Goodreads bought by Amazon

[Tinea]

You probably already saw the banner, but I just wanted to post here that Goodreads was bought by Amazon. Amazon has a strict and shady review policy on its website that blocks, deletes, and prioritizes views based on how positive or critical they are. The few times I've tried to post critical reviews to Amazon, they haven't made it past the filter to even show on the website-- the same reviews that got 'like' votes on GR. Currently GR says it will not change its review policies at all-- but given Amazon's reputation for biased sorting and deletion, it's doubtful.

I figured I'd open a space to discuss of anyone wants to, but also I just wanted to post instructions for backing up your ratings and reviews. This can be handy in case GR data ever gets (un)intentionally lost, and in case you choose to move to another book cataloging website.

How to save (export) ALL of your reviews and ratings from Goodreads:

Go to My Books on Goodreads. It's on the top of the page, next to "Home". Find import/export; it's on the menu on the left-hand side, about 3/4 of the way down the list. Click on it.

On the top right-hand side of the resulting screen, just below "manually add books" you'll see:

Export Your Books
export to a csv file

Click on export to a csv file. Within seconds (usually), your system will download a file called "goodreads_export.csv" (you may receive a prompt). The file will either end up in your default download folder, or, depending on your system, you may get a choice of where to save it.

CSV files are generic spreadsheet files. They can be opened with Open Office (which is free and open-source), Google Docs, Microsoft Office, and almost any other spreadsheet program. But you don't need to open the file.

"CSV" stands for "Comma Separated Values", if you were wondering.

Your CSV file contains all of your books, ratings, and reviews.

[Kalin]

Thanks for the head's up Tinea. I think it's good-bye to good-reads for me. Was skeptical about joining a social media site that shows all my books anyway, but now that it's clear GR/Amazon will be doing their best to make as much money from us as possible, I'm out.

[Kevin]

I'd be curious to learn about other online book discussion groups that read anarchist literature. I'm not familiar with any others but would welcome suggestions. I don't plan on leaving Goodreads at the moment but would do so if the site becomes completely co-opted by Amazon in a way that affects our ability to express criticism of publications.