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Will I Like This? New Book Page on Goodreads iOS App Has the Answer
Own an iPhone or iPad? Now it's even easier to decide if you'll like a book (or not) with the redesigned book pages on the Goodreads iOS app!
Updated design
Get ready for a gorgeous new design that makes the book cover the star of the page. Each page now has a simple, clean look that makes it easier than ever to shelve, rate and review your latest book.
Jump right into the next book
Binge watching has nothing on binge reading! What's the first thing you want to do when you finish an amazing story? Find more by your new favorite author, of course! Now, when you go to the book page to rate the book you've just read, we help you keep your book binge going by showing you the next books in the series, more books by the same author, and similar books that Goodreads members also enjoyed.
Find out what people are saying
Whether you're trying to decide what to pick up next or you've just finished a book and can't wait to hear what others thought, reading reviews is the perfect way to dive deeper into the reading experience. Want to hear both sides of the story? We've made it easy to see reviews broken down by the star ratings it has received from the Goodreads community—or just from your friends. With a tap of the star rating, you can see all of the one star reviews for that book you worry may not live up to its hype, and even better, you can dive into all the five star reviews for that 800 page epic that's been sitting on your to-read shelf. Reading inspiration at its best!
Editions Matter
Keeping track of which edition of a book you've read is important. Did you read the first edition of A Game of Thrones in 1997, the TV tie-in edition when the series came out, or the Kindle e-book? The right edition with the right cover and page count matters so we've included the ability to switch editions directly via the book page in the app. The choice is yours.
These are just a few of the enhancements you'll find on the book page. Download the updated app from the iTunes App Store today and let us know what you're most excited about!
Updated design
Get ready for a gorgeous new design that makes the book cover the star of the page. Each page now has a simple, clean look that makes it easier than ever to shelve, rate and review your latest book.
Jump right into the next book
Binge watching has nothing on binge reading! What's the first thing you want to do when you finish an amazing story? Find more by your new favorite author, of course! Now, when you go to the book page to rate the book you've just read, we help you keep your book binge going by showing you the next books in the series, more books by the same author, and similar books that Goodreads members also enjoyed.
Find out what people are saying
Whether you're trying to decide what to pick up next or you've just finished a book and can't wait to hear what others thought, reading reviews is the perfect way to dive deeper into the reading experience. Want to hear both sides of the story? We've made it easy to see reviews broken down by the star ratings it has received from the Goodreads community—or just from your friends. With a tap of the star rating, you can see all of the one star reviews for that book you worry may not live up to its hype, and even better, you can dive into all the five star reviews for that 800 page epic that's been sitting on your to-read shelf. Reading inspiration at its best!
Editions Matter
Keeping track of which edition of a book you've read is important. Did you read the first edition of A Game of Thrones in 1997, the TV tie-in edition when the series came out, or the Kindle e-book? The right edition with the right cover and page count matters so we've included the ability to switch editions directly via the book page in the app. The choice is yours.
These are just a few of the enhancements you'll find on the book page. Download the updated app from the iTunes App Store today and let us know what you're most excited about!
Comments Showing 1-50 of 102 (102 new)
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Ravi
(new)
Oct 20, 2015 09:18AM
Great work. When can we expect these features for android? Thank you. Have a good day.
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Ravi wrote: "Great work. When can we expect these features for android? Thank you. Have a good day."looking forward to it!
I totally agree with Ravi - really nice work but when will android users get a great app too??
We don’t have updates to share on the Android front right now. But rest assured that we’ll make sure the team hears that we have a lot of Android fans who are eager to get their hands on this kind of update, too.
*High five* I've been looking forward to a lot of these features. Thanks Goodreads!
Choosing the correct edition is an important add. The cover-centric book page is nice, but frankly, the cover doesn't tell me much. What do my "friends" say? What do the "reviews" say? Those are the things that make me queue up the next book.
Sean wrote: "Choosing the correct edition is an important add. The cover-centric book page is nice, but frankly, the cover doesn't tell me much. What do my "friends" say? What do the "reviews" say? Those are th..."That makes sense! If you scroll down on the book page, you'll see a brand-new layout for your friends' reviews and for the community reviews, as well as a rating breakdown that shows how the community rated the book overall.
Let us know what you think :)
the app was way overdue for an update. thanks!
Just here to show my support for the Android version.You guys should know that Android OS dominates the smartphone OS market share with 82.8% according to the the 2nd quarter survey of 2015.
Erm, why is Android support even an issue?? Larger market share than Apple and we are always an afterthought??? Sort it out!
Emily wrote: "Sean wrote: "Choosing the correct edition is an important add. The cover-centric book page is nice, but frankly, the cover doesn't tell me much. What do my "friends" say? What do the "reviews" say?..."The shelf, stars, and progress bar take up way too much space, especially since most people will be entering that information from the "My Books" screen.
Then there's a book description, two big buttons, and then, finally a very small update on your friends (HUGE mistake. My goodreads social network is the most reliable source of books to read.)
I'd put an expanded Friends section right under the title/author section. Immediately under the Stars and Reviews bar.
Also regarding friends. I have a lot of friends. Put the whole name in there, so I can tell which of the four Kristys like the book.
Rachael wrote: "Erm, why is Android support even an issue?? Larger market share than Apple and we are always an afterthought??? Sort it out!"Because Amazon develops for the "Kindle Fire" (an Android-based tablet), Android app will ALWAYS lag behind the Fire app.
This is the same reason why Amazon Prime Video isn't available for the Android tablet. It's an exclusive feature of the Kindle Fire. If they made it the top-of-the-line apps available for Android phones and tablets, then NO ONE would buy a Fire tablet.
Jaclyn wrote: "We don’t have updates to share on the Android front right now. But rest assured that we’ll make sure the team hears that we have a lot of Android fans who are eager to get their hands on this kind ..."I'm glad you'll be looking into updating the android version. A lot of people have been switching to android, myself included.
I get it, iOS is a much more tech friendly for developers, I just hope that all the great features that are popping up can at least be shared to some extent with us old fashioned hard core Android folk. Other than that Goodreads keep up the GREAT WORK! Thank you for making my reading life just a little easier.
Abdulmajeed wrote: "Just here to show my support for the Android version.You guys should know that Android OS dominates the smartphone OS market share with 82.8% according to the the 2nd quarter survey of 2015."
We definitely hear the request for Android! We'll make sure our team knows how many people are excited about future Android updates.
Sean wrote: "The shelf, stars, and progress bar take up way too much space, especially since most people will be entering that information from the "My Books" screen.
Then there's a book description, two big buttons, and then, finally a very small update on your friends (HUGE mistake. My goodreads social network is the most reliable source of books to read.)
I'd put an expanded Friends section right under the title/author section. Immediately under the Stars and Reviews bar.
Also regarding friends. I have a lot of friends. Put the whole name in there, so I can tell which of the four Kristys like the book. "
Thanks for the additional feedback! We added an additional screen where you can see all of your friends' updates and reviews in one place, though that's a tap away. I'll let the team know that you'd like to see an expanded friends section. In the meantime, could you try out the new friends' reviews page and see what you think?
On the topic of distinguishing your friends: you're correct that we're not showing last names in the friend reviews section at the moment. Do you still have trouble distinguishing friends when you can see their pictures? Or is the issue that many of your friends don't have pictures set?
Well, I guess that an app for Windows Phone users would be something unthinkable
Do not like. I don't want a "more by this author" section at the bottom of my GR page. Amazon already does this on its own site. There was absolutely no reason to bring it here. The overall cleaner look is nice, but I don't appreciate the continued slide into giving my page view real estate to commercial garbage. Also, I don't really need to see the blurb so prominently if I'm already reading the book.In any case, I appreciate the work you all do to update our experience. I just wish you'd put some muscle into bringing us features we're already asking for rather than amazonifying the GR experience.
Emily wrote: Do you still have trouble distinguishing friends when you can see their pictures? Or is the issue that many of your friends don't have pictures set? The photos are tiny on my iPhone. My friends are not icons. I can't differentiate between Kristy and Kristy by looking through a drinking straw.
Emily wrote: We added an additional screen where you can see all of your friends' updates and reviews in one place, though that's a tap away. I'll let the team know that you'd like to see an expanded friends section. In the meantime, could you try out the new friends' reviews page and see what you think?
Let's say I'm using goodreads to look at a book, the most important thing to me, AS IMPORTANT AS THE STAR RATING AND REVIEW COUNT, is what my "friends" think.
Goodreads is unique in social networks in that more than half of my "friends" are people I've never met. They're people who have similar tastes to me in books. We like the same writers, I trust their reviews. What my friend's thing about a book are YOUR SECRET WEAPON, yet they're almost forgotten after all the other cruft you've created.
If a half-dozen of my friends have read a book, or have it shelved, or gave it 4 stars, THAT'S more important to me than almost everything else on the Book Page. Certainly more important than the "Choose an Edition" or "Recommend it" buttons.
The shelve, rate, and progress area is way too large and prominent. Tighten it up, promote my friend's opinions, and you'll be getting closer to a Book Page that serves my needs.
Sean wrote: "Goodreads is unique in social networks in that more than half of my "friends" are people I've never met. They're people who have similar tastes to me in books. We like the same writers, I trust their reviews. What my friend's thing about a book are YOUR SECRET WEAPON, yet they're almost forgotten after all the other cruft you've created."I heartily second this.
Booklover wrote: "Looks great! When will the update be out?"It's available now! If you have iOS 7.0 or above, you should be able to update your app right away by visiting the App Store on your device. Let me know if you have any trouble.
Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "Do not like. I don't want a "more by this author" section at the bottom of my GR page. Amazon already does this on its own site. There was absolutely no reason to bring it here. The overall cleaner look is nice, but I don't appreciate the continued slide into giving my page view real estate to commercial garbage. Also, I don't really need to see the blurb so prominently if I'm already reading the book."
To clarify, this is a feature that already exists on the right-hand rail of the Goodreads book page on the desktop site. With this update, we tried to bring relevant and helpful features from the desktop book pages to the iOS book page. The "Other Books by this Author" section will show up whether you're reading a contemporary Goodreads Author's book or a book by Shakespeare. We really appreciate the feedback, though, so I will make sure our iOS team sees it for future feature updates.
Sean wrote: "Let's say I'm using goodreads to look at a book, the most important thing to me, AS IMPORTANT AS THE STAR RATING AND REVIEW COUNT, is what my "friends" think.
Goodreads is unique in social networks in that more than half of my "friends" are people I've never met. They're people who have similar tastes to me in books. We like the same writers, I trust their reviews. What my friend's thing about a book are YOUR SECRET WEAPON, yet they're almost forgotten after all the other cruft you've created.
If a half-dozen of my friends have read a book, or have it shelved, or gave it 4 stars, THAT'S more important to me than almost everything else on the Book Page. Certainly more important than the "Choose an Edition" or "Recommend it" buttons.
The shelve, rate, and progress area is way too large and prominent. Tighten it up, promote my friend's opinions, and you'll be getting closer to a Book Page that serves my needs. "
Thanks for expanding. I can ask about adding last names to the app page to reduce confusion, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to add that soon. And I'll make sure that the dev team takes feedback on the importance of friend reviews into consideration for future updates as well.
Emily wrote: "To clarify, this is a feature that already exists on the right-hand rail of the Goodreads book page on the desktop site. With this update, we tried to bring relevant and helpful features from the desktop book pages to the iOS book page."I appreciate the response, Emily. I already looked at the update on my phone, and the issue is that you have limited space on the phone vs the desktop. Now when I scroll down to the bottom, a side scrolling 'more by this author' feature comes up. I would prefer that the real estate on the app be devoted to the things I actually want to look at, like the reviews of my friends and people I follow. I will try it out for awhile and see if it still annoys, but my first impression is one of clutter and I don't like it.
Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "I would prefer that the real estate on the app be devoted to the things I actually want to look at, like the reviews of my friends and people I follow. I will try it out for awhile and see if it still annoys, but my first impression is one of clutter and I don't like it. "I'm sorry to hear that! I know it's not ideal to have to go to another page, but you can tap on the "Friend Ratings and Reviews" section or the "Ratings and Reviews From People You Follow" section to go to a dedicated page to read all of those reviews. The design has been cleaned up quite a bit, and you'll also be able to see a new star breakdown for your friends.
If you aren't seeing your friends' reviews where you would expect to, let us know so that we can take a look.
Emily wrote: "Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "If you aren't seeing your friends' reviews where you would expect to, let us know so that we can take a look. "Thanks, Emily. Will do.
By all means, don't bother with us Android users. Not like I'm a big fan of your app anyway.
Good one but still lacks ( qoutes ) and ( trivia ) option ... i wish to be in soon
Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "Sean wrote: "Goodreads is unique in social networks in that more than half of my "friends" are people I've never met. They're people who have similar tastes to me in books. We like the same writers..."Yes, I don't care about community reviews at all, only friends.
Joanne wrote: "Yes, I don't care about community reviews at all, only friends. "You might be interested to know that we've added a new ratings breakdowns for your friends' reviews. If you visit the book page for a book that many of your friends have rated or reviewed and tap "# other friend ratings and reviews," you should see it.
Joanne wrote: "Yes, I don't care about community reviews at all, only friends.They both have their place, but my friend's reviews matter a lot more than what edition the book is.
The update isn't even confirmed for Android app? Good to know we're an afterthought. If stats show the app is barely used, it may be because... well... the app is kinda bad. Half of the notifications don't work (including the most social one: responding to comments on statuses!), it's easier to find out the rating you gave a book searching for it globally instead of going through shelves, and there's no option to FILTER REVIEWS so researching books takes ages. I normally use the app only to update reading progress.
Dhuaine wrote: "The update isn't even confirmed for Android app? Good to know we're an afterthought. If stats show the app is barely used, it may be because... well... the app is kinda bad. Half of the notificat..."
Exactly.
Awesome! But please UPDATE also in ANDROID VERSION!^___^
Because for all you know, not everyone is using iPHONE or iPAD.
AND GR in Android app crashes a LOT.
Thank you!
:)
Any plans to add an easier way to remove books from shelves? Maybe swipe to the right to show a delete button like with emails? Currently, it's only easy to do that with the website.
I love that I can now change what edition I'm reading, but I don't like that I now have to swipe over to see the page count, publisher and publication date. That info used to be available at a glance. And now I have to go find it. That's a pain.I love the addition of the Genres and the other series books.
I agree with everyone else that my friends' ratings and reviews are more important than the overall community's.
I'd also love to see the external links. a button to go directly to the publisher site or Amazon to purchase would be handy. Especially if I'm viewing the Kindle edition.
Sean wrote: "Choosing the correct edition is an important add. The cover-centric book page is nice, but frankly, the cover doesn't tell me much. What do my "friends" say? What do the "reviews" say? Those are th..."I'm just the opposite. I don't care about others reviews and don't look at them until after I read the book. I'm a cover person, that is what initially captures my attention. I love this feature.
Brooklyn wrote: "I'd also love to see the external links. a button to go directly to the publisher site or Amazon to purchase would be handy. Especially if I'm viewing the Kindle edition. "Amazon and Goodreads won't be doing that on the iPhone or iPad, because Apple still has that dumb tax on in-app sales of on-line books, music, and movies.
I'm so glad that the edition of the book can be easily changed from the app! having to go on the desktop version in the safari app was annoying! thanks!!!!!
