Has Goodreads made you a better reader?

[Sumant]

I think it has connected me to people who have same taste in books as me, due to which I got exposed to a no of books which I did not know previously.

[Nico]

Oh it definitely made me a better reader. I was limited to what was available on the Fantasy shelf of my local bookstores and bought on the basis of the cover and the blurb. Oh boy, I read some crap, but didn't really know how bad it was at the time.
My experience is limited to book stores here in Germany, mainly large chains and what they got on their shelf is 75% rubbish.
Without goodreads I would have never known some of my now favorite authors. Through friends with similar taste and great lists like top100 NPR/BBC I discovered so many great books.
Looking back now I can't believe how bad the books I previously read actually are in comparison to these.
Reading quality books also dramatically increased the amount of books I read . Before goodreads I read maybe 20 books a year and now I'm up to 100, there is always one more on my to-read pile, no need to stroll through the bookstore shelves and wonder what to read next
And now, when I recommend irl friends for example Peter F. Hamilton or Guy Gavriel Kay, it hurts a little that they never even heard of them, because there are zero books of them in any of our bookshops here.

[Andy]

No brainer! YES! & thank you all

[Kat]

Nico wrote: "My experience is limited to book stores here in Germany, mainly large chains and what they got on their shelf is 75% rubbish. "

Same problem here. I spent 15 years abroad, but since I came back to Germany the only good english book I actually bought in a brick and mortar bookshop was an older Ian Rankin crime novel on half price.
I really miss London bookshops!