I’m going to set aside my author hat, if I can here for a moment. I’m writing today as a reader and a lover of words.

I’ve been a member of Goodreads for almost three years now, and have found there is a lot the site does well. The groups, or communities, I’ve discovered on here are all outstanding and a lot of fun. The support and sense of belonging, not only makes reading more enjoyable, but goes a long way towards helping to find that next great read. All that said though, there is one way the experience could be improved.

I don’t know how many of you receive the updates from the official GR blog—maybe everyone does by default. About once a month, I find a list of book recommendations in my inbox based on my genre preferences. It’s nice, but, honestly, it rarely helps me find that next great read. The reason why, is at once obvious, when you think about it. The email is tailored to each user’s preferences and lets them know about new releases in their specified genres. Well, if they’re anything like me, they already know when the next mega-bestseller by their favorite author is due to hit the shelves.

What I want to know about is the next BIG thing from an author new to me. Goodreads used to foster an easy way to do this amongst the community. Whenever you finished reading a book, after you posted your rating/review you were presented with the option of recommending the book to individuals on your friends list. It was a neat feature! You can still recommend books to friends on here, but it requires a number more clicks, and, well we all know numbers show most people won’t make those extra clicks. And that’s a shame, because how many great books are we all missing out on now?

So, what can be done?

I’d love to see the GR blog start to serve more than just the brand name authors, for one. There are so many talented authors on this site that no one has heard of. Some days, I swear there’s more authors on here than readers. Goodreads talks up the value of promotion to this army of unknowns and then hides the recommendation feature, prices the giveaway out of most of their ranges, and only promotes famous authors on their blog to the vast number of voracious readers on this site. Of course, I understand that not every author can be featured. There’s far too many of us on here for that. But, some could be given a leg up. Some could be given a chance to shine.

Why doesn’t Goodreads offer more to the independent authors who frequent this site? When it’s award time, where is the indie read category? When it’s time for those new release emails, where is the indie representation? Goodreads could run polls for readers to vote on the large number of indie releases and have the top ten featured. Or top five. Or whatever number they want. It would help readers discover new voices and books and give the unknowns visibility. It’s win-win.

So, come on Goodreads! You have how many books on this site, again? Branch outside of the big traditionally published bestsellers and give your readers something new to love.

And, on the topic of something new to love, let me start the ball rolling. Check out this new release from a talented, young fantasy author. If fantasy is your thing, and you’re tired of the same old story, give this fresh voice a try!!






You’ll find it on my to-read pile, for sure :)