For a while, Goodreads was the only option for booklovers when it came to a site to track their books, get recommendations, etc. Over the last several years, issues with Goodreads have led to the creation of other site with similar concepts. Some focused on the social aspect of the site, other on the tracking. One that caught my attention was The StoryGraph, which was created and is run by a POC booklover. A lot of people have left Goodreads for StoryGraph, others are using both, and then there are some who are sticking with the original or turning to other sites (or none at all). Today I wanted to share what I like about both of these sites, as I continue to use both sites.

StoryGraph

It’s clean

The aesthetic is beautiful, there are no ads taking up all of the space, it’s just a white background with words and pictures of books. That really appeals to me. I like color a vibrancy, but not when it comes in the form of 17 different advertisements on the page.

Easy to navigate

There are 4 main categories without a bunch of drop downs to choose from. You can search for a title from any page and get a clean link to post to refer someone. You can get to anything you need with just one or two clicks.

Real recommendations

I think the recommendations are more in line with what I actually read, not what is most popular in a category. I feel like more of the titles that are recommended to me are things that I would  really enjoy.

POC operated

My understanding is that the site was designed and is run by a POC booklover. I was not able to find an “About” section to confirm this.

Author Free

This site is designed for readers and there isn’t a huge author presence. While I love interacting with authors on social media, when it comes to a site where I post reviews, authors don’t really need to be there. It feels more protected, and in my experience at least, filled with much less drama.

Goodreads

Larger Database of Books

In all of the years that I have been a member of Goodreads, I think there have only been 2 books that were not in the database the first time I looked for them.

Personalized Shelves

I love that I can create all of my own shelves for a variety of different categories. I have separate shelves for things I own in various formats, things I don’t own but want to read, things I want to checkout from the library, etc. There is so much flexibility in the way I keep track of everything.

Giveaways

I enter a lot of giveaways on Goodreads, and unlike some people, I have actually won quite a few over the years. One of my Saturday morning routines is to go through the new giveaways from the previous week. I have won 13 or 14 different books.

End of Year Stats

At the end of every year, Goodreads compiles a bunch of stats about your reading over the past year including all of the books read, number of pages, longest and shortest books, etc. I really enjoy looking back over my year in reading.

New Releases

In addition to giveaways, I love to explore the upcoming new releases. On the first Saturday of the month, I check out all of the new releases that are coming out over the next year. My TBR shelves are always growing when new books hit the list.

Do you use Goodreads or StoryGraph? What are your favorite aspects?