[tomsem]

I have had a Goodreads account for awhile, and have played with it a little (including today for the first time in months).

So far, I can't say it offers much value for me. If it were integrated with my Kindle account, perhaps. I always have plenty of interesting books to read that I've already purchased, my wish list is heavily populated, so I have plenty of things to choose from as soon as I can finish reading something and am ready to start something new. My friends, for the most part, don't read much, or don't share reading interests, or don't do 'online', so there is no point in adding them to my GR network.

I don't think in terms of genres, there are things that interest me and things that don't, and while there are some patterns, I like variety, so I try to be far ranging rather than trying to find another book that is similar to one I've just read and liked. Just because I enjoyed a particular vampire book one time does not predict whether I would like another vampire book, even one from the same author. Recommendation engines seem to be totally based on identifying such patterns and while that can be somewhat useful, I don't rely on them much.

As it is I don't feel it is a good use of my time to add books to my GR shelves, update reading status, and fine tune recommendations (which nevertheless fail to hit the mark). I could be reading a book! (or writing one...) Yet apparently that is not true of everyone.

It will be interesting to see how things work out with Amazon, though. I think we are unlikely to see any changes for some months. For those who find value in Goodreads now, I don't think they'll do anything but improve the service.