Steph’s
Comments
(group member since May 22, 2010)
Steph’s
comments
from the SOS: Serious Overload of Series group.
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I read this one and liked bits of it. I wanted more fantasy and it felt more YA than I'd expected. I guessed "the heart" of the story very early on, which took away the anticipation of the reveal and I suspected the twist. That said, if book 2 was out now, I'd likely read it, especially since they're KU loaners. 🤪
Amy wrote: "I tried to add the books - not sure if they added or not"No covers, but they’re there 😊 thx for sharing!
You’re welcome & 😝 agreed! As you can tell from my post, I’m not at all pleased with this change. I can’t see how it improves anything for the users. It’s awful for moderators and anyone trying to stay on top of a very active thread or group. At least we can check ‘unread threads’, which takes the sting out a bit. *sigh*
Dark Rituals series by Catrina Burgess (4 bks) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJZ8ZD6R
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCLJSS53
👍🏼😊
😊
I LOVE this author's series. She's an auto-buy author for me. In her recent newsletter, she mentioned:
Have I ever told you that I always have maps open when I write? As Sam is walking around town, I'm following her on a street-view map, so I know what she's seeing. For restaurants, I look for the best in the area, pull up all the images, and study the menus. Sam orders dishes that are actually offered at those restaurants.I thought that was so smart. It makes perfect sense, but not something I'm sure I would've thought to do.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...Series by Seana Kelly
Sam Quinn
https://www.goodreads.com/series/2986...
The Sea Wicche Chronicles
Set in the same world as Sam Quinn
Woohoo!
Well done, y'all!
Happy Hallo-reading, y'all!
Victoria wrote: "It's the most wonderful time of the year... I should go and watch Practical Magic and Hocus Pocus again 🎃🕸️"Great movies 😊
Thanks for joining us, Eldarwen!
Welcome, y'all!
It is not just you! I just shared a rant, sorry for the length, but as you can tell I had a lot to say about GR's latest changes. One of which is the "notify me when people comment" boxes, the other is their new "made simpler for you" notification settings.My rant ➼ https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
In my rant, pls don't feel obligated to read it (but I had to post my frustrations), you'll find an easier way, one I've been using when I worry I've missed something new @ SOS.
➼ Go to each of your groups, scroll midway down the main group page to the beginning of the DISCUSSION BOARD list and click on “unread”. (Example for my group, SOS: Serious Overload of Series) Bookmark that and now you have a simplified way to quickly and easily see what you’ve missed in groups where you’re a member.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2KSZ7CF
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJ4DZM7C
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRXMNG56
Have y'all seen Goodreads' announcement re: notifications? I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t getting any email notifications, so I went hunting for answers. I first noticed the ‘Notify me when people comment’ box had been moved above the comment box AND was unchecked for EVERY thread in my group, including those I created and previously checked.
Then, I found a discussion elsewhere on GR re: this issue. They linked to the above help notice.
Another joyous change, this notification change also seems to pertain to PMs. As far as I can tell, all notifications, other than the rare few mentioned above, are only available in the poorly designed and difficult to use notifications tab on the menu header bar. It’s awful. You can’t sort. You’re shown every post made, to any thread, in order of posting - most recent first - in every group where you’re a member. Of course, you can modify that list of groups and choose which you’d like to receive notifications. But, I've modified my list to include only my groups and still see every post made to every thread in every group which I belong. If you belong to a handful (or more) and want to follow posts within all - good luck! It’ll be a dead convo by the time you even know there was one happening. Anyone working at Goodreads who finds this format a simpler, more helpful way of receiving notifications must not be a member of any groups.
➼ I’ll give you a tip: Go to each of your groups, scroll midway down the main group page to the beginning of the DISCUSSION BOARD list and click on “unread”. (Example for my group, SOS: Serious Overload of Series) Bookmark that and now you have a simplified way to quickly and easily see what you’ve missed in groups where you’re a member.
The whole “We’ve simplified the way we notify you about activity on Goodreads", really translates to GR making it easier, simpler for them. Once again, less convenient at best, more problematic at worst, for THE PEOPLE WHO USE THIS SITE. Those of us who haven’t left for one of the many other similar sites that have been created over the year because of reasons like this one.
Odis wrote, “Our mission is to help readers discover books they love and get more out of reading.” In 2007, that was exactly what I found here. I joined 15 years ago, created my group one year later. I have stuck with GR throughout all the whackadoo changes, selling to Amazon thereby becoming more of a sales site instead of a reader-focused site and remained determined to do so because of all the time I’ve invested into my group. But, with every change comes more headaches for users and, more importantly to me, more hassles for group moderators. Each change feels like they are slowly putting the squeeze on groups and the moderators who run them. If the end goal is to end the discussion group portion of the site, TPTB should come out and say it. Share with the class. Stop with the death by a thousand cuts. We’ve helped grow Goodreads these past fifteen years. We’ve nurtured and grown our online groups, which in turn has kept others participating on Goodreads in addition to or as a result of our groups.
Otis also wrote, “We started in my living room, motivated by the belief that there was a better way to discover and discuss good books, and that we could build it.” They built it. We came. They sold it. We stayed. They’re continuing to break it, piece by piece. With each change, each “made simpler” modification, they make it harder and harder for those they initially drew here, those who shared their dream and wanted to be a part of it. If they’re not careful, they’ll eventually lose all of us who wish to share and discuss in a way Goodreads apparently no longer values and barely supports.
Who am I kidding? TPTB haven’t valued groups in a very long time. I just keep hoping they will, but maybe it’s only a matter of time before that bubble bursts and the opportunity to continue hosting my book group on a site that once promoted group creation and book discussions is no more.
(Otis’ message credit: https://www.goodreads.com/about/us)
Thanks for listening
