2025 Reading Challenge discussion

HOW DO I...?

This is a mini guide for those new to Goodreads. Don't see something you need? Post below and ask! We'll add it--this is a work in progress.

GROUPS

...stop getting notifications for EVERY new post in a group?
Under “my account” (click here), go to the “emails” tab. Near the bottom, you should be able to see a list of all of your groups under “Group Email Preferences. Click “none.” See the next topic to choose to receive individual topics.


...choose to get notifications for certain threads?
On a thread you would like to follow, click the “Notify me when people comment” link at the bottom of the page above the place you would add your own comment.

You will now receive notifications when people post. You can also click “edit” to change how you would like to follow the discussion.

...invite a friend to join a group?
On the group homepage, click the “invite people” link.

On the “friends” tab, select the people you would like to invite.

...remove myself from a group?
On the group homepage, click “Edit Membership” next to “You are a member” under the group description.



POSTING

...add a book or author to my post?
Above the post, click “add book/author.”

Type in the book’s title (the search only works for full words) or author’s name. Tip: An easier way to add an author is to use the “book” tab and type in one of the author’s books, clicking “search,” then moving over to the author tab.

...delete a post?
At the bottom of the post you would like to delete, click “delete.” Please note that it’s considered bad form to delete a post that someone has responded to.


...bold, italicize, underline or strikeout text?For each of these, replace the []s with <>s
Bold: [b]text[/b]
Italicize: [i]text[/i]
Underline: [u]text[/u]
Strikeout: [s]text[/s]

...mark spoilers?
Same as above, except use [spoiler]text[/spoiler] and replace []s with <>s.

FRIENDS/BLOCKING

...add someone as a friend?

Go to their profile, and click "Add Friend" button next to their profile picture. You can choose to just follow their reviews until they accept your friendship. Note: Friendship is a two-way thing where both members can see each other's posts. Following is a one-way thing where you can see theirs, but yours will not pop up on their feed.

...remove someone as a friend?

Click here to see your friends list. Click "edit friends." If you uncheck the box next to a friend's name, you will no longer be friends.

...block a user?

Next to where it says “Add Friend,” click more, and there you can select “block this person.
The person you blocked cannot:
- View your profile (it appears private)
- Send you a PM (you are "not accepting messages")
- Comment on any of your content
- Like your content or updates
- Send you event invitations

When you block someone, you will see:
- That they've commented on a thread (text hidden by default)
- Any past messages you exchanged with them in your inbox
- Any past comments they left on your reviews

When you block someone, you will not see:
- The content of posts in threads you click on (you can click to expand)
- Their reviews when using the normal sort on a book page
- Likes of their content appear in your updates feed

When you block someone, they cannot view your profile, so they can't see your shelves or reviews. However, it is possible for that person to navigate to a book's page and sift through the reviews to find your review there. They can't act on the review in any way, but they theoretically could find reviews that you have written.

...report behavior that goes against Goodreads Terms of Service (TOS)?

Every post has a "flag *" link you can click, and this function is also available for messages you receive. You can also contact Goodreads directly at support@goodreads.com. If you're flagging a message, do not delete the message before Goodreads staff can review it.

HOW TO POST PICTURES ON GOODREADS

All pictures posted on Goodreads must either belong to Goodreads.com, Amazon.com, the public domain, or from your own personal library as per the terms and conditions.

- Click on (some html is ok)
- Go to image, and copy from < to >
- Paste that to where you would like the image to appear.
- Find the web address for the image you would like to post. If it is a private photo, you should load it to your Goodreads profile photos and use the link created from that page.
- After you post the picture, you will most likely have to go back and adjust the width and length of the photo.

An Example:
This photo of my cats is width “100” and length “100”

Hello, wonderful mods of this group.
I seem to be having trouble with my homepage as of today.
Previously, my display of "Currently reading" books in the top right corner also showed me my progress in each book.
But I can no longer see my progress on Goodreads without clicking on the book and pretending to post a progress update.

I'm not sure what I've done to change how Currently reading books are displayed, but I really would love to see my progress for books I'm currently reading.
What have I done wrong? Or is it an (unwanted) update for 2019?

Apparently, my problem is being addressed as part of scheduled maintenance.
Here's the post from the Goodreads Feedback group:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

oshizu wrote: "Apparently, my problem is being addressed as part of scheduled maintenance.
Here's the post from the Goodreads Feedback group:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/......"

Thanks for the link! The maintenance seems to take longer than planned, hopefully they will fix it soon.

How do I edit my comments so I can reflect my progress in my original post for myself?

Under your comment there should be an option to edit your post, but if you are using the app, there seems to be an issue with comments the last few days.

when you enter the giveaway do you have to pay to receive the book or is it covered by the author?

Chrisia wrote: "when you enter the giveaway do you have to pay to receive the book or is it covered by the author?"

I will ask the other mods to be sure, but my guess is that it will be covered by the author.

Edit: There are no additional costs!

Chrisia wrote: "when you enter the giveaway do you have to pay to receive the book or is it covered by the author?"

All the costs of the book are covered by the giveaway, but I will warn you sometimes it takes the book quite some time to get to you. I also won a giveaway where I didn't get the book at all. It's still fun to sign up for them, so enjoy!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I created my reading goal under the wrong section
It should be under 25 to 50.

Is there anyway to move or delete it.

My first day in the group and already a mistake. Sigh. Sorry

Beth wrote: "https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I created my reading goal under the wrong section
It should be under 25 to 50.

Is there anyway to move or delete it.

My first day in the group a..."

That's okay! This is a big group with a lot going on :)
I moved your topic to the correct folder.

How I do edit my comments so I can update my posts in challenges? I saw someone else asked this question, but I still can’t figure that out. Is this something that can only be done on a computer? I always use the app on my phone for goodreads.

hi Rachel,
There is no edit option on the app, unfortunately, so yes, it can only be done on a computer ...

I won a book through Goodreads! However it is a digital one. I am totally new to digital books. Can anyone tell me how to access the book please? Thank you!

Heather wrote: "I won a book through Goodreads! However it is a digital one. I am totally new to digital books. Can anyone tell me how to access the book please? Thank you!"

@Heather
If you go to your Kindle app and click the "Sync and check for new items" icon, your giveaway book will appear in your Kindle Library.
That is how it has worked for me.

A problem I hope someone can help with...
Almost every time I change a book from want to read to currently reading, it creates a duplicate. So I have one edition as want to read and one currently reading. And I have to go through my duplicates and update them and delete them. It's very annoying!

Meg wrote: "A problem I hope someone can help with...
Almost every time I change a book from want to read to currently reading, it creates a duplicate. So I have one edition as want to read and one currently ..."

@Meg

Whenever you want to change a book's status, avoid doing it from that book's description page. Instead, go to your "My Books," do a search for the book. Once you've got your book displayed in My Books, change its status there.

The reason Goodreads creates a duplicate is no doubt because the edition of the book you initially added (for example, Paperback) differs from the default edition on the book's description page (usually, Hardcover).

Hope that helps.

oshizu wrote: "Meg wrote: "A problem I hope someone can help with...
Almost every time I change a book from want to read to currently reading, it creates a duplicate. So I have one edition as want to read and on..."

I just wanted to add on to oshizu's answer:
another way of doing it is - click on Currently Reading so you're on on the book's description page , then if you scroll down you can see "my activity" - click format and you can switch to the correct edition.

Thank you both for your answers. I will try that. It's a bit annoying though that the default edition always seems to change (I never add a specific edition, just use the default!)

Wow this thread is amazing. Thanks for this. Even if I am used to GR there are tons to learn.

@Ruthie

Hello there and welcome to our group.
I just checked but could not find that you'd created a personal challenge for yourself yet. So it seems yours doesn't exist yet.
I'm sure you've already read this thread, but instructions for creating your own personal challenge thread are here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Once you've reached the folder for the numeric range that includes your reading challenge, created your own topic, and posted your first comment, be sure to bookmark your thread on your browser bar.
That is the way that the rest of us return to our personal challenge threads.

Ruthie wrote: "I'm bAaAaAaAaAaaaack!!!😂 I have been wondering, how do you size images in your posts??? Hope that makes sense."

Ruthie, you can use html to post and size your images:
[img src="image url" width="100" height="100"] but replace [] with <>, fill in the image url, and change the width and height as needed.

One of the books I'm reading " Real Vampires: Glory and the Pirates' has not been listed under the author's (Gerry Bartlett) other books. How do I either get it on there or mark it as a book for my reading challenge? Thx

Theresa wrote: "One of the books I'm reading " Real Vampires: Glory and the Pirates' has not been listed under the author's (Gerry Bartlett) other books. How do I either get it on there or mark it as a book for my..."

Hi Theresa, is this the correct book: Real Vampires: Glory and the Pirates? It is on the bottom of Bartlett's author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list...

Zeejane

I don't do audiobooks, but I think that the Your reading activity/Reading stats/pages will only count cumulative pages read, for book editions that include a page count.
For Let's Turn Pages (which I'm currently leading this year), participants need to calculate pages read based on the page count of the most popular hardcover edition of any audiobook.

If you selected that same non-audiobook edition on Goodreads, Your reading activity/Reading stat/pages will no doubt calculate your page total, too.
If you want to check, you can compare your page total before and after switching one of your audiobook entries to a hardcover edition.

I count audiobooks. I go to the book and change the edition to audio.

Leona wrote: "I count audiobooks. I go to the book and change the edition to audio."

@Leena
Leena, you and Goodreads count audiobooks for almost every challenge. For the Let's Turn Pages challenge, however, the only currency is pages turned, not hours spent reading.

Also, Zeejane wants to have Goodread do her math for her, which is why she's changing editions. It's just a l'il trick. *winks

oshizu wrote: "Leona wrote: "I count audiobooks. I go to the book and change the edition to audio."

@Leena
Leena, you and Goodreads count audiobooks for almost every challenge. For the Let's Turn Pages challenge..."

Thanks. I missed the saying about counting the words.

I would like to have my own link to record books I read in the upcoming year. I've seen how it's possible to include the cover of the book as part of this link. How is this done?

Fran wrote: "I would like to have my own link to record books I read in the upcoming year. I've seen how it's possible to include the cover of the book as part of this link. How is this done?"

I am not sure what you are referring to, Fran. If you are looking to set up your personal challenge thread, you can do so here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Book covers can be used as links, but only to the book itself. You can do so by clicking on add book/author above the comment box, search the book, and check the box for cover. Does this help?

When I try to make my personal 2021 challenge thread it say that page is not found. I am new and would really like to make one. I have tried all the links you guys have given for the new people but they all take me to a page that says page not found. Please help. 😭😭😭

Shreya wrote: "When I try to make my personal 2021 challenge thread it say that page is not found. I am new and would really like to make one. I have tried all the links you guys have given for the new people but..."

I responded to your question here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thanks

Leona wrote: "oshizu wrote: "Leona wrote: "I count audiobooks. I go to the book and change the edition to audio."

@Leena
Leena, you and Goodreads count audiobooks for almost every challenge. For the Let's Turn ..."

@Leona
My humble apologies for mistyping your name!
I not only have poor vision but I am the Queen of Typos. Sorry!

How do I leave a group?

Samuel wrote: "How do I leave a group?"

At the top of every group page, just below the group description, there is a link "Edit Membership". Click that to go to your Membership page and there you can click "Leave group" at the top of that page.

David80Abrams wrote: "Glad for this information. Anyway, talking about technologies, I want to ay that I renewed IOS and now I need to know is it safe or not"

Hi David, I am afraid that I cannot help you with any security updates for iOS. My best guess would be to contact Apple support.

I accidentally joined this group and now i cant leave lol can someone remove me, there is no ”edit membership” section under the group description for me

Fia wrote: "I accidentally joined this group and now i cant leave lol can someone remove me, there is no ”edit membership” section under the group description for me"

Are you on the Goodreads app or on the website? The link should be there on the website, I don’t think you can leave a group from the app.

Fia wrote: "I accidentally joined this group and now i cant leave lol can someone remove me, there is no ”edit membership” section under the group description for me"

Fia
I checked our Members against your profile page and was able to delete you from the group.

What do you do when you see a review that seems to have copied and pasted most of someone else's review?

Dianne wrote: "What do you do when you see a review that seems to have copied and pasted most of someone else's review?"

You should be able to flag said review, and then mark the reason as plagiarism.

Lisa wrote: "Dianne wrote: "What do you do when you see a review that seems to have copied and pasted most of someone else's review?"

You should be able to flag said review, and then mark the reason as plagiar..." Thank you. I was not aware of this procedure. I have flagged the review.

I'd love some tips on the easiest way to update details in Goodreads, if anyone's worked out how to navigate their nightmare of a user interface!

1. I'd like to be able to record start/finish dates and ratings in Goodreads on my phone, either using the app or webpage. Problem is I can't see how to change edition on my phone, and would like it not to revert to the default edition. To get around this I've been keeping records in OneNote and transferring to Goodreads once a month using my computer, but its really annoying entering each book 4+ times, plus I just accidentally deleted my notes in OneNote - aaargh! There must be a better way!!!

2. I'm also curious how to select the right edition when posting a link or cover image as part of a challenge - it gives you a drop-down list to select from but I can't see the edition details. I just go for the first one that looks like the cover I read, but for all I know I'm posting a link to an edition in another language!

Any tips?! TIA

Nedge wrote: "Problem is I can't see how to change edition on my phone, and would like it not to revert to the default edition."

I have also not been able to find this option. Personally, I often use the browser on my phone to visit the Goodreads website rather than using the app. The app just misses too many functionalities.

Nedge wrote: "I'm also curious how to select the right edition when posting a link or cover image as part of a challenge - it gives you a drop-down list to select from but I can't see the edition details. I just go for the first one that looks like the cover I read, but for all I know I'm posting a link to an edition in another language!"

Every edition of a book on Goodreads has a number. If you add a certain cover e.g. *bookcover:Dune|44767458* or , you can change the number in the link to the number of another edition.

To find this number, you can go to the webpage of your preferred version of the book and copy the number in the address.

For example: the book I linked above has the link: www.goodreads.com/book/show/44767458-..., with the number 4476458. Another edition gives me 39776179, resulting in *bookcover:Dune|39776179* or

Does this help?

That's really helpful, thanks Ilona!

I often change the edition of a book in the app! You open the book, swipe the cover to the left, and click on ‘More details and editions’, and then on ‘Editions’. (That’s on iPhone, I don’t know if it’s different on Android)

Thank you Marleen! Unfortunately, this does not seem to work on Android