One of the questions which haunts the minds of modern readers is which book platform we should use. Before The StoryGraph emerged on the scene in January 2021, book lovers were on Goodreads, as that was the only online book platform available to them. However, now that there is an alternative available, you may be trying to decide which book platform may be the best one for you.
Let’s try and help you to make this decision by looking at these two platforms and what they have to offer. What is Goodreads?
Goodreads is an online book platform that gives its users access to a huge database of books and reviews. It also provides a number of other useful features, including:
Friends
You can add your friends to see their updates on their current reads and reviews of books they have previously read.
Updates
You can update your friends with the books you are currently reading. You can also post reviews and rate books out of five stars after you have finished reading them.
Annual Reading Challenges
The Annual Reading Challenge is my favourite feature. Here, you can set yourself an annual reading goal. You can set this to any number you want, and you can also change it at any time, if you think you can read more or if you find your initial number too ambitious.
This number can be as high or as low as you like! Just remember that this is your personal goal. Try not to feel pressured by anyone else’s numbers.
Lists
You can also unleash your creativity by creating your own lists. This could be anything from a list of favourite books, to lists of seasonal reads.
You can create new lists by going to the ‘My Books’ tab and clicking on the ‘add shelf’ button.
As you can see, I have created two of my own shelves, ‘favourites’ and ‘winter vibes.’ You’ll also notice that I have a ‘DNF’ shelf in my main bookshelves. I had to add this shelf manually using the edit button, as Goodreads does not provide a ‘DNF’ bookshelf. Having this as a main bookshelf allows me to mark books as ‘DNF,’ rather than as ‘read.’
Browsing:
The browse feature allows you to find personally tailored recommendations, to browse books by genre, to view lists created by other Goodreads users, and also to browse new releases. Goodreads also host giveaways and an annual ‘Goodreads Choice Awards,’ where anyone with an account can vote for their favourite books of the year.
Community:
The ‘Community’ tab is where you can find other people with similar interests to you. For example, you can join a specific genre group, such as a YA or Horror group, or you can join Oprah Winfrey or Reese Witherspoon’s book club group.
You can also find discussions, browse quotes from your favourite books and complete or test your knowledge of your favourite books by browsing the ‘quiz’ feature.
What is The StoryGraph?
In many ways, The StoryGraph is very similar to Goodreads. It was also created as an online space for readers to keep track of their reading, set annual reading goals, to write reviews and to view recommendations. You can also add friends on The StoryGraph through the ‘Community’ tab.
However, The StoryGraph does offer some features that Goodreads does not. For example, it allows you to view your reading statistics and to find your next read based on mood and preferences.
Reading Statistics
The StoryGraph allows users to view their monthly reading statistics in the form of tables and charts. You can also filter your statistics by clicking on the ‘mood and pace’ list, which allows you to filter the statistics by star ratings or by genre. If you have The StoryGraph Plus, you can also compare the statistics of two months.
As you can see from the screenshots above, The StoryGraph has a Plus membership, which gives you access to extra features for $4.99 a month. You can find out more about the benefits of The StoryGraph Plus here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/plus
Did not Finish, ‘DNF’ Shelf
As we saw earlier, Goodreads does not allow you to add books to a ‘DNF’ shelf unless you manually add this shelf yourself. However, The StoryGraph is one step ahead! They have a shelf called ‘did not finish’ which makes it much easier to keep track of your DNF’s.
Moving from Goodreads to The StoryGraph
If you already have an account with Goodreads and would like to move to The StoryGraph but don’t want to spend hours moving your data from one platform to the other, do not fret; The StoryGraph has an answer!
You can import your Goodreads data through the ‘manage account’ page.
Conclusion: Goodreads or The StoryGraph?
Unfortunately, I can’t answer this for you.
Both platforms, although similar in their goals, have their pros and cons. They do however, differ in their designs. Goodreads is an older platform and so its design can seem outdated, whilst The StoryGraph has a more modern look. I would also say that you can get more detailed and visual reading statistics on The StoryGraph, whilst you can have a more social experience on Goodreads. Both apps also have their own mobile apps.
Ultimately, it’s up to you. At the end of the day, both platforms encourage reading, so no matter which platform you end up choosing, the most important thing is to keep reading!
Mairead
Writer
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