Goodreads vs Google Books

2023. Goodreads introduces new Giveaway marketing tool for authors



In the vast, improbably complex universe of bookish endeavors, Goodreads has embarked on a curious new adventure, launching the U.S. Giveaways program—a cunningly designed initiative packed with features that might well baffle even the most seasoned Vogon poet. This masterstroke of literary marketing wizardry comes in two gleaming packages, each engineered to propel books into the hyperspace of discovery while enticing readers to leave their invaluable reviews. Authors and publishers, long clamoring for more robust tools to dazzle audiences, will find their wishes granted with seamless audience connections and the magic of automatically updated Want-to-Read lists. For Kindle Direct Publishing authors, the previously mythical ability to host Kindle ebook giveaways is now a thrilling reality. At a mere $119, the Standard package boldly delivers up to 100 copies—Kindle or print—while the $599 Premium package boasts not only these same perks but also a dazzling "Featured" spotlight on the Giveaways page, perfect for showcasing your magnum opus to the galaxy’s most voracious readers. Ford Prefect would probably approve, though he'd insist on a towel being part of the deal.


2019. Goodreads starts Giveaways to help authors promote their books



The shiny new contraption known as Goodreads Giveaways is rather like handing a microphone to your book and letting it shout to the universe, "Read me!" Whether you're nervously launching your debut, keeping the flame alive for your latest masterpiece, or coaxing an old favorite back into the spotlight, this ingenious platform is a delightfully chaotic way to fling your creation into the hands of millions of readers. It’s not just a marketing tool; it’s a bit of a literary adventure, letting readers introduce your book to their friends with the same giddy enthusiasm as finding a really good towel. With Goodreads Giveaways, your book gets an all-access pass to the popular Giveaways section, a bustling place where readers trip over new titles they didn’t know they needed. Plus, your giveaway takes center stage on your book’s page, practically inviting readers to join the fun. Oh, and don’t forget the nifty bit where your Goodreads followers and the folks who’ve already clicked "Want-to-Read" get a cheerful nudge about your giveaway—because what’s better than spreading the word faster than a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster at a book club?


2018. Goodreads launched new Android App



Goodreads has introduced a new ebook discovery and social community app for Android. Whether you're looking to scan covers to quickly locate a book on Goodreads, explore personalized recommendations, or add a book you've just completed to your Reading Challenge, using Goodreads on your Android device has never been so straightforward, efficient, or enjoyable. The app’s updated design and interface also work well on tablets.


2018. New Goodreads app for Android is available



GoodReads, the largest social book community owned by Amazon, has updated its Android app. The GoodReads BETA app has been redesigned to be faster and more user-friendly. It now offers an improved appearance on mobile phones and tablets. The app allows users to search for, rate and review any book from a catalog of over 12 million titles. You can view book reviews and updates from your friends, comment on them, post status updates and page number updates for books you're currently reading and use the barcode scanner to quickly add all of your books to your GoodReads shelves.


2018. Google Launches Talk to Books



Google has just introduced a new service called Talk to Books. It offers a completely novel approach to discovering books by focusing on individual sentences rather than authors or topics. You can make a statement or pose a question and the tool locates sentences in books that address your input, without relying on keyword matching. Essentially, you're engaging with the books, receiving responses that can help you decide if you're interested in reading them.


2017. GoodReads is rolling out the ReRead system



Many GoodReads users set a reading goal for the year. Sometimes you just want to revisit the Harry Potter series or one of the Divergent books, but previously, these would not count towards your goal. This has changed with a new BETA ReRead feature that will be introduced globally in the coming months. Next time you decide to reread a book that you've already marked as Read on Goodreads, simply label it as Currently Reading. When you finish, just mark it as Read. You can do this from the Goodreads iOS and Android apps, on Goodreads.com and also in the About the Book feature on Kindle.


2016. Google Books will now make better suggestions on what to read next



Google Books seeks to provide stronger competition to Amazon’s Kindle app by enhancing its capabilities for discovering new reading material. The new feature, named “Discover,” is a fresh section within the Google Books app designed to guide users toward new content, offering both personalized recommendations and suggestions based on popular trends within the broader community. It will propose new reads based on your activity in Google Books. Additionally, it will automatically recommend books featured in articles or videos you view elsewhere in the app, such as in the newly introduced “Weekly Highlights” section.


2016. Amazon is closing book cataloging service Shelfari, merging it with Goodreads



Amazon is to close Shelfari, a social network for book lovers with various recommendation and cataloging features. Since Amazon purchased Goodreads back in 2013, it has been neglecting Shelfari for years and now it’s officially getting the ax. If you login to Shelfari you get greeted with the following message: "Shelfari is in the process of merging with Goodreads and is no longer accepting new accounts. We recommend joining Goodreads.com if you haven’t already done so". Calling it a merger is just a nice way of saying Shelfari is closing down for good.


2015. Google Books project ruled legal by U.S. appeals court



A decade-long legal struggle appears to be nearing its conclusion. A U.S. appeals court has ruled that Google's book scanning project, Google Books, does not breach copyright law, according to Reuters. This verdict follows a lawsuit filed by the Authors Guild and some independent writers against Google in 2005, alleging that the company's project would adversely affect their income. The Authors Guild claimed lost revenue and sued Google in 2005, with a lower court in New York siding with Google in 2013. Google argued that its initiative would enhance author income by introducing potential readers to works they might not have otherwise encountered. The 2013 ruling was confirmed by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York on Friday, determining that Google's publication of excerpts constituted Fair Use and served the public interest.


2015. Goodreads adds Audible integration to let you listen free audiobook samples



Amazon's Goodreads now allows users to listen to free audio samples of 180,000 titles on its platform through a new “Listen” button powered by Audible’s digital audiobook catalog. These samples will be accessible to all Goodreads users, regardless of whether they are Audible subscribers, but the new feature includes an offer for a 30-day free trial of Audible, which, like Goodreads, is owned by Amazon. The streaming function will be available to users on the Goodreads website, with plans to extend it to the mobile site and apps soon, according to a statement released today. This move is aimed at helping ebook readers discover audiobook content and comes as publishers and retailers explore ways to promote the use of both formats together.


2014. Goodreads mobile app gets a makeover



Amazon's Goodreads has introduced a major redesign on iOS (with an Android version coming soon) – a change that many regular Goodreads users have been requesting. Instead of opening to an outdated, grid-like home screen, the app now immediately shows a “news feed” featuring your friends’ latest updates on the network, including books they've read, rated, reviewed and more. You can easily like and comment on posts from friends, enhancing Goodreads’ role as a social network for book lovers rather than just a tool for tracking your own reading progress.


2014. Goodreads allows to import books, purchased on Amazon



Goodreads users can now automatically transfer the print and ebooks they’ve purchased on Amazon into their Goodreads accounts. One benefit of linking the accounts, according to Goodreads, is that “more books added to your Goodreads shelves means better recommendations to help you discover more great books to read. The advanced algorithm driving our recommendations engine examines the books you rate to provide the best book suggestions tailored to your unique reading preferences.” The linking also allows Amazon to identify which of its customers are Goodreads users, although Goodreads emphasizes that “We give you full control over which books to include so you can avoid adding any books bought as gifts. Any book not rated or added to a shelf will not be included on Goodreads.”


2014. Amazon adds Goodreads integration to Kindle Paperwhite 1



Amazon is rolling out a software update for the first-gen Kindle Paperwhite that introduces Goodreads integration and other new features to the e-reader. The currently available Paperwhite, a second-generation model, already includes Goodreads support, which was added last November. The update also brings Kindle FreeTime, which curates books for children and allows parents to schedule reading time, Cloud Collections for organizing content and Page Flip for browsing through material without losing your spot. The Bookmarks, Highlights and Notes feature can now be accessed more swiftly. The update will be rolled out over the next few weeks to devices in the United States, Canada and Australia.


2014. Goodreads competitor Slice Bookshelf shuts down



Slice Bookshelf, a social platform for readers aimed at challenging Amazon-owned Goodreads by offering a more contemporary experience and one less reliant on manual user input, is closing down. The company states that, moving forward, it will concentrate on enhancing its primary product, the mobile shopping assistant, Slice. With Bookshelf, Slice had explored using its proprietary inbox-scanning technology in a new area: rather than tracking general purchases, it specifically identified your book and e-book receipts. By integrating data from Facebook, the service could automatically compile your library, eliminating the laborious data entry that competitor Goodreads still necessitates.


2013. Amazon integrates Goodreads into Kindle Fire OS



Earlier this year, Amazon began incorporating the popular book recommendation site Goodreads (which it acquired in March) into its tablets. With the latest Fire OS update, Goodreads has been seamlessly integrated into the reading experience, allowing you to engage with the Goodreads community without exiting the book or opening a separate app. Readers can now capture and share their favorite quotes to Goodreads directly from within the book, see what others are reading and rate and review books after finishing them. You can also import all the books you've purchased on Amazon, including print and Kindle editions, into Goodreads, which is useful for those who haven't been actively managing their Goodreads account over time.


2013. Google Books survives the copyright fight



The eight-year-long legal dispute between the Authors Guild and Google Books has finally concluded. New York Circuit Judge Denny Chin stated that the book scanning constituted fair use because it was “highly transformative” and did not harm the market for the original works. “Google Books offers considerable public benefits,” Chin wrote, describing it as “an invaluable research tool” and noting that the scanning service has increased literary access for the visually impaired and helped preserve the text of old books from physical deterioration. Chin also dismissed the notion that Google's online book database was depriving authors of revenue, observing that the company does not sell the scans or provide complete copies of books. Instead, he concluded that Google Books helps readers discover new books and results in “new revenue for authors.” The Authors Guild now has the option to appeal the decision.


2013. Kobo stops showing Goodreads ratings and reviews



As you recall, Amazon acquired the book-review social network Goodreads in March, so it's understandable that Kobo has ceased using the Goodreads API on its website and in its apps. This means no more Goodreads ratings and reviews on Kobo book pages. It appears this decision was made by Kobo rather than Goodreads or Amazon: The company’s chief content officer Michael Tamblyn mentioned to Good E-reader that Kobo may potentially reintegrate the Goodreads API in the future. However, this situation highlights the risks of depending on what is now a rival retailer’s API. Goodreads faced a similar issue in early 2012 when it stopped using Amazon’s API for book data and switched to data from book wholesaler Ingram. Currently, Goodreads states that it utilizes metadata from a combination of sources — Ingram, WorldCat and ONIX feeds.


2013. Amazon to acquire Goodreads



Amazon has announced today that it will acquire Goodreads. Goodreads is the top book discovery platform with 16 million members and over 23 million book reviews. It enables users to join book-discussion groups and share recommendations, reviews, books they've read and liked or disliked, as well as their "want to read" lists. Goodreads also features its own recommendation engine. Currently, the Goodreads site makes it fairly easy for users to download or purchase books from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other websites. It's somewhat difficult to imagine that Amazon will continue to permit links to non-Amazon stores in the future.