Marquise. A big hug for you!

Too true (although I still need to check PageBound--but I believe you). Why is it so hard to simply create a GR replica? You don't even need to exercise your brain to come up with new stuff--just make a damn copy!

Also,

BOOKBROWSE: Paying a monthly fee to talk with fellow readers in boring book-discussion groups.

Clarice wrote: "Ya idk why but the internet/social media seems to be getting worse and worse. It’s no longer for users, but for corporations to meet their shareholders quarterly expectations."

Yes

I personally found Storygraph isolating. The creators seem to have good values for the most part, but there’s no social aspect at all. The half stars and tagging systems are great, but there’s no interactions with others that I’ve seen beyond the book club thing. Booksky is somewhat active, but not nearly as much as GR.

I think a big reason these other sites are so boring is because most users are still here. Look at how many of us are saying we tried the other sites but were unimpressed so decided to just stay here. The alternatives probably won't truly take off until after GR shuts down. They need an influx of influential (read vocal) GR users to push them in an exciting direction.

Agree about storygraph! I like to use stroygraph as more of a personal reading log, where as fable and goodreads are more of a social platforms. I just wish fable had more people on it. I LOVE that you can post photos on there so easily though, and the people that are on there are very active!

I caved and tried Storygraph. And the graphs are cool for like a sec until you realize you have to answer a couple dozen questions every time you rate a book. I started just skipping it all and adding the rating and move on. Goodreads made an announcement some years back about how they would never add the half rating option because some people get decision fatigue from trying to decide on the half ratings. And I can see that now. Storygraph has quarter ratings plus all these other options and it’s too much! I still wish Goodreads had the half rating, but not quarter. It’s so unnecessary.

Oh no… ahahaha. OH NO

I’ve also found I kinda trust the ratings on storygraph less. Am I a snob? I may be a snob.

♥ Rebecca ♥ wrote: "I caved and tried Storygraph. And the graphs are cool for like a sec until you realize you have answer a couple dozen questions every time you rate a book. I started just skipping it all and adding..."

Yes, I agree. Half stars is enough. Its fractional rating scale is absurd.

Also, so true about the graphs (and I also usually don't bother with the questions). These are sloppily done. Mine are inaccurate, but I have no desire to fix them (if I even knew how to, that is). Also, TSG says I read mostly fiction. Ok, maybe technically most of my logged books are fiction, but the amount of nonfiction I read is consequential. The reader summary is so flattening. Just keep it simple and give us an about-me box where we can explain what we're all about!

Thank you for doing this and sharing results.

Storygraph makes me irrationally angry with the "UWU stats" shit about wishy-washy subjective shit. 63% of people said this book is medium paced. O...kay? What does that even mean? I don't need a sparkly pie chart that tells me I read books that are kinda funny, kinda sad. Compared to what? As decided by whom???

Derpa wrote: "Storygraph makes me irrationally angry with the "UWU stats" shit about wishy-washy subjective shit."

Yes, exactly. That's why I was saying it's noticeable that site was created by a certain type of ex-Goodreader that cared more about those subjectivities and bells and whistles.

Charlton wrote: "Thank you for doing this and sharing results."

Wish I had had a better experiment outcome, but at least I can now say I've found out by myself.

Diany wrote: "I’ve also found I kinda trust the ratings on storygraph less. Am I a snob? I may be a snob."

I've read 'round the site to get a feel for what kind of reviews they have. It felt like what it would be if you took atl the 5 stars and 3 stars from here. Did I even see a 1 star there?

Luís wrote: "That's really true, Marquise. A big hug for you!"

*Hugs back*

Caroline wrote: "Why is it so hard to simply create a GR replica?"

That's the $1M question for me. They all seem to think of niches and segments...

Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 wrote: "I personally found Storygraph isolating..."

And they seem to be more image-conscious there too. Lots about looks and feels, less pragmatism and functionality.

Caroline wrote: "I think a big reason these other sites are so boring is because most users are still here..."

Yeah, that's a good point. They've chipped away at segments of the GR userbase, but the core is still here (slowly dying, though) and they won't leave unless given what they want by the competition.