Umm… No! 5 GoodReads Myths Debunked

I had no idea people hated Goodreads so much, it's one of my favourite sites to visit and I can't imagine handling my book habit without it :S

The YA Mafia thing cracks me up. I've heard it references in a number of different contexts, referring to different groups of people. I still haven't figured out who these people are actually supposed to be. Is there a list somewhere? Because if there is, I want to be on it! ;) I <3 Goodreads. I think it's my favorite social networking site for books, just because it's less about people's social lives (I'm looking at you, Twitter) and more about books...which is sorta what book blogging and all this jazz is about.

I actually started book reviewing through a blog first. Which probably wasn't the greatest idea in the world. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE blogging, but well... that sh*t is hard. And people are really nice. Reaaaaly nice. Sometimes I feel like reviewers are so nice and don't give bad reviews for fear of upsetting an author. If there is more than a handful of one star reviews that reviewer is seen as mean and not followed. The drama thing on blogs spread like wild fire through Twitter. It's pretty vicious. Guys, DON'T PET THE DRAMA LLAMA! Just don't.

THERE'S A YA MAFIA? WHY WASN'T I TOLD? MAY I JOIN?!! Ugh... you know, with the nagative reviews? If anything, I'd say there's more positive reviews, surely. With people gushing about books and loving them and... I need to stop leaving rambling comments while on cold medication... so... uh... *waves*

Okay, this is just too funny! I'm really digging those gifs. But mostly I had no idea peeps were thinking this about Goodreads. Should've figured it.

@Jan: Hi Jan, The thing is anyone is welcome to post their opinion whether it is in agreement or not. The problem comes into play when a person repeatedly comes to the site to insult us. That is what Jason does and it crosses the line. Furthermore, if you have a problem with the post or what .jpegs or .gifs I chose to use you can directly reply to me or email me. The above post is written with sarcasm. I suppose I was not aware that reaching a certain age, marital status and the decision to reproduce automatically voids the ability to do so. You may, however, choose to disagree as that is your right. But please do not presume to assume my maturity level.

Myths? *snort* Right. Can anyone say echo chamber? Congratulations, Stephanie! You and your friends have once again proven that you haven't matured past the age of high school. But please, continue. It is highly entertaining to watch you embarrass yourselves online.

Late to the party, here (because I've been writing! Put down the stick, Archer!). But I just want to say: I am an author and I love GoodReads. And frankly, I love it FOR the heartfelt, personal, passionate, "unprofessional" reviews. As a writer, I want to know that real people read my book and had real, human reactions to it. I don't need someone dispassionately analysing the imagery or themes. I know what imagery and themes it contains; I wrote the damn thing. I want to know how my book makes people FEEL. I have never seen so many people passionate about books in one place. It's probably not surprising that there's drama, with all those FEELINGS swirling around (and we authors are generally highly sensitive, emotional types as well). But I really believe it's all to the good. How else are books, as a medium, going to survive if we aren't passionate about them?

This seriously proves to me that people will try to make dramas about anything. I didn't even know it was possible to hate GoodReads. It's just a website. It's a pretty awesome one too. This is just craziness.

I think I've been living under a rock. I'm on Goodreads almost everyday and yet I've never experienced these 'drama's". It's very sad. But I loved this post ,especially the Grinch thingy and the funny phrases you used :D. "spawns from the Grinch". Not to mention the sarcasm

Goodreads is great. I don't have many friends on there right now, but I like that I'm able to keep a list of all the things I'm going to read. I like the YA community that maybe one day I'll become a part of (right now, I'm just a stalker).

''hate ,hate, hate, double hate'' lol gr8 post

LMAO! Brilliant post. YOU ARE A GENIUS, Steph! <3

I love being told to "Be Nice". Because among the various meanings of 'nice' is 'precise'. So someone is inviting me to tell them exactly what I think! 'Be professional' is also an odd one, because among reviews, professional reviews contain some of the nastiest, most disdainful reviews I've ever seen. And they usually don't bother to entertain me with funny gifs either. I like to use Goodreads - as a reader and as a writer. People have had a wide range of opinions of my books, but on a personal level (rather than an opinion of books level) no-one's ever attacked me. I suspect authors who approach Goodreads as readers and use it as readers, get a lot more out of it.

Great post! I always seem to miss the drama somehow, so feel left out. Can I subscribe to the YA Mafia newsletter so I'm in the know from now on? :p Love GR and always check reviews there, as I trust it a little more than Amazon. And Fangs is right that all positive reviews would be boring, not to mention lose any impact. We need the negative reviews so we can appreciate the awesome ones!

Too funny...thanks and i love the mafia baby!!!

This post rocks so hard! I've only had some minor kerfuffles with authors on GR, but the odd thing is-both were YA books. O.o Also, I thought the YA Mafia referred to the authors, not the reviewers?

@Cyna: Oh, yes! Official head gear! That is a win, lol.

I love GoodReads. I mean, there's bound to be some drama because there are actual people doing the reviews and people reading them but, yanno, there's some really good stuff on it. I love creating a "To Read" shelf, love checking out what other people thought about a book I loved or hated, and sharing my own reviews. And the whole YA mafia thing is so ridiculous. *rolls eyes* Whether it's the authors or reviewers, ganging up on someone is so not cool. In my world, it's called bullying.

Brilliant as always, Steph!

What a great post! It's about time someone set the record straight. Although, I don't tend to think of reviewers, but rather AUTHORS as the YA mafia. Seriously, I was surprised when you said that. I think it's just because many (but not all) of the authors that try to take down or marginalize reviewers have large fan bases they can call on. Not to mention they can also call on their friend authors, agents and editors, as well. Reviewers have each other and that's about it.

I thought that the term "YA mafia" was coined to refer to authors, not reviewers, because of their tendency to outwardly support each other, bash negative reviews, remind reviewers to "Be Nice" if they want a future in publishing, etc.

Those people may dislike GoodReads all they want (as it is entirely their right to do so) but they got to admit GoodReads is top place, beside Amazon, where readers go to read reviews. Nobody ever talks about LibraryThing or Shelfari or the publishers-built aNobii. Perhaps it is because GoodReads afford readers the highest level of freedom to express ourselves.

Hmmm...good post, except...this is exactly what the hate-mongering hater hate hate leader of the YA mafia *would* say! You almost had me! /sarcasm Anyway, I thought the mythical YA Mafia referred to the secret cabal of YA writers who wouldn't let you get published if you were mean to their book? Are there TWO now? Someone needs a new title.