GoodReads vs LibraryThing

Hello everybody! My name is Antonio. I'm a digital bibliomaniac dinosaur. I've been a silent LT member for many years, but have been rather active on GR. I've recently moved my library here and am still working on my books. I do not intend to leave GR, I'm trying to "play on two tables", so to say. I'm sure there are members here who can tell the main differences between the two libraries. Would anybody talk about this? Thank you all for reading this request.

Hello Dr. Gallo,

Since you asked...I am not good at navigating sites. I came here first because I saw my names was mentioned in a post. At the time I was not aware of either this place or goodreads. Before long I found a couple interesting groups here and began visiting almost daily nearly 8 years ago.

Moving over to goodreads as it seems an author should, i found it confounding only because it was different from this place.
My experience may mean nothing because of my ineptitude, but I have found this place better for discussion and goodreads better for disseminating information about newly published books.

Thank you for you answer. Please call me Antonio. I agree with what you say. LT is a better place for discussion GR for disseminating news about books.

Yeah--discussion here is a lot better. I'm completely lost at Goodreads and for me that takes away a lot. I really prefer LT and I like that you can say things how you want here. There's not a whole lot of censoring.

I agree, GR offers you lots of opportunities to read and write, but you find yourself alone with no interaction whatsoever.

>5 AntonioGallo: Speaking as someone who spends far more time on LT than GR, I would have to disagree with you slightly. One thing that I do like about GR is the ability to reply to a review and thus initiate a discussion. On LT, the only option is to contact the reviewer on their own page, which feels rather more confrontational.

However, why I prefer LT (apart from the more detailed cataloguing aspect which, to be honest, is the main consideration for me) is the ability to have more general discussions, which, in turn enables one to get to know one's fellow users. A review of a book is far more informative when one knows the reviewer.

Reading, writing and book collecting are very personal, intellectual activities. So personal and intellectual that one can easily think that there is no escape from that gentle madness, as it was called, which is bibliomania. See: A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books
Nicholas A. Basbanes. GR vs LT is an old quarrel. You can read about this here in two parts https://bookriot.com/2012/07/31/goodreads-v-librarything-part-one/.

Librarything is awful and the only reason I stick around is because of sunk costs. For years I thought it would somehow get better ; it's actually worse than when I registered because the staff's commitment never to flush nonsense entries (while letting liberal goons delete actual quality content on a whim) has turned it into a Collyer Mansion of garbage data. In comparison goodreads' work pages at least look usable.

My advice to you Antonio is to turn back before it gets you.

Thank you for your advise Kuiperdolin. I like to play "on two tables", as I said in a previous post. I'm an old dinosaur bibliomaniac, I learned to read and write in my father's post-gutenberghian printing shop. I love books both in paper and in digits. Surfing the web is an everyday experience, I believe both GR and LT have something interesting to offer to people who love communication.

#8--hurt feelings I guess. The pro and con group works best for those people who can keep their composure through all kinds of insult because it's going to happen to everyone sooner or later--and even to those who want to be nice and polite to everyone . Everybody gets it sooner or later and there's no point in crying about it. If you're not ready to wade through all kinds of nuisances it's best to steer clear.

@Iriley Wise thinking: "If you're not ready to wade through all kinds of nuisances it's best to steer clear." Nobody can really stear clear from traditional and digital life ...

#12--well political arguments are always going divolve in some way or another. It's natural--someone thinks or believes something and someone else thinks the opposite and often there will be more people towards one side than the other. For instance Trump isn't very popular here---yet there are defenders. How do you oppose or defend an extremely divisive individual?--and keep things nice and pleasant? You don't. It's not the same as discussing a novel--where you get something different out of it than another reader and you go 'oh, okay'. It's not like you're taking a side. So people should be aware before they enter.

I'm talking about librarything in general not pro and con in particular.

When LT is a Library with a lounge, for me GR is a Mall with a coffee corner, everyone can visit them alternately.

They are both meeting points for bibliomaniacs. I'm pleased to be in the number ...

>14 EMS_24: Nice analogy.

>8 Kuiperdolin: What exactly do you mean when you say "the staff's commitment never to flush nonsense entries (while letting liberal goons delete actual quality content on a whim)"? The way I read your post it sounds like you think (or maybe you actually know of a way) one poster can actually delete another poster's message - if this is the case then how is it done?

> 8, > 17

"liberal goons"?

lol - now that is rich.

More like liberal pantywaists.

The only goons here at LT are ignorant-ass republicans, i.e., those held in thrall of the Evil Fat Cheeto.

To get back to the topic at hand:

I belong to both the GR and the LT sites. Each has its advantages. LT has dozens of good groups to join if you’re seeking interaction with other book geeks. There are informative group reads. The cataloguing system is, IMO, far superior and easier to, well, read than that on GR. The 75 Group in particular is mostly politics-free and both friendly and welcoming to newcomers.

GR does offer immediate feedback and discussion options on individual reviews, but I find the catalogue a little unwieldy and cumbersome. There are some groups on GR who read and discuss books in depth (taking a month to allow for plenty of discussion, for example). Constant Reader is one such group on GR.

Although I continue to use both sites, my choice comes down to LT, in part because I curate my groups and friends carefully so that I don’t continually face...confrontational posts.

I am on both of them and each has their own qualities. Each morning (I am retired so I have time) I read both of them. I read the messages even though I do not always reply. I really like the challenges.
Did you do the Pumpkin Hunt?

I'm happy to share with the things you do on GR and on LT. The only thing I don't do is the Pumpkin Hunt.

After a while, I'm back here again with a question for who has got an answer: How do you know that you know what you know? As far as GR and LT are concerned where do you know more about books?

I've decided to use Librarything as my main library after completing all steps and updates from GoodReads. They are two completely different platforms in the way of managing books and the writing associated with them. Access, filing, comments, reviews, observations, contacts and discussions vary widely. LT also has an Italian language version, GR no, only in English, which can make a difference. The fact remains, however, that my books are largely in English. This too makes a difference. Now I am going to travel through all the existing literature from the first book to the last one. A long and pleasant way and work ahead in good company ...