Conversations with Kav – Let’s Get Technical – Good Reads, Instagram, StoryGraph!

True confession: I am a book nerd. Are you surprised? 🙂 I am absolutely NOT a tech nerd and tend to muddle through on the fringes of whatever site, programme etc. I’m engaged in. Technology has never been my jam and I doubt it ever will be. I almost believe that muddling through is my destiny but then, last week Perrianne asked a question about Good Reads and I thought — whoa, light bulb moment — we have this awesome resource right here within our bookish community!

So, this is me, shamelessly asking for HELP! from all you techie experts! If you can answer a question, please do (in the comments.) If you have a question, please ask in the comments and maybe someone will be able to answer it.

Good Reads

Last week, Perrianne mentioned this in her comment: ” I’d like to learn more about Goodreads and if I’m using it optimally.” This is totally me too! Right now my GR is a chaotic mess. I basically use it to track books read and to write reviews. And I click ‘want to read’ on books I’m interested in, but I’m not sure what good that does since I don’t know how to organize lists or folders so I can’t access that information.

  • So, how do you use Good Reads?
  • How do you find like minded readers to follow/friend? And for that matter, what is the difference between following someone and friending them?!
  • And is there a way to merge all the different editions so that they all get marked ‘read’? I’m finding that books I know I’ve read are marked as read in only one edition (I guess the one I wrote the review for?) but if I search the title it often comes up as unread because the search turns up a different edition. Very confusing.
  • Do you participate in any of the community groups? Would Good Reads be a good venue to do a book club chat on?

Good Reads Vs Story Graph

  • Does anyone have experience with Story Graph? I’ve heard a lot of online chatter about readers moving over to Story Graph or at least trying it out. I’m curious about what the draw is and whether it’s worth joining. Any input appreciated.

Instagram

Okay, these questions is going to show how truly clueless I am but here goes….

  • I often see people requesting others to share their post…but I don’t know how. I see the little paper plane icon but that just gives options to message or email, I think. Is there a way to forward someone’s post into my own…feed? Is that what it’s even called? Gah. Hope this makes sense.
  • The other thing I see all the time is ‘go to link in my story or bio’…but where is that? I’ve clicked on the users name and get their ‘about me’ bit but there’s never a link. I’m so confused.

48 thoughts on “Conversations with Kav – Let’s Get Technical – Good Reads, Instagram, StoryGraph!”

  1. Hey, Kav! I’m not going to get techy and answer those questions 😉 I don’t really use the shelves feature on GoodReads. Mostly, I cross post to GoodReads, as well as my blog and retail sites, when I’m doing reviews. I also post more on GoodReads because I do negative reviews there as well as positive, but focus my blog on books I’m comfortable recommending. I find friends a few ways: through my feed and seeing what my friends liked/commented on; reading other reviews of books I’ve just read, or reading reviews of books I’m screening for content on 🙂 friends are mutual where you both see updates. When you send a friend request, you automatically start following someone. They don’t see your updates unless they accept. If you just want to see their updates, you could follow only

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  2. Oh wow, so many questions! I don’t know how helpful any of my answers will be as I am tech challenged myself, but here goes. (I always knew I would be a few steps behind in all things tech, when I was having to ask my grandchildren how to do things on my computer and kindle, lol.)

    I started with Goodreads back in 2013, mainly as a way to keep track of my books read. After joining I started loading the books to my want-to-read and read shelf. I friended or followed a authors I read most so that will show in my home feed (the way it does on FB) I then became friends with a few people who I knew from blogs or FB. I don’t have many people on my list so I don’t see as much as those who have a huge group of friends, but I don’t have much time to devote to that, so it works for me. I do enjoy seeing what others are reading and recommending, especially yours Kav. Also, anytime someone you’re following likes someone else’s review that shows up too so there’s plenty to scroll through on those days that there’s time.

    The difference between friends and followers as per my experience is the authors usually are the ones with “followers” whereas readers are usually in the “friends” category. Although many authors started out as using the friend’s option. I think we were all are just feeling our way with GR back then. As for finding people to be friends with the best way can be to make friends with readers whose name you see on blogs and FB reader groups who you recognize. Beware the random followers who send friend requests. The creepers are on GR just like FB. I don’t accept requests from anyone unless I know of them or have checked their list of books read. Some have zero read so, no to them.

    I really enjoy the yearly book challenge, so tracking my books read and then GR keeping track by the year is my most fun use of GR. If any friends do they challenge, you can see their progress too. GR used to post all the yearly challenges on the right side of the page, but it appears they aren’t doing that anymore, just the challenge for the current year on the left. Sigh…

    I do use the browse dropdown to check on giveaways I’ve entered. (If you have a book to be read listed if a giveaway occurs, they email you. Hard to win but it does happen) Under browse there is also the lists category. The best list on Listopia is Most Anticipated Christian Fiction of 2025. Lists can be hard to find on there, so I just bookmarked in on my computer. Here’s the link https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/199552.Most_Anticipated_Christian_Fiction_2025 You can vote on this list for your favorites and that’s what moves each book up or down on the list. This is also one of the best ways to find the new release books every year. Other readers doing the work, haha. You can also add books to the list and I’ve done that too

    I’ve had a few cases when the book I read didn’t show as read. I have found it’s important when putting the book on my tbr list to put on the edition type I’m reading. Most books cover all editions, but when they have to be specific like paper, ebook or audio, that’s when they don’t show as read. It doesn’t happen much, most publishers are savvy about how things are listed these days.

    I don’t know anything about Storygraph but have heard of it. A quick search shows one of the major differences to be they allow quarter and half stars to be added to ratings. I have often wished for GR to do that. The difference between 4 and 5 stars seems huge. Maybe GR will adapt that into their ratings. However, I am content with GR and have no plans to switch as sometimes learning one more new style and system seems daunting,

    That’s all I have time for right now, but seems I’ve written a novella anyway. I hope any of my insights might be helpful and that I’ve said it clearly enough. I’ll check back later today on the discussion. I’m always looking to learn from other readers too.

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    1. I’m a tad shy of giddy over all these detailed responses! I’m going to spend some quality time with Good Reads this afternoon, I think. Perfect excuse to stay in from the cold!

      Hooray for grandchildren who can lead the way! 🙂 I only have a grand puppy and he’s not much use.

      I didn’t realize that if I like a review by someone I’m following that review will show up in whoever’s following me’s feed. (that sentences is wrong on so many levels, but you know what I mean, right?) So that’s why there are reviews from people I don’t know on my feed. And that could explain how the scope of genres broadens out from just Christian Fiction too. I mean, I read a lot of cozy mysteries and that must drive non cozy readers nuts! While the cozy readers who follow me are probably rolling their eyes at my CF reviews.

      I really like the GR challenge too. It’s a great way for me to keep track of both my Christian Fiction and Cozy Mystery reads. I rely on my blog to keep track of my CF and that works well, but I need GR to keep me up with my cozy reading.

      Would you believed I never checked what was under the Browse button?! Oops, I’m back, spent some time checking out the giveaway options. Cool Beans, you taught me something, Tracey!

      Ooohhhh, I need to spend some time with that link! Look at all the books that are coming out this year! I already voted for 8 books. Must not get distracted. Ahem! So this is your secret weapon for Reader’s Choice Week?!

      My lists/folders/whatever you call them are all messed up with the same books in read and want to read because of the edition thing. I usually click ‘want to read’ when a book comes up in my feed that someone has reviewed and it looks good so I’m not paying attention to what edition I’m tagging. Then, when I get around to reviewing the book it’s the wrong edition and I end up with it in both places. BUT I just found out that you can do a duplicate search and I’ve already deleted some duplicates — so yay — a faster way to clean up my shelves.

      Story Graph seems to be what all the popular kids are doing….bwahaha…at least it feels like that to me. I have heard how much people like the 1/2 star rating system though. And it does graphs, I think. And its algorithm is supposed to be better at recommending books. I guess part of the lure for me is starting out fresh and doing things right from the start. But, you speak truth when you say starting something new is daunting. I definitely should sort myself out on GR first…

      Thanks for taking the time to share, Tracey, you’ve got me started in some new directions on Good Reads. Woohoo! Lucky all my reviews for the week are scheduled. lol

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      1. LOL on the Most Anticipated CF 2025 being my secret weapon. But really it IS one of the ways I start off in January with a good number of books on my TBR list, along with Netgalley books and previewing pre-releases on Baker books. Here’s their link for pre-releases, it’s the easiest way to filter the pre-release from the current books. https://bakerbookhouse.com/products?category=Books%7CFiction&flag=Pre-Release

        LOL on the grandpup not being any help.

        That CF list has 158 books on it right now. I’ve voted for 20 so far, then took a couple off after I read them. Even if not voting you can put ones you’re interestedin on your want-to-read list then once they’re on there you get notified about giveaways. it’s fun, have won 5 or 6 over 10 years, nothing recently.

        I don’t mind seeing your cozy reviews on GR at all, I keep thinking one day I’m going to jump back in and try a few more. I like trying to solve mysteries, so we’ll see.

        Now to set back and read all the comments after mine 🙂

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      2. Eeeep…I feel like I’m being passed secret Reader’s Choice files in a covert operation. Better sharpen my Ninja research skills to keep up with you! Thanks for the Baker’s link. Honestly, I think they are almost the only publishing house that seems to want readers to be able access information! I’ve only voted for 8 so far. Didn’t now you could remove a vote. This could get competitive! Kind of like Hunger Games , the Christian Fiction edition. 🙂

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      3. Kav, you are cracking me up with the covert secret files operation, hahaha. I have just found the best ways to get ahold of the info I want and keep track of the sites that provide it. I don’t take much time to “read about reading” so I have simplified my resources. Add in Best Reads and a couple FB Christian fiction groups and Wala, thee you have it!

        LOL on the competitive voting, I didn’t remove them because they weren’t good, only because I was no longer “anticipating” them, does that make sense?

        Diane, you are making me laugh too. Stop with the “do”, haha.

        Why is everything so funny to me today?!

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      4. My tip for gettthe right edition : when you srart reading the book double check which edition it is and switch if needed. ( if you remember!)

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    2. Ooh. I forgot about voting for my most anticipated reads, Tracey. Thanks for the reminder! I do do that when an author reminds us to on FB. (do do?) 🤣 Otherwise I forget.

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  3. I am with you on Instagram! Clueless! I just use it mostly to post covers of books, cover reveals, etc. maybe a blurb about how I liked the book or I am reading, etc. don’t know how to share except for what you mentioned and that link to your story is just confusing!
    I use Goodreads as my basis. I have over 1000 want to reads, and over 3 pages of shelves.
    When I put a book on there that I am reading, I try to put it onto shelves such as historical, series, released in 2025, suspense, maybe setting such as England, or a state. That way I can find a list of books if I want them, such as beyond 5 stars in order to compile my best books of the year.
    it is super confusing about the editions. I only try to review the edition that I am reading ( sometimes bith ebook and paperback – that way it counts as two books on my challenge ). But there is a “find duplicates” located on the my books page to the far left under the shelves. Sometimes you can switch editions there if you missed it before you wrote your review but sometimes it doesn’t give you the option. Because if you delete one edition, you delete your review. So copy it so you can paste it. Other times, the review shows up in both editions. DONT ASK ME!
    Then there is the whole friend, follow thing. Ugh. I follow authors I like. And for who can friend you, I set up a question so I can screen who follows or friends me. Some are just men trolling. So you can hit ignore. You can see another person’s books in common if you can find the right thing to push.
    I am on a few groups there but not very active anymore. But a good one is Christian Fiction Devourers. They do two monthly book reads for everyone, you can join if you want. And you can always request if anyone wants to do a buddy read. They have a list of challenges that you can join and there is a tracker.
    But you can get caught up in this stuff which cuts into your reading time!
    whew! Enough for this comment!

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    1. Hooray — I’m not the only one who doesn’t get the instagram stuff. I do the same as you, just post my reviews and books read on it so far but I would like to get a bit more creative, if I can.

      That duplicate button is amazing! I’m sooooooo excited. Was totally scared the first time I tried it. I had one want to read and one read with a review so I bravely deleted the want to read one but it kept the review record. Phew! High anxiety stuff. And yes, when I would got into the list of all the editions for a book and I’d have one want to read and one read and I’d dry to delete the want to read it would warn me that all my reviews for that book would be deleted so maybe it only works when you do it through the duplicate link? So confusing!

      I’ll check out Christian Fiction Devourers, thanks Paula. It would be fun to do a book club with a book I like! I can see how the social aspects of GRs could start to eat into your reading time. Always a balancing act. Thanks for sharing so much!

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    2. Can you tell me how you set up a Goodreads screening question? I’d like to get rid of creepy trolling guys. I’m also not wanting a lot of secular book ideas either. We have some fabulous CF that I love to read!

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  4. Well, it seems I am not done!
    I also use Library Thing to track books because it is free, easy and I can leave reviews. But I only have a few friends there because it tells you who matches your books in an easy to find place. I don’t have shelves there, too much trouble.
    I am not familiar with Storygraph.
    I do use Edelweiss because you can leave reviews. They have a 10 points system and a box to check if you want the review to go to the publisher. I am pretty new to this one. So have not navigated it a lot. I know that not every book, like indy published, are on there.
    I use Bookbub. That’s pretty easy too. And if a new book isn’t there, you can fill out an easy form and they will add it.

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    1. Oh my goodness! You might have created a monster. Library Thing looks right up my alley. I’ll have to check it out more thoroughly. I’m thinking Edelweiss is for ebooks, right? Oh — Bookbub I’ve heard of and I just checked and it’s the one that is only ebooks. Thanks, Paula!

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  5. Personally not very tech here either. For personal reasons, I deleted my Twitter account and since many are on Instagram, I recently opened an account on there. I know how to post (I think), but very unclear on how to do many things. I know I can tag someone if I click on the photo I’m posting to make sure they see it. However, I don’t know how to make a link to the page I’m referring to where you can just click on it and go to it. At present, I make sure there is a space before and space after my link listing in the write up hoping it will make it easier to copy and past it in order to open it. I, too, don’t know how to share someone else’s post. I can like it by giving them a heart click, but that’s it. I would like to know how to share to my page in order to help promote a book by sharing either the author’s post or that of someone else’s review.

    As for Goodreads, I mark books want to read, read, and review as appropriate. Then leave reviews there on the books I read. I also enter contest to win books I want to read. Even though I have won a few books, in general I have a very little success rate. I’ve never heard of Story Graph. At times, I think I live under a rock to be so uninformed. LOL

    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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    1. That’s a good idea about leaving a space before and after a link to make it easier to copy and paste. I think it’s so strange that links aren’t allowed to be ‘live’ on instagram. It would make it a lot easier. But maybe for security issues? Sigh, If only everyone would play nice.

      Yes, I’d like to know how to share on Instagram too. I see posts like that all the time. I figured out the heart button right away but I’m embarrassed to say how stymied I was on posting a comment until I finally figured out that once you click reply you have to look waaaay down for the comment box you can use. Who knew? 🙂 Have you ever thought of sharing your beautiful photographs on Instagram, Kay? Along with your book promo stuff?

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      1. So far, we only do the our Facebook page on the photos. It all takes time. I love taking them and sharing on our site, but also don’t want to spend all day on line. There’s too much reading to do. LOL

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  6. There’s not much I can add to these already illustrious comments. I used GRs hit & miss to start with (even when I was on a blog), but now use it regularly to rate and/or review books. I have read waaay more books since 2013 than is listed.

    I started to use shelves, but didn’t feel it would benefit me so I quit. Except for the “want to read” shelf. I have been clicking on to the reading challenge activity to keep better track of my reading goals this year. I don’t get involved in any community chats, but I do that in my online CF bookclubs. I don’t fully utilize GRs, but it suits me for what I want to do. So, yeah, I’m no help at all today. ☺️

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    1. You guys are all being so awesome — my kind of techie help desk personnel for sure! For me, Good Reads is the one place that records ALL the books I read, even the not so great ones, and I like having that info all in one place. I just need to organize it better. I’d be happy with just having a clean want to read shelf! That’s my goal for the first quarter of this year. Then we’ll see about creating other shelves. You are definitely helping, Diane, ’cause like minds think alike and all that. We are kindred GR spirits. Bwahahaha!

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      1. LOL! Glad to be kindred GR spirits. I wonder if anyone fully utilizes GRs and if so, where did they learn how? 🤔 There’s probably a YouTube video on how to use everything, but ATM I’d rather be reading. 📚

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  7. I love these questions! All very good ones. How I find like minded friends on Goodreads is to read the reviews of books I love. The 4 or 5 star ratings I click the persons profile who left the review and see if we have more book interests in common. If we do, I send them a friend request! There is a difference between friending and following. Friending means that they can see your book reviews etc, while if you follow them, all you can see is their stuff and you don’t get to make a connection.

    I have found groups on Goodreads I join don’t do very well or last long so I chose not to join anymore. Marking different editions as read, idk on that one. I struggle with it too lol.

    IG is my jam so here we go! On IG when someone asks to share the post, it means to your story. For some reason IG doesn’t allow to share to your timeline like Facebook but you can share to your story. So click the paper airplane and there are multiple options. One should be on the very bottom left hand side to “share to story” hit that, follow the prompts and there you go!

    Link in bio is in there about me section, but it would be the very last line. It’s in bolder print too.

    Story Graph I have heard of, but never used. I have enough IG, FB and GR stuff going on that I try not to spread myself to thin on social media because then it takes the fun out of books!

    Hope this helps! I can give screenshots too if that would help.

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    2. Hmmm…you’re inspired me to go on a Good Reads Friend hunt! 🙂 I’m guessing there are better platforms out their for bookish club kind of things like Discord etc, so maybe that’s why the ones on GRs fizzle out?

      Gah, I’m scrolling through instagram looking for a link in bio comment so I can check it out but, of course, there’s nothing. Sigh. Will have to keep this in mind to try when I come upon one later. Thanks, Sarah! And yes, good point about tempering the social media we’re on — must leave lots of time for reading, right?!

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      2. Thanks, Sarah — that is very clear and definitely not what I saw on a recent post that told me to look for the link in their bio so maybe they forgot and that’s what confused me. lol

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  8. Kav, I’m not very techy either but it looks like you’re getting a lot of good answers here. On Instagram you can share to your story like Sarah said and one way I discovered to share a post to my timeline is to get and use the Repost app. When you want to repost a post, click the little arrow under the post and then click Copy link. It will copy it to your Repost app and then you open that app, click on the post you want to share and then follow theh prompts. I try to be sure to tag the account in Insta and also use the hashtag #repost in the comments. There may be other ways to do it, but that’s what I do 🙂 Good luck!

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    1. I realized I said “share a post to my timeline” but I don’t think that’s what it’s called in Insta. Maybe it’s just sharing in the feed. But it does show up on the grid on your bio/account page (or whatever they call it – ha!)

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  10. I love Goodreads and I LOVE being able to organize my shelves!! I have many shelves, including a new-release shelf that I add books that haven’t released to yet. At the end of the year, all those books are no longer tagged “2025 release” so I delete the shelf. On desktop you can go to “My Books” at the top of the columns, over to the right it says, “Shelves,” you can hit edit, and check as many shelves as you want, if you want to add shelves, you can scroll to the bottom of the list and click “add shelf.” Or, on the left side bar you can scroll down to Bookshelves and edit there, adding shelves. It really is SO easy! I joined storygraph, it has nice functions (like charts and graphs), but it doesn’t import all your books, or the cover of all the books because their database is not as large as Goodreads. It also doesn’t import your shelves, and it is much harder to organize books there (I haven’t even tried). You CAN find duplicates on Goodreads and delete the ones you don’t want on your shelves. You go to “My Books” and beside the search for books function, you hit “batch edit” and and on the right side, under delete all the books, is “Find Duplicates.” Then you can see what books are duplicated and delete the ones you don’t want. Groups on Goodreads, I have tried them, but I get bogged down by all the notifications, so I ended up leaving them all. I can’t remember if we are friends on Goodreads or not, but here is a link to my profile, you can see all my shelves there 😉 or not! No pressure. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/54384321-cindy-davis–cindy-s-book-corner

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    1. Eeeep!!! I friended you! Thanks for the detailed instructions. I will be referring to this as I explore GRs more. I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on Story Graph — I think I’m going to stick with GRs this year and try to ‘conquer’ it before branching out. Question about shelves — can the same title be in multiple shelves? Like History, Mystery, Read? Inquiring minds want to know. 🙂

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      1. Yes you can put a book on many shelves. If you click on Want to read and then at the bottom of the list is continue. Just highlight what you want. I have lots of shelves. Netgalley, and decades such as 1900s, 1920s, etc. even if I won a book or downloaded it free from bookfunnel or purchased for free on Amazon.

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      2. Ooohhh, thanks, Paula. This is giving me ideas! Like time consuming ideas but there is something about organizing books, whether it’s on a physical shelf or a virtual one, that I can’t quite resist. 🙂

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  11. I have the same problem on Instagram! I see the paper airplane thing and apparently you’re supposed to be able to share to your “stories” using that, but when I try to press it, I only ever get the option to share directly to individuals🤷‍♀️

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    1. Yesss!!! So confusing. But I’ve been trying to do some research and I’m not sure it this is 100% correct but it sounds like you can only share someone else’s post in your timeline/feed if you have been tagged on it? I know I’ve seen where authors have shared a review from a bookstagrammer, so that makes sense because they would have been tagged. It looks like my only option is to share individually via a message which is silly. And confusing, especially when authors as you to share. Can they possibly mean they want you to message a billion people?! Gah!

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  12. Instagram reposting is a mystery to me too. What little I do is on the computer, and after a lot of frustrated googling, I finally reached the conclusion it’s a feature that’s not available on a computer unless you have a third-party app. But I haven’t had much success when I’ve caved to pressure and tried to share on the phone either.

    As to Goodreads, I agree with Tracey about the yearly Most Anticipated Christian fiction list being the secret weapon–I check it regularly! Usually it gets an explosion of new books in late February, June, and October when Bethany House and Revell announce their next lineup, but Indies and others get added throughout the year. 2026 will probably be up in a couple months, if it isn’t already (the June explosion will be on that list, since it will be Jan-April 2026 books being announced). I keep shelves for books that I would consider rereading (I used to categorize everything, but then the shelves got too big and the site would bog down, and it’s a lot easier to find the ones I’m interested in if I don’t have to wade through a bunch of duds).

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    1. Ohhhh, this is interesting. I use my laptop, never my phone and I don’t think I’m up for the third-party app thingy. Just no. Love that I am no in the Most Anticipated Christian Fiction list loop now. 🙂 Happy Reading, Rachael!

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  13. Oh, Kav! You must be my twin from another mother! I am so tech-challenged and really don’t want to learn about some of the popular social media. I can read Instagram posts and know how to like and sometimes comment on them, but my daughter has tried to teach me how to post things, and my brain is resistant! LOL I do use Goodreads, but I don’t do shelves (other than books I want to read). I also add books to lists on GR. I do review books on LibraryThing. I really don’t want to fill my brain with a lot of tech-y things, because there are always new ones coming out, and I’m easily confused. I mainly stick to Facebook and can navigate around it quite well.

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    1. lol – glad to find out I’m not the only tech-challenged reader in the group! Sounds like Facebook is the happening place for Christian Fiction. I had problems with my account and just haven’t bothered with it for years but it does seem like I’m missing out. Happy Reading, Winnie!

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  14. With share on Instagram you click the plane and then click “add to story” and it will add it your story so others will see it through your posts. Some people’s privacy functions don’t allow that function, so it may not work always. It only remains in your story 24 hours I think. I love to put my reviews up on instagram, but I am not too fancy about it. I read too fast and too often to spend too much time on my media on there. But, I try. (_ruth_reads_)

    I use Goodreads the most for reviews because its good about having the newer books there and easy to add. Whereas other apps don’t always have the arcs to choose from when trying to keep track. Also goodreads ratings are available to see through Amazon, so I like too. Now, if only my reviews written on Goodreads would transfer to Amazon… that would be a dream. I downloaded Fable this year, but its not syncing with my goodreads like it is supposed to. The only reason I added it was for the yearly recap… since Goodreads isn’t as nice as fables.

    My biggest pet peeve with Goodreads is the Want to Read Shelf. I wish I could delete it and start over but it wont let me. I have THOUSANDS on the shelf and I do not want to read them all. But all of the giveaways I entered over the years are instantly added to that shelf, so it is super inaccurate. I don’t “want to read” all the books I signed up for. Some, I was grabbing for others, or for the free library, or I was just entering to see if I would win… Oh well, the shelf is a mess.

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    1. Woohooo — I am gobsmacked by that share info. I’m guessing maybe the few times I’ve tried must have been ones with that privacy setting. Eager to take another look with this new-found knowledge. Thanks! Huh — did I know about Fable? I don’t think I did. Gah, another one to worry about. lol Right now I’m having fun deleting duplicates on Good Reads. Then I’m going to tackle my ‘want to read’ shelf. For some reason, the books seem to stay on the want to read shelf even though I’ve read and reviewed them! Hoping doing the duplicate thing will fix this but it’s a waiting game until then. Thanks for you input, Blessed Mommy — or can I call you Ruth?

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  15. I am not a techy person at all, but I have to take my hat off to Kav who has incredible charts, graphs and goals!

    I use Goodreads to manage my books so that I (hopefully) know what I personally have and in what format it is in.  I rely heavily on the library for both space and budget considerations, so I have a GR shelf to tell whether the library has a copy (and in what format they have). I have too many shelves, but in general I have a Pre-Order, Kindle, Prime, Chirp, Audible, Net Galley, and Book Funnel shelves….you get the picture.  I also have a shelf for award winners like the Christy and Carol Awards, because those books are the crème de la crème.  I use my TBR shelf as my ultimate wish list!

    I used to use Goodreads a lot to pop up a review on Facebook, but now it just posts a link and no pic of the cover.  Besides, I don’t think my FB audience appreciates my love of CF. Sigh….

    Goodreads, BookBub, and Facebook are about it for me. I HAD been utilizing BookBub for reviews, but it’s been neglected lately.  There is a place on BB to log the books that you own.  I will take the initiative to check out Edelweiss for the reviews.  I wish ChristianBook wasn’t such a pain to review on.  Someone said lately that it’s gotten a lot better, but it has NOT.  I could never figure out what format they’re trying to force me into or what special characters (like apostrophes) are illegal.  I’m finished trying to jump through their hoops which is a shame because it’s an excellent platform for CF.  Maybe it’s all the spammers, who knows but I moved on.  I also review on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and be sure to get a review up on my local public library website.  I think the extra step for the library is important to get the attention that these books deserve.

    I haven’t solved anyone’s techy issues, but I have learned some good stuff here and I appreciate the responses.  I also would be more than happy to have more CF friends on Goodreads.  Here’s the link:  https:/www.goodreads.com/uuser/show/29989523

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    1. Ha — we can thank Canva for the graphs…and it took me ages to figure out how to adapt them. Bwahahaha!

      So your shelves are all unread books? Like a mega GR wishlist? I never thought of doing that. I have separate notebooks (so old school). One for new releases by month and one for book recommends I get from online sources. It’s all in random order, though I have a spot to indicate what genre, if its Christian Fiction or Closed Door etc. If I ever conquer my want to read monstrosity of a shelf I might have to try playing around with creating customized GR shelves.

      I agree Chrstian books got to cumbersome to post reviews on so I just stopped. I guess I should look at it again though — especially since I still haven’t made peace with the dreaded Amazon so I still can’t post reviews there!

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