Book Snails Book Group discussion

Have a question about how to do something in the group? For example, want to know how to upload an image to a thread post? Ask your question and we'll hopefully have an answer for you!

Thanks for adding this topic, Allison :)

(added Jan 15, 2019): If you are brand new to the group thing, check out our 'Getting Started' discusion at: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

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Many of you have already discovered Goodreads.com's built-in "HELP" feature, but it's worth mentioning again:

For answers to common questions about GoodReads, or to find out how to perform specific tasks, there is a tiny help link at the very bottom of all GoodReads web pages.

Or, the direct link is: https://www.goodreads.com/help

There's a handy search box on the help page, or you can peruse the many Q&A there, which include things like:

How do I remove a book from "my books"?
How do I add a book to "My Books"?
Can I edit a shelf for multiple books at once?
How do I create a "Never Finished" or "Abandoned" shelf?
What is a Goodreads Librarian?
How do I turn off recommendations from Goodreads in the updates feed?
How do I unsubscribe from emails?
How do I set my profile to private?
How do I opt out of friend update emails?
What do I do if I win a giveaway and don't receive the book?
How can I improve my recommendations?
How do I add a book to my "read" shelf from the recommendations page?

and much more!

► What is your favorite Goodreads tip or useful trick you've discovered?

► Got a GR question or problem that you can't find a solution to? Ask the Book Snails by posting your question here, or ask Goodreads directly at:
https://www.goodreads.com/about/conta....

Whether you have lots of Goodreads groups to keep up with, or just one really fun one (hint: Book Snails!), here are 3 quick tips that newer users might not know yet:


TIP # 1: Get notification of NEW posts:

If there is a particular discussion topic (such as the current "Book of the Month" thread) that you don't want to miss out on, go to that topic and click the "Notify me when people comment" near the top. You can then choose what type of notification you want (instant email, weekly digest email, etc.). You can edit this setting or turn notifications off at any time.

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TIP # 2:   Find UNREAD (New) posts in a single Goodreads group:

Click the "unread" link near the top of the discussions list to see only the new posts you haven't read yet.




FYI, the direct URL to Book Snails "unread" posts is:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/unrea...

You can also Bookmark/Favorite the "unread" link (or any other link on Goodreads!), or put a shortcut to it on your desktop.

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If the above seems like too much work, just use this last tip instead:

TIP # 3:   Find Unread (New) posts for ALL your Goodreads groups at once:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic

(or simply click your user icon/image in the upper right corner, and select 'My Discussions' in the pop-up menu)



You'll see all your groups, and RED lettering for any new/unread posts!

So I understand you can't just post photos to threads on here... but is it possible to post photos you have posted to Facebook? I've tried twice now by following the directions from the help page and it's not working.

It can be a bit aggravating, Erin....

You should be able to post photos/images from most websites here, using the directions you see when clicking (some html is ok) when you have a comment window open...

However, a few websites will block the ability for their photos to be "linked" to remotely. In such cases, you should use a photo storage service like flickr, photobucket, postimage.org, etc. to get a URL link ( http://www..... ) from.

Do you have the URL of the photo/image you want to post?

PS: image should be either a .jpg, .png, or .gif format

For example, here's an image from another website that I am linking directly to, using the following code:

Since I've seen more than one person ask:

As you know, many features of GR are not available on the mobile version, in order to simplify things and reduce the amount of scrolling or all the enlarging finger-pinches you'd have to do on a smaller device....

But you CAN view and use the regular version of GR on smaller devices, even if they normally default automatically to the mobile version:

GR help says:

"[from your mobile phone or tablet]: To switch to the FULL/regular desktop version of the site, tap the menu icon at the top left of the screen (three stacked lines; some people call it a “hamburger”). Tap on “Switch to Desktop” at the bottom of the menu options and you’ll be taken to the full site.

If you’d like to switch to the mobile site from our full site, scroll to the bottom of the home page and find “Switch to: mobile version." Just tap on that, and you’ll be taken to a mobile-friendly view. "

~~~

P.S. Erin, one of our Book Snails, says:

I typically post from my iPhone and I use the "add book/author" feature at the top of the comment box [when I need to add a link to a book in a comment I'm writing].

When you visit the Goodreads homepage, are you inundated by way too many updates? Or, conversely, would you like to see MORE things there?

One basic tip that newer GR users may not be aware of is the "Customize" option on the homepage. Click the little gear icon to see your options.

For example, here are my current settings:



When I want to see more or less, I temporarily change my selections.

NOTE: As far as I know, you have to be on the regular (non-mobile) version of the site to Customize... but I'm assuming your changes will flow over to the mobile version as well.

Hi,

Does anyone know if there is an option to clear ratings on multiple books on a shelf all at one time? I checked the batch edit settings but didn’t see anything. I was trying to clean up my shelves using the mobile version of Goodreads (which I’m not a fan of, as it is very clunky and slow and hard to use) and not sure how it happened but I noticed when I logged in a few hours later that all the books on my Read shelf show 1 star ratings giving by me (!!)….not sure if I accidentally pressed a button too many times when the app wasn’t responding, lol. I’ve been clearing the ratings on each book individually but was wondering if there was a less time-consuming option.

Hi Bkwmlee,

Unless GR has added it recently, I don't think there's a "clear all ratings" option... I assume GR doesn't allow it because they want to prevent accidental deletion of all ratings?

Of course you can delete a single bookshelf, or
delete ALL your shelves (noooooo!).

Some folks have tried EXporting their books to a .csv file, deleting all their shelves, editing the .csv file, then IMporting it back to GR... but I don't recommend it. You could easily screw up your entire list of books.

The way I clear a bunch of ratings or edit several books is:

1) Make sure you are on the regular (desktop) site, NOT the mobile version.
(you can easily switch between mobile & desktop.

2) Go to your "MyBooks" page.

3) Edit your settings as follows:


[click image to enlarge]

TIP: Click the column header word rating▼ to sort by highest or lowest rating. You can click the other column header words as well for other sorting possibilities.


4) Now you can simply click the small "edit" link to get a pop-up of that book. In the pop-up, click on "clear":


[click image to enlarge]


5) Close (x) the pop-up window, repeat step 4 for the next book you wish to clear your ratings from.

I can edit dozens of books in a few minutes this way.

If anyone has an easier way to mass edit ratings, please let us know!

StarMan wrote: "Hi Bkwmlee,

Unless GR has added it recently, I don't think there's a "clear all ratings" option... I assume GR doesn't allow it because they want to prevent accidental deletion of all ratings?

Of..."

Thanks, StarMan! This worked much faster than the previous method I was using! Finally got all the (bogus) ratings removed. Yay! :-)

"Goodreads Rating for Amazon"

If you use Firefox or Chrome web browser, there is an available extension that puts the Goodreads rating (and a direct link to the Goodreads listing) on the AMAZON.COM page for same book.

Screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/a9M0l

For FIREFOX:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fire...

For CHROME:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/de...

How do I mention a book in a way that people can click on it and find more information about it in Goodreads? Can I do that using the app?

Pien wrote: "How do I mention a book in a way that people can click on it and find more information about it in Goodreads? Can I do that using the app?"

Good question, Pien.

Desktop version: click 'add book/author' above your comment window.
Or use the "bracket" trick like in the Mobile version...

Mobile version: if you know the exact title or exact spelling of author's name, you can simply use brackets [   ] like this:



and it will appear as a correctly underlined link when you save your comment/Post.

OR click the mobile menu (the 3 horizontal lines, usually at top left of page) and temporarily switch to desktop version

~~~

GR help says:

"[from your mobile phone or tablet]: To switch to the FULL/regular desktop version of the site, tap the menu icon at the top left of the screen (three stacked lines; some people call it a “hamburger”). Tap on “Switch to Desktop” at the bottom of the menu options and you’ll be taken to the full site.

If you’d like to switch to the mobile site from our full site, scroll to the bottom of the home page and find “Switch to: mobile version." Just tap on that, and you’ll be taken to a mobile-friendly view. "

A simple trick that many computer users don't know:

Is your finger tired from all the web page Up-Down scrolling you do with the middle button (scroll wheel) on your computer mouse?

Just tap the space bar instead. It scrolls the page DOWN a few lines quite nicely!

And [Shift]+spacebar scrolls UP.

Works on most websites, when using traditional computer (desktop or laptop).

Do you want to keep track of which books you actually own?

Did you know that there is an "Owned" feature you can use right here on Goodreads?

See:
https://www.goodreads.com/help/show/4...

StarMan wrote: "A simple trick that many computer users don't know:

Is your finger tired from all the web page Up-Down scrolling you do with the middle button (scroll wheel) on your computer mouse?

Just tap the ..."

I discovered the space bar trick by accident a while back, but thanks for letting us know!

Do you think this invention is clever, or dumb ?

StarMan wrote: "Do you think this invention is clever, or dumb ?

"

Clever in theory, but dumb in practice...IMHO (in my humble opinion)

How do you post status updates? When you finish reading a book or have rated a book Goodreads automatically posts a status for you. What I want to know is how do I update my own status? what if I want to type. "just bought a really cool book offline for really cheap"

Looking for the best price on a used pre-loved book?

The BookFinder4U website is the one I usually turn to:

http://www.bookfinder4u.com/

It searches all the major sites (Amazon, AbeBooks, eBay, Barnes & Noble, etc.) at once.


Other alternatives include:

Bargain Book Mole:
http://bargainbookmole.org/index.php

BookFinder.com:
http://www.bookfinder.com/

I usually wind up buying from AbeBooks or Amazon.com (but be sure to check out the ratings on any third-party sellers).

► What is your go-to website for finding used books at the best price?

JJ wrote: "How do you post status updates? When you finish reading a book or have rated a book Goodreads automatically posts a status for you. What I want to know is how do I update my own status? what if I w..."

JJ, I don't have a clue! Does anyone else want to chime in? I didn't see a quick answer in GR help, but I didn't look really hard.

JJ wrote: "How do you post status updates? When you finish reading a book or have rated a book Goodreads automatically posts a status for you. What I want to know is how do I update my own status? what if I w..."

You can do that on the app! If you open the app, click "more" on the bottom right, and then click your name/face at the top, it will bring you to your page. Then, right under your icon, there should be an "update status" bar. Click that, and type whatever you want!

Kelsey wrote:

OK! Thanks. I will try that on my Kindle Fire.

JJ, if you're on the desktop site, the easiest way I've found to post an update is going to the home screen (click "home" at upper left corner). Your current read will be at the upper left, with options just below it about updates.

Just Elise wrote: "JJ, if you're on the desktop site, the easiest way I've found to post an update is going to the home screen (click "home" at upper left corner). Your current read will be at the upper left, with op..."

Yes, that was exactly what I was looking for thanks!

Thanks for the answers, Kelsey & JustElise. I think I misunderstood the question, but I didn't know the answer anyway!

I've had problems with GR status updates and other GR things ever since the "re-reading" feature was added, so I no longer do status updates. I have sent screenshots and details to GR, but they responded with a really useless and wrong answer at first, and never replied to my follow-up.

There's a rereading option? Hurray!

Pien wrote: "There's a rereading option? Hurray!"

Yep! You can now mark books that you re-read (i.e., read twice or more), and track the dates when you did so. Supposedly.

For more info, see
https://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/8...

but be aware that GR is still working out some bugs in this new feature. For a running thread on the issues, see:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

For me (although not necessarily for YOU, or other GR users), re-reading has broken some other features. I can no longer delete some old status updates/comments, and occasionally when I edit the "shelves" that one of my books is on, GR marks the book as read twice by mistake. Many users have reported similar problems, although GR is working on fixes.

Thanks Starman for your explanation. Hopefully it'll work better soon.

Are you one of those people who don't like an overstuffed email "inbox"?

On your Goodreads "Inbox" page, you can of course delete messages that you no longer need.

But did you notice that one of the availble "Actions" is "move to saved"? (Which, of course, moves messages from Inbox to the Saved folder)

Voilà... a cleaner Inbox!

► Do you have a useful Goodreads or book-related tip to share with the Book Snails? Let us know :)

Here's a small trick that you may not have noticed:

When perusing a LONG discussion thread, you can sort the newest comments to the top by clicking the "date" link near the top right. This sort should remain active for your current logged-in session at Goodreads.com. (Click it again any time to re-sort from oldest to newest).

This saves a lot of scrolling to get to the newer stuff!



[image posted using postimage.org]

Declares PIEN as Gastropod of the Week for this useful tip:

I couldn't figure out how to do a simple 'add book/author' to a post using GR _mobile_ version, but Pien figured out how to do something similar on iPhone:


"I found out how to copy a books link in the IPhone app (in case someone else asks the same question):
Select the book in the app.
Touch the square with the upward arrow in the right upper side of your screen. Then select copy.
Wow, so easy when you know it... :-D"


Thanks, Pien!

~~~~~~
if anyone has other mobile website or GR mobile app tips to make Goodreads easier, let us know.

here are the basic help Q&A from Goodreads:

mobile WEBSITE help: https://www.goodreads.com/help/list/m...

Android APP help: https://www.goodreads.com/help/list/a...

and a few iTunes APP tips from a GR user:
http://demianturner.com/2016/01/how-t...

This must be the biggest compliment I had in years

Pien wrote: "This must be the biggest compliment I had in years"

Now you can try for Mollusk of the Year :)

A friend asked a good question, so I'm adding it to the Tips/Tricks:

Q: do you know if there is a place to access a list of the books that have been recommended to me [by FRIENDS, not by Goodreads]?

A: good question... it's not in an obvious place.

On desktop version of website, click your user photo at top right, then look all the way down to 'Friends Recommendations' in the resulting menu.

I don't use mobile/phone version, so can't advise there.

Or, you MAY be able to use direct link:

https://www.goodreads.com/recommendat...

(bookmark it if it works for you, and you like to review friends' recommendations often!)

For other recommendations (from GoodReads), look under the 'Browse' in top menu.

PS: If you go into Account --> Settings, and scroll down a bit,
you can set the following, if you haven't already done so:

Site Customization:
[ x ] show friend suggestions on my homepage

For co-moderators or anyone adding a POLL:


How to add a group POLL

General Instructions

1. Go to Book Snails group page, click "Polls",

2. Click the "create a poll" link.
(you'll be taken to the Create Poll page).

3. TIP: IF the poll is solely to vote on books, consider using the
"start a BOOK poll" link (it's tiny, under 'Guidelines'), which results in a more compact look when done.

Or use this direct link:
Create a BOOK Poll: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/new?id...

This allows you to simply start typing the name of a book to add it.
(or you can paste a specific ISBN there, which also works).

or you can do it using a regular (non-book) poll if desired,
using the "add book/author" link for each item

Create a REGULAR Poll: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/new?id...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TIPS


* You can peruse our previous polls to get an idea of how we usually do it. We are not strict about any particular way of doing it.

We generally post NEXT month's BOTM poll the last week of the current month or sometime after the 15th.
I try to give users at least 5 days to vote, since not everyone logs into GR daily.

If there aren't many books nominated, I sometimes check the [x]Allow write-in answers option, but it's up to you.

If it's a time-sensitive poll (such as for BOTM for next month), current poll, I try to check the [x]Feature this Poll on the group homepage option. This puts the poll you are creating at the top of our Polls page.

Once your poll is created, remember to INVITE members (it's pretty self-explanatory).
Inviting members will send them an email and/or put a message in their GR Notifications, depending on their user settings.

If you screw up, no worries... you can Edit the poll, or delete it and start over if needed.
(I usually create the poll FIRST, make sure it looks okay, and then Invite members).

StarMan wrote: "For co-moderators or anyone adding a POLL:


How to add a group POLL


General Instructions


1. Go to Book Snails group page, click "Polls",

2. Click the "create a poll" link.
(you'll be taken..."

Thank you for this, StarMan!

There is a book I passionately did not finish. As in, almost fed to the dog. I know how to make a tag ‘did not finish’, but how do I keep it from being counted as read in my yearly book challenge?

Pien wrote: "There is a book I passionately did not finish. As in, almost fed to the dog. I know how to make a tag ‘did not finish’, but how do I keep it from being counted as read in my yearly book challenge?"

Good question! I want to know how to do this, too!

Pien and Candace asked ...how to make a tag ‘did not finish’, but how do I keep it from being counted as read in my yearly book challenge?

When marking the book as "Read" and/or putting it on other shelves,
either leave the Start Date & Finished Date fields BLANK, or use a FAKE Finished Date Year (ex: 1930, the year before you were born, etc.). This will prevent the book from appearing under the current real year challenges, etc.

If you already put this (real) year's Finished Date on a DNF book, you can edit and delete the dates if desired (or replace with a really long-ago year). This should remove it from the current year's challenges, etc.

Note: Sometimes it may take a minute or so for the Challenges, Year in Books, etc. to update after you change or delete a Start or Finish dates.

Note: You can OPTIONALLY also make your new 'Did Not Finish' shelf tag an "exclusive" type shelf, to ensure those DNF books do NOT ever appear on your usual 'Read' list at the same time.

========= What is an 'exclusive' shelf /tag ? ================

Goodreads official help says: (view spoiler)[

"exclusive shelves: All members have three default shelves (read, currently-reading, and to-read), which are mutually exclusive, meaning a book can only be on one of them. Members can create as many additional shelves as they like, and books can be on as many non-exclusive shelves as you desire. This may be useful for shelves such as "reference" or "gave-up-on." It may take a few minutes for the changes to propagate if you have a lot of books on this shelf. "

Here's are 2 screenshots after I added my exclusive 'did-not-finish' shelf (and also 'other' and 'wishlist' exclusive shelves):





(hide spoiler)]

► Let us know if you've found other tricks for marking your books as 'DNF', or other shelf/tag tricks for Goodreads!

Thanks! This will work perfectly

StarMan wrote: "Pien and Candace asked ...how to make a tag ‘did not finish’, but how do I keep it from being counted as read in my yearly book challenge?

When marking the book as "Read" and/or putting it on othe..."

Thanks StarMan! I’ve been wondering that too! Just made my my exclusive dnf shelf, though I can’t remember now all the dnf’s I had this year...

How do I make the exclusive dnf shelf? I can't find anything that looks like your screenshots. The screenshots are for *after* you made the exclusive shelf, but how did you make that shelf in the first place? Thanks!

Are you trying on your phone's / tablet's app or on the Goodreads website Candace? it can only be done on the website! there, you can add a shelf, and then select wether you would like to make te shelve exclusive.

Pien wrote: "Are you trying on your phone's / tablet's app or on the Goodreads website Candace? it can only be done on the website! there, you can add a shelf, and then select wether you would like to make te s..."

I'm trying from my laptop, on the website. Thanks - I didn't realize I had to add a shelf and then select exclusivity. (I already have a "couldn't finish" shelf, so I was trying to find where I could change it to exclusive. I see now that I'll need to start from scratch.)

Y'all are the BEST! :)

Oh great - I added a new shelf - DNF - but it never gave me the option to make it exclusive. Now what?

In the tab ‘my books’, you see bookshelves (edit) and below your shelves. Click on (edit)
Then you can check the exclusive box!
Hope this helps!

Pien wrote: "In the tab ‘my books’, you see bookshelves (edit) and below your shelves. Click on (edit)
Then you can check the exclusive box!
Hope this helps!"

No option like that on there. It just creates a new shelf, period. Sigh. So I'll have to change the dates read to old dates, but not sure that's going to be worth the time and effort. fml Thanks anyway.

oh that's too bad, I'm sorry it didn't work out...

Candace wrote: "Oh great - I added a new shelf - DNF - but it never gave me the option to make it exclusive. Now what?"

Great question, sorry I didn't include those steps before... I think Pien already answered (thanks!), but here is a screenshot if it helps:



Step-by-Step:

(Candace, if you already created the new Shelf, jump to step 3 below).

1. Visit the 'EDIT SHELVES' page: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/edit
(or go to My Books --> Bookshelves(edit )

2. ADD your new shelf, naming it "DNF" or "Did Not Finish", or whatever. The new shelf will be added to your list of Shelves.

3. While on the 'Edit Shelves' page, scroll down in your Shelves list and find your newly created DNF shelf.

4. To the right of your DNF shelf name, click the box in 'exclusive' column ( put a checkmark in box, meaning that option is now turned ON).

5. Scroll down and click the [Save] button.

Note: You can edit or rename your shelves any time. It may take a few seconds or longer for your changes to take effect.