Group Related Comments, Questions or Suggestions?

[[deleted user]]

How about Shakespearean historical themes?

[Becky, Moddess]

Renee wrote: "Becky wrote: "Pretty much how it's always been, Gretchen! Lol"

ohhh there you are Becky. I came back and thought you were gone. Good to see u"

Thanks! Yeah I was gone for a while, but I'm kinda back...ish. I'm a-lurkin' these days more than anything. Not very active, but trying to get back into the habit!

[Renee]

It is good to see you. I came here because you were in another group with me. I cant remember which one. I love your incites into books. I also am just returning. I have some health issues which has forced early retirement. Hope to see more of ya

[Nancy from NJ]

Could somebody please help me. I'm trying to link books but have had little success. When I go to write a comment I don't see the add book and author feature. I really want to do this so......HELP!!!

[Gretchen, Keep your head up or the crown slips]

Are you using the Goodreads app or a web browser? You cannot link books when you are in the app.

[Nancy from NJ]

I generally use my iPhone or my iPad and the app. If I go the website Goodreads.co in either these devices would it work? I did have a Pc and I will try it on that. Thanks for answering.

[Jackie]

Nancy from NJ wrote: "I generally use my iPhone or my iPad and the app. If I go the website Goodreads.co in either these devices would it work? I did have a Pc and I will try it on that. Thanks for answering."

If you are on your iPhone or iPad you will have to log onto the Goodreads website to use full features, like linking books. The app just doesn't have the capacity for it.

[Gretchen, Keep your head up or the crown slips]

Jackie wrote: "Nancy from NJ wrote: "I generally use my iPhone or my iPad and the app. If I go the website Goodreads.co in either these devices would it work? I did have a Pc and I will try it on that. Thanks for..."

To piggy back off what Jackie says, you should be able use Safari to use the full version of the site. I'm a Google person so I like Chrome more than Safari. That's just a personal preference. You should be able to easily download Chrome on to either of your devices if you don't already have it.

Tech support of sorts is my 9-5 job. Let me know if I can help with anything else.

[Nancy from NJ]

Thanks Jacquie and Gretchen for your advice. I will try the website for Goodreads and download Chrome.

[Ruta]

Hello. :)
Are we not having a group read for August or is the nominations process just delayed?

[Jackie]

Hi Ruta,-

Gretchen had sent members a message about this on 6/12. Not sure if you were part of the group at that time, but here it is:

There will not be a nominations thread for August group read. Instead what I have done is made a list of 10 past poll losers. I have taken the second place finisher from various polls and I will be creating a new poll. The winner of that poll will be the August group read.

Since the poll is not typically posted until the middle of the month, this poll will not be open for another week or two.

[Joyce]

I don't get a notification when the polls go live. Is there something I need to change in my settings?

[Becky, Moddess]

Joyce, Gretchen will send out a broadcast message with the poll info when it's up. There's no setting needed for that.

[Joyce]

Becky wrote: "Joyce, Gretchen will send out a broadcast message with the poll info when it's up. There's no setting needed for that."

Then why don't I see it? There's something that I'm not understanding.

[Jackie]

Joyce, here's a link to it: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Are you on mobile, tablet or using the regular website? If you use the GR mobile site I don't think there is an option to view the poll. On the regular website there is a side menu that you can click to get to the poll. The poll link was also in the broadcast message Gretchen sent this week. I'm not sure when you joined the group. It could be that you joined after she sent the message.

[Joyce]

I've been a member of this group for months. I can see how to look at the poll once it has been established, but I never get a notification (broadcast message) that the poll is live. ??? I'm not sure what the problem is. . . .

[Jackie]

Joyce wrote: "I've been a member of this group for months. I can see how to look at the poll once it has been established, but I never get a notification (broadcast message) that the poll is live. ??? I'm not su..."

That's strange. Is that the case for other groups you are in too or just this one?

You can try reporting it under the "contact us" page:
https://www.goodreads.com/about/conta...

As Becky stated there isn't a setting for it on the member's end. Mods just press the button and anyone who is a member should get a message in their GR inbox automatically.

[Joyce]

It is true for my other groups as well. I just discovered that other people were getting a notification here in this group - I always wondered how people knew when to look for a poll.

Thank you to everyone who has tried to help me!

[JoLene, Mistress of the Challenge]

Do you get other GR notifications? Perhaps they are going into your spam folder.

[Joyce]

I sent the question to the GR support, and here is the answer that they gave me:

Thanks for writing in! Indeed, you'll need to update your account settings in order for you to received emails, and notifications for different activities within the groups you're a part of. You can reach your Account Settings page by hovering over your profile picture and choosing Account Settings from the drop-down menu. Navigate to the Emails tab, and scroll down to "Group Email Preferences" and "See all discussions I'm following." Make the necessary changes and click on "Save Email Settings" at the bottom of the page.

I'm going to give what they suggested a try and see what happens next month, although I'm not sure that the GR support understood my question. I'm going to just keep trying different things if this doesn't work.

Thanks again, everyone!

[Becky, Moddess]

Joyce, that would be correct if we were sending a normal invite for the poll, but what we do here is we send a group broadcast which is essentially a private message sent by the group moderator that goes out to every member, which you'd receive in your Goodreads message inbox, not your notifications.

[Ruta]

Becky wrote: "Joyce, that would be correct if we were sending a normal invite for the poll, but what we do here is we send a group broadcast which is essentially a private message sent by the group moderator tha..."


Becky, I have never received a group broadcast either. I think it may have something to do with the fact that Joyce's profile (As well as mine) is private.

And Thanks @Jackie.

[Gretchen, Keep your head up or the crown slips]

The privacy settings could be a part of it. When I send the message out about the nomination thread or the poll going live, I broadcast a message to all the group members. That message then goes to all members' inboxes. There's over 9,000 members. I guess I just assumed everyone was getting the message. I would have to look again but I don't think there's a way for me to look to see who is getting the message. Quite frankly even if there was, with 9,000 members, I'm just hitting send and assuming everyone who wants a message is getting it.

[Chris]

It seems to be random for members. I get poll notifications for 3 of the 4 groups I'm in. The first group I joined is the one that I never receive poll notifications, starting next read messages etc.

[Renee]

I think there was a bug. In several of my groups I got no notification. I also saw some people in good reads feed back saying same thing happened o them

[Shruti]

Hi, I'm looking for a recommendation on a book on Queen Elizabeth I. I have read a couple of Phillipa Gregory's books on the wives of Henry VIII and I am no intrigued to read more about Anne Boleyn's daughter being grown up and becoming this iconic queen. Please do suggest which would be a good book to pick up.

[Laura Tenfingers]

In the book nomination threads, does a nomination have to be seconded in order to make it to the poll? Or do all nominations (that fit the criteria) make it to the poll? Thanks x

I'm loving that the September theme is Vikings! My favourite!

[Jasmine, Gatekeeper of Giveaways.]

Laura wrote: "In the book nomination threads, does a nomination have to be seconded in order to make it to the poll? Or do all nominations (that fit the criteria) make it to the poll? Thanks x

I'm loving that t..."

The top ten books make it to the poll. So books will be ordered based on how many seconds they get. If we get 20 nominations only the top ten will make it. If we only get 10 valid nominations they will all go to the poll regardless of seconds.

[Jasmine, Gatekeeper of Giveaways.]

Shruti wrote: "Hi, I'm looking for a recommendation on a book on Queen Elizabeth I. I have read a couple of Phillipa Gregory's books on the wives of Henry VIII and I am no intrigued to read more about Anne Boleyn..."

Hi Shruti. Would you like to start a thread in the recommendations folder? I think you would get a lot more responses. Off the top of my head some authors you may like include Jean Plaidy, Kate Emmerson, Alison WeirDavid Starkey, Elizabeth Freemantle, and Katherine Longshore.

[Laura Tenfingers]

Jasmine wrote: "Laura wrote: "In the book nomination threads, does a nomination have to be seconded in order to make it to the poll? Or do all nominations (that fit the criteria) make it to the poll? Thanks x

I'm..."

Thanks!

[Nancy from NJ]

How do I link a book? I know I should see a box that says Comment and in the middle it says add book/author but I don't. Could it be because I post using an I Pad or I Phone. Could somebody tell me how bring up this box? Bthanks in advance.

[Gretchen, Keep your head up or the crown slips]

If you are using an app, you don’t have the option to link a book. You have to use Goodreads via a browser to link books.

[Leonide]

Hi Becky, can you shed light on where/how authors can put up their editorial reviews for our Goodreads books? I've been nosing around, checking out Author Dashboard, but have not found a way to do that. Thanks for your help. Leonide

[Gretchen, Keep your head up or the crown slips]

Leonide wrote: "Hi Becky, can you shed light on where/how authors can put up their editorial reviews for our Goodreads books? I've been nosing around, checking out Author Dashboard, but have not found a way to do ..."

Editorial reviews are considered spam and not allowed within this group. If you want to showcase your editorial reviews, you can do so on your personal author page. All of our group rules and helpful information can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Kirsten]

Shruti wrote: "Hi, I'm looking for a recommendation on a book on Queen Elizabeth I. I have read a couple of Phillipa Gregory's books on the wives of Henry VIII and I am no intrigued to read more about Anne Boleyn..."

Alison Weir is good too.

[Judy]

I can’t post to the thread about new rules on reviews so hope someone can see this and help me. I want to download my reviews, but can’t use these instructions:
Go to "My Books". On the left side is as list of links. Click on "import/export". On the new page, upper right, is the link to export to a .CSV file. (Yes, your whole review IS in the .CSV file).
I use Safari on my iPad, and there isn’t a “import/export” option anywhere on MY BOOKS page. Thanks for any help you can give. I would like to keep my reviews.
I don’t often participate in discussions or read the current selection, but enjoy following what those with HF interests read.

Could just erase this, but will just say I finally found the link. It is way down toward the bottom. Is sad that some people mess us things for those who just want to exchange book ideas. I was disappointed when amazon took over GRs. I guess as long as it makes money for them it will continue, but I want to make sure my reviews are saved.

[Becky, Moddess]

Hi Judy, glad you found the link. I don't think that the placement has anything to do with Amazon - it's always been in that area. :)

[SandyC]

Hello.

Would it be ok if I start a new 2019 HFU thread in the HFU 2016 challenge?

[Gretchen, Keep your head up or the crown slips]

SandyC wrote: "Hello.

Would it be ok if I start a new 2019 HFU thread in the HFU 2016 challenge?"

Moderators are currently working on challenges for the coming year. The goal is to have them made available before January.

[SandyC]

Gretchen wrote: "SandyC wrote: "Hello.

Would it be ok if I start a new 2019 HFU thread in the HFU 2016 challenge?"

Moderators are currently working on challenges for the coming year. The goal is to have them made..."

Ok thank you!

[Jemima]

Hi I'm a newbie and I'm trying to navigate my way around the HFU challenge. I'm pretty confused as to what we ha e a choice to do and then what is required. Could someone help me out and clarify it for me. I've looked at other's posts but that isn't helping...seems to be general confusion in those participating. Are any of the mods taking part in this challenge? Thanks for your help, Jemima

[Jasmine, Gatekeeper of Giveaways.]

Jemima wrote: "Hi I'm a newbie and I'm trying to navigate my way around the HFU challenge. I'm pretty confused as to what we ha e a choice to do and then what is required. Could someone help me out and clarify it..."

Yes. A couple of mods are participating.

For the general requirements, you must complete three tasks for each of the larger subheadings. You pick the tasks from the list offered of around 10. You also chose your major. For your major, you must complete all the requirements.

[Jasmine, Gatekeeper of Giveaways.]

Jemima wrote: "Hi I'm a newbie and I'm trying to navigate my way around the HFU challenge. I'm pretty confused as to what we ha e a choice to do and then what is required. Could someone help me out and clarify it..."

You can also ask specific questions under the HF 2019 requirements thread/post to get more clarification. You can find that here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Jemima]

Thanks Jasmine

[Kymm]

I finished the September book choice, American Princess by Stephanie Marie Thornton, but didn't get a chance to read the August choice. I like to read all the book choices, but somehow missed this one. Does anyone remember what the book for August was?

[Maureen]

Kymm wrote: "I finished the September book choice, American Princess by Stephanie Marie Thornton, but didn't get a chance to read the August choice. I like to read all the book choices, but somehow missed this ..."

The August book is Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society
If you look at the bookshelf it lists all the books that we have read

[Jan]

what is the minimum length for a book to qualify for challenges?

[Becky, Moddess]

Jan wrote: "what is the minimum length for a book to qualify for challenges?"

It'll vary depending on the challenge. Generally I think we require 200pgs, but each challenge will set the requirements in the rules.

[Cynthia]

Everyone,
I'm (sort of) new to Goodreads, and am trying to spend more time on it discussing books (my favorite pastime.) My problem is that I find Goodreads so hard to navigate. One thing that is really confusing are the dates on the threads. I've been assuming that threads from 2009 are so old I shouldn't post on them, but I guess that's not true?
In any event, my question is: what is the best way of navigating through all the Goodreads posts & threads to find what you want?
Thanks so much!
Cynthia

[Becky, Moddess]

Hi Cynthia - You can "revive" any thread you like, no matter how old. Older threads are usually going to be archived in the "Ancient History" folder, but they are not closed or locked in any way. If you see one you'd like to post in (like, if you see someone raised a comment that you'd like to reply to), feel free. We would prefer to use an existing thread, even if it's old, rather than creating a new/duplicate for the same book or topic.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

One general tip I'd offer is this - if you're looking for a conversation on a book in the group, use the search on the sidebar. Within that, there's going to be a search option to either search entire posts for the matching term searched for, or you can narrow it down to look for only thread topics containing that term.

That will likely be the most reliable way to find a thread about a book you're interested in.

Otherwise, if you just browse the folders and threads, keep in mind that threads are not sortable by date. The site default sorts by last update to the thread (unless moderators pin a top post), so within a folder, active threads will be toward the top of the list.)

Advice on how to navigate is going to depend on how you use the site. If you use the website/browser version vs the app, vs mobile, each will be a bit different and have different capabilities and functions. Because of that, I exclusively use the desktop browser version because the others are too limited for how I like to use the site.

One other thing to keep in mind. Goodreads groups will all be organized and moderated differently, as Goodreads only provides the platform, but each group's moderator(s) can structure how their group operates differently. Goodreads navigation vs GROUP navigation is going to vary. If you need help with Goodreads navigation as a whole, or help with book listings etc, I'd suggest using the "Help" link at the bottom of each page to browse for topics that may answer your question, or use the official GR help forum to ask.