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Exciting News About Goodreads: We're Joining the Amazon Family!
When Elizabeth and I started Goodreads from my living room seven years ago, we set out to create a better way for people to find and share books they love. It's been a wild ride seeing how the company has grown and watching as more than 16 million readers from across the globe have joined Goodreads and connected over a passion for books.
Today I'm really happy to announce a new milestone for Goodreads: We are joining the Amazon family. We truly could not think of a more perfect partner for Goodreads as we both share a love of books and an appreciation for the authors who write them. We also both love to invent products and services that touch millions of people.
I'm excited about this for three reasons:
1. With the reach and resources of Amazon, Goodreads can introduce more readers to our vibrant community of book lovers and create an even better experience for our members.
2. Our members have been asking us to bring the Goodreads experience to an e-reader for a long time. Now we're looking forward to bringing Goodreads to the most popular e-reader in the world, Kindle, and further reinventing what reading can be.
3. Amazon supports us continuing to grow our vision as an independent entity, under the Goodreads brand and with our unique culture.
It's important to be clear that Goodreads and the awesome team behind it are not going away. Goodreads will continue to be the wonderful community that we all cherish. We plan to continue offering you everything that you love about the site—the ability to track what you read, discover great books, discuss and share them with fellow book lovers, and connect directly with your favorite authors—and your reviews and ratings will remain here on Goodreads. And it's incredibly important to us that we remain a home for all types of readers, no matter if you read on paper, audio, digitally, from scrolls, or even stone tablets.
For all of you Kindle readers, there's obviously an extra bonus in this announcement. You've asked us for a long time to be able to integrate your Kindle and Goodreads experiences. Making that option a reality is one of our top priorities.
Our team gets out of bed every day motivated by the belief that the right book in the right hands can change the world. Now Goodreads can help make that happen in an even bigger and more meaningful way thanks to joining the Amazon family. (And if you want to be part of this, please check out our Jobs page for open positions. We've got a lot of hires to make!)
This is an emotional day for me. Goodreads is more than a company to me – it's something that Elizabeth and I created because we wanted it to exist. Since then it has grown a lot and become a place we love working at, full of incredibly smart and passionate people who also believe in our mission. I feel a little like a college graduate – happy to come to this milestone, nostalgic for the past amazing seven years, and incredibly, incredibly, excited for the future.
Otis
P.S. For the more official version of the announcement, here's the press release that went out today.
P.P.S. Please let us know – what integration with Kindle would you love to see the most?
Today I'm really happy to announce a new milestone for Goodreads: We are joining the Amazon family. We truly could not think of a more perfect partner for Goodreads as we both share a love of books and an appreciation for the authors who write them. We also both love to invent products and services that touch millions of people.
I'm excited about this for three reasons:
1. With the reach and resources of Amazon, Goodreads can introduce more readers to our vibrant community of book lovers and create an even better experience for our members.
2. Our members have been asking us to bring the Goodreads experience to an e-reader for a long time. Now we're looking forward to bringing Goodreads to the most popular e-reader in the world, Kindle, and further reinventing what reading can be.
3. Amazon supports us continuing to grow our vision as an independent entity, under the Goodreads brand and with our unique culture.
It's important to be clear that Goodreads and the awesome team behind it are not going away. Goodreads will continue to be the wonderful community that we all cherish. We plan to continue offering you everything that you love about the site—the ability to track what you read, discover great books, discuss and share them with fellow book lovers, and connect directly with your favorite authors—and your reviews and ratings will remain here on Goodreads. And it's incredibly important to us that we remain a home for all types of readers, no matter if you read on paper, audio, digitally, from scrolls, or even stone tablets.
For all of you Kindle readers, there's obviously an extra bonus in this announcement. You've asked us for a long time to be able to integrate your Kindle and Goodreads experiences. Making that option a reality is one of our top priorities.
Our team gets out of bed every day motivated by the belief that the right book in the right hands can change the world. Now Goodreads can help make that happen in an even bigger and more meaningful way thanks to joining the Amazon family. (And if you want to be part of this, please check out our Jobs page for open positions. We've got a lot of hires to make!)
This is an emotional day for me. Goodreads is more than a company to me – it's something that Elizabeth and I created because we wanted it to exist. Since then it has grown a lot and become a place we love working at, full of incredibly smart and passionate people who also believe in our mission. I feel a little like a college graduate – happy to come to this milestone, nostalgic for the past amazing seven years, and incredibly, incredibly, excited for the future.
Otis
P.S. For the more official version of the announcement, here's the press release that went out today.
P.P.S. Please let us know – what integration with Kindle would you love to see the most?
Comments Showing 2,051-2,100 of 2,216 (2216 new)
Randee wrote: "One of the things I hate the most about this situation is that instead of doing what we love, reading books and talking about them, we are spending a lot of time discussing the evils of Amazon (rea..."Yes!
I think this could be good idea! Im a kindle user and a GR user. I would like a way for my books to be sent to goodreads on my to read list!!!! Plz! Pls iI look up books up on GRs first or put them in my to read list even if i dont own them. What im adking is maybe a option to buy it with amazon right on GR page?! But without over doing it to make it easier!
First, congratulations to Otis and Elizabeth. It's a great thing when the project you pour so much of yourself into puts money in your bank account.That's the only nice thing I have to say about this deal, though. I had dreaded Goodreads being bought out by a big publisher or a big bookstore and losing its independence. Now it's been bought out by the biggest bookstore, which is also swiftly becoming the biggest publisher. I've enjoyed Goodreads as a reader, as an author, and as a bookseller. Now it's just one more site (as I said on my blog post about this last month) "becoming another shill for a a company that isn’t lacking for shills."
Good for the Goodreads staff. You've done what's right for you. But as for the readers, writers, and booksellers that aren't already in Amazon's pocket, we're getting screwed.
How do I connect Goodreads and my Kindle ? I need steps for that please...:P
I am so disappointed to learn that Amazon is taking over Goodreads. I am an author with a novel on Amazon that has made it into two top-100 categories PAID on more than one occasion. As of today, I have 65 4- and 5-star reviews out of 71. However, when a reviewer with an axe to grind began harrassing me, I notified Amazon several times and asked them to remove the offending review that was simply an angry tirade that had nothing to do with the actual plot of the novel. This bitter reviewer is also having her friends vote up her review and vote down the good reviews. Amazon apparently cares nothing for it's indie authors because they wouldn't even give me the courtesy of a reply. I foresee Goodreads going downhill with Amazon at the helm.
Wow, Otis, can you not see all the complaints from your members? I thought that'd mean something to you. Obviously not.
Can my reader reviews on Amazon be transferred to Goodreads? If so, how?
Marie wrote: "Bring back the book swap!"That will never, ever happen again. Amazon wants to sell books, not have people on their sites swapping books. A book swap would take away from Amazon's sales.
I hope the core of GoodReads and their policies don’t change. I am worried about reviews and group postings being edited to skew the true view of the reader. I do feel for the folks out there who prefer not to use the Kindle and hope this doesn’t cause grief.I’d like to see the following options: 1. To be able to check a box in the settings of one or more of my Amazon wish list so the books there are added to the book shelf I choose in GoodReads. 2. To have the option to connect wirelessly on my Kindle and have it send the data to GoodReads when I start reading a book, my progress of the book and my star rating when I am done with the book.
I'm very disappointed in this news. I will wait and see how it goes but will probably delete my account. I'm not an amazon user, not a kindle user and don't live in the US.
congratulations , just a suggestion is it going be possible to by the kindle ebooks that my friends are reading reviewing etc from good reads.i love seeing what books my friends have and would like to be able to read them too
Richard wrote: "Catherine wrote: "Feature Request: When I buy a book on Amazon I'd like it to automatically get added to my to read or reading shelf (unless I click a box to not post it, which I would do if it was..."yes pleas
Good move this.As a writer, I would love to be able to review and promote Kindle Books that do not have ISBN
Gabby wrote: "Wow, Otis, can you not see all the complaints from your members? I thought that'd mean something to you. Obviously not."In all honesty I may not care either if I was the recipient of $150 million, even after taxes (federal state and local)that would still be $70 to $90 million free and clear for the rest of your life. No more ramen noodle diets.
As an avid reader, writer and advertising person who has only just joined this community, I am surprised by some of the anti-Amazon sentiment in this thread.Since the birth of Amazon and online availability of books generally, I have watched book consumption increase enormously, especially among the young. The internet has allowed young people to connect to each other about books and reading in a way that they had abandoned in my own youth, and Amazon (who's main crime has been to be first of the block) has allowed this to flourish into actual book sales.
If Amazon had never existed, book sales would still have migrated online and small book shops would still have closed and another company would have come to dominate - that is the cultural nature of the internet and has precious little to do with the companies themselves.
And now, Amazon has made it easier for budding new writers to get their works read. For instance, a close relation has written a wonderful autobiography of her life in the far East at the end of the British Empire. Although the book has been loved by all who have read it and was snapped up by the British Library and even quoted by a couple of historians, we could not get an agent/publisher because "she is not famous."
But it is now on sale as a Kindle tome on Amazon.
Amazon has proved a very powerful advocate on behalf of the cause of literacy - whether that was intentioned or not.
It's funny, because the people who are supporting this decision are people who just joined this month and have hardly any reviews. And who are probably working for Amazon. Not naming any names.
Hi Gabby, Not only did I only join this month, but I joined only yesterday. But I did not know about Amazon buying Good Reads until I joined - indeed, it was as a result of joining and searching how I could review a book that did not have an ISBN that I found the press release. So, please go ahead and name me. :)
EDIT: Oh, and I have never worked for Amazon in my life, neither as an employee or had them as a client.
Gabby, go ahead and name me. I've been a member since 2009. 80 reviews, 559 ratings.
Jacquie wrote: "for me, I would like to be able to post one review and have it go to both sites"Jacquie, I agree. That would be very helpful.
Clark
http://www.clarkzlotchew.com
Niklas wrote: "I'd like to be able to access/share Goodreads stuff from the Kindle directly to Goodreads and elsewhere, e.g. reading progress, content, quotes, author info, directly without leaving a page. Furthe..."I agree with Niklas, I'd like to be able to share progress, content etc from my kindle directly. I don't use goodreads as a way to shop for books, but to find and store books that I like.
I am sadly disappointed :( . Logging on to goodreads will now seem different if I choose to keep my account. I am finding this news out late. (Yes, I've been under my rock for days)but goodreads independence was what made it what it was.
I have an Amazon authors page, will it automatically be included here on Good Read? http://www.amazon.com/John-Wren/e/B00...
Clark wrote: "Jacquie wrote: "for me, I would like to be able to post one review and have it go to both sites"Jacquie, I agree. That would be very helpful.
Clark
http://www.clarkzlotchew.com"
Yes, that would be helpful.
Gabby wrote: "It's funny, because the people who are supporting this decision are people who just joined this month and have hardly any reviews. And who are probably working for Amazon. Not naming any names."Aah ... a conspiracy!
John wrote: "I have an Amazon authors page, will it automatically be included here on Good Read? http://www.amazon.com/John-Wren/e/B00..."Now that would be a nice idea!
I have one too: http://www.amazon.co.uk/C.-C.-Hogan/e...
Will there be a future Blog post to answer all the questions that were mentioned here? I feel quite uninformed since the announcement here nothing happened. A lot of books remain to rescue, and no data improvement on the books I see so far...
These things take time. Yes there has been an announcement of the deal but I daresay there are probably still details and timetables to be worked out. I just hope Amazon proves to be more trustworthy than Target has proven to be.
All of these are very good, valid questions. I hope they get answered. I would like to know more about how this will affect Goodreads users. And don't sugarcoat it either!
I would feel better if some of our more pressing concerns would actually be acknowledged, preferably answered.
Well, it all just seems suspicious, you know?
I have come across some interesting data. Since I am not sure where to share it I'll put it here. Some of it actually might pertain to this discussion anyway. BookNet Canada has released some results from surveys it has done. This data is from 2012 and from Canada.Apparently ebook sales seem to have plateaued. At the beginning of the year they were 17.6% of the market but by the fourth quarter they were only 12.6%.
As for where consumers prefer to buy their books these are the percentages: Bookstores 37%, other retailers 34% and online 25%.
John wrote: "I have come across some interesting data. Since I am not sure where to share it I'll put it here. Some of it actually might pertain to this discussion anyway. BookNet Canada has released some resul..."great news as far as I am concerned. Yeah, Canada!
As much as I like Amazon, and I use them often to buy books, I don't want any cross referencing between GR and Amazon.
Lewis wrote: "Gabby wrote: "It's funny, because the people who are supporting this decision are people who just joined this month and have hardly any reviews. And who are probably working for Amazon. Not naming ..."I love a conspiracy!
If it was any other big corporation, I would be worried. Congrats and I look forward to whats to come !
Brigitte wrote: "As much as I like Amazon, and I use them often to buy books, I don't want any cross referencing between GR and Amazon."EXACTLY THIS!
Dawn wrote: "Brigitte wrote: "As much as I like Amazon, and I use them often to buy books, I don't want any cross referencing between GR and Amazon."EXACTLY THIS!"
Even more to the point, I don't want any personally identifiable information shared.
Peter wrote: "I don't want any personally identifiable information shared."Peter, Then make sure you sign out of Goodreads before signing in to Amazon, and vice versa. Also, don't click through to Amazon from Goodreads. Also, don't give your address to Goodreads if you've given it to Amazon. Also, use different email addresses for each. Etc. etc. They'll probably still figure it out though.
Lisa wrote: "Peter wrote: "I don't want any personally identifiable information shared."Peter, Then make sure you sign out of Goodreads before signing in to Amazon, and vice versa. Also, don't click through t..."
Using private browsing also helps.
Peter wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Peter wrote: "I don't want any personally identifiable information shared."Peter, Then make sure you sign out of Goodreads before signing in to Amazon, and vice versa. Also, don't cl..."
Or using different browsers for each and never letting the twain meet.
Since they have completely different sign in systems with different encryption, domains, servers and so on none of that makes any difference. When you login to any secure site, the password and the login session is kept as a database record or other server session with unique encryption and so on. For instance, if you create two separate Joomla or Wordpress sites, you can login to both quite happily and neither will be aware the other even exists.
The only way to share login is if a software bridge is created intentionally linking the login systems and user tables in the databases (which is a right pain to do, believe me!). And in that case, it wont make any difference if you use different browsers or not.
Amazon does not understand Good Reads session information and vice versa, and since they are on separate servers and the login sessions are server side, the session information is not and cannot be shared. You do not need to use separate browsers or anything like that, no more than you need to for any other of your logins.
If at some point the user base is shared, then that will be a huge difference to the terms and conditions of each site and they will have to tell you.
I have no idea of the likelihood of that happening.
CC
CC wrote: "Since they have completely different sign in systems with different encryption, domains, servers and so on none of that makes any difference. When you login to any secure site, the password and t..."
What you are forgetting is cookies. They can allow the information to be passed without a complex software bridge, which is why hackers love them so. Private browsing deletes the cookies and history at the end of each session.
I am not forgetting cookies.
Does this mean that those who don't use Kindles are going to eventually be kicked out? I'm not sure that I like this "buyout" because I use a Nook and have no intention of ever buying a Kindle.
CC wrote: "I am not forgetting cookies."I'm not forgetting chocolate chips cookies either.
"Gabby wrote: "It's funny, because the people who are supporting this decision are people who just joined this month and have hardly any reviews. And who are probably working for Amazon. Not naming ..."Been here since Dec. 2011, and I'm supportive of it.
I've added it for you (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...), there's no automatic link between Amazon and Goodreads (yet). You can find more info and tips for authors on http://www.goodreads.com/help and here http://www.goodreads.com/author/program