Find, get, and share books you love on Goodreads, the world's largest site for readers and book recommendations. More than 75 million members have added more than 2.2 billion books to their shelves.
Goodreads is a free service.
FIND & GET BOOKS • Scan book covers to instantly read reviews and save it on your Want to Read shelf. • Get personalized recommendations based on your tastes. • Browse featured books and genres to discover more books you'll love. • See what your friends are reading. • Buy or borrow books with our convenient links.
TRACK & SHARE BOOKS • Search, rate, and review any book in our catalog. • Keep track of books you want to read and have read. • Add status updates for books you're currently reading. • Join the Reading Challenge to help you read more. • Discuss books through messages, reviews, and groups. • Recommend books to friends.
Data safety
Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.
This app may share these data types with third parties
Personal info, App activity, and Device or other IDs
This app may collect these data types
Location, Personal info and 6 others
Data is encrypted in transit
You can request that data be deleted
Ratings and reviews
Love the information and reviews. But there's no way to search for booklists, so a direct link is needed every time. Then once in a list, any time you backtrack from a book back to the list, it reloads the first 10 books again. Not useful when the list is 350 deep. Still using to read and write reviews, check genres, and get synopses.
28 people found this review helpful
Seem to have broken the stylesheet on the latest update. Parts of the app are showing white text on white or black on black so is unreadable. Search box is white on white so you can't see what you're typing. Edit dates read is totally broken, calendar comes up blank and tapping on it does nothing. Please fix!
6 people found this review helpful
Our team has resolved the issue with the background color. Please update your app to the latest version for this fix. Thank you for your patience, and if you have any other questions, visit //help.goodreads.com/s/
Great for recording books as you read them/recording books you'd like to read in the future Feedback would be giving the option to record dates books were read [in case you're adding a book finished a while ago, not today], an option to add a book a second time, and the option to record whether the book was an eBook, AudioBook or physical book. The reading challenges are cool, and I like being able to follow authors I like and see what they are reading and enjoying in addition to my friends.
This occurred on 4-11-23 Two people that identify as influencers for Goodreads left a review about my book that are lies. These two people live in the same city and since they filed a review on the same day I think they know each other. One said I like **** and there is no **** in my book. She called me a racist because I wrote favorably about Native *********. Another one said they couldn't follow the plot which follows the timeline of the ******** Revolution that I taught for thirty years in high school. They both said that you can not read the book for all the misspellings and I pointed out to Goodreads that I paid an editor thousands of dollars to go line by line. I do have three people in my book that are English as a second language and wrote dialogue phonically which the editor thought was great. I left commends on the reviews to defend myself and Goodreads removed them saying that I was not allowed to defend myself. Goodreads is showcasing these negative reviews on top of all my reviews saying that these are influencers and their reviews will come over any positive reviews that I have gotten since April. Goodreads said that they like the clicks that these two people get over any one else so they will continue to showcase them.
Business response
08/21/2023
Dear Better Business Bureau,
We received your correspondence of August 16, 2023 and are writing to respond to complaint 20480365.
There isn't any way to manually reorder the reviews on a book's page. The order is completely determined by our sorting algorithm, which takes into account length of the review, popularity of the reviewer, number of likes, how recently the review was posted, and a number of other factors. The order of reviews tends to change over time, as new reviews are added to a book's page.
In addition, we take the responsibility of supporting our community of readers and authors very seriously and require all members to follow our Community and Review Guidelines. We do not remove content posted by our members unless it breaks our rules.
The customer may reach out directly to us should they have any additional concerns. We also recommend visiting Goodreads Help for answers to many of our commonly asked questions.
Sincerely, The Goodreads Team
Customer response
08/21/2023
Complaint: 20480365
I am rejecting this response because: you are showcasing the bad reviews over the good ones and have a self-servicing excuse for doing it by saying you love the haters over the positive reviews because they get more responses and clicks. You have a one star rating on the BBB and two star rating on ****** and yelp, so post that on your website
Sincerely,
*************************
Business response
08/23/2023
Dear Better Business Bureau,
We received your correspondence of August 22, 2023, and are writing to respond to the rejection of complaint 20480365.
Wed like to thank the customer for their feedback. As previously mentioned, the order of the reviews on the book page is determined by an algorithm, and we cannot manually reorder them.
Sincerely, The Goodreads Team
Customer response
08/23/2023
Complaint: 20480365
I am rejecting this response because: Goodreads is encouraging hate-booming on this website. Your website is filled with hatred.
Sincerely,
*************************
- Complaint Type:
Problems with Product/Service I have been trying to solicit help from Goodreads to help me recover an old account ******************** Back in 2019 I contacted them about this and they helped at that time. Unfortunately, the same problem has reappeared recently and no one will help me. They sent me 1 email telling me to reset my password. But, that's the problem. I can't reset my password on the old account because I no longer have that email address. I can still see the old account on my phone [for some reason it is staying active there]. But, I need to be able to view my full history on my computer. I want to only have 1 account with ALL of my history. My new account ********************** doesn't have all of my book history and friends. I only created it hoping to retrieve my info, to no avail. . I am getting NO SUPPORT. My several requests have all been ignored. The reason I am filing this complaint is I am hoping someone will finally help me. Also note on ******************* Page [screenshot below] it says For customer support, re That's all it says. They don't allow messages. The only way that I could leave anything on their ******** page was to respond to one of their posts - which they ignored.
Business response
07/24/2023 Dear Better Business Bureau, We received your correspondence of July 19, 2023 and are writing to respond to complaint 20343640. For security reasons, we don't merge Goodreads accounts on users' behalf, and password reset notifications are sent to the email address associated with their Goodreads account only. If they can't access their email, they can contact their email service provider or create a new Goodreads account. We have communicated this information directly to the customer who filed the complaint, and they have our contact information should they have any further questions. Sincerely, The Goodreads Team Goodreads.com - Complaint Type:
Problems with Product/Service My complaint with Goodreads is similar to several others here. They refuse to remove my book, Bump in the Dark, in spite of the fact that it is no longer available. Their reasoning, as always, is that this is a "strict policy." A policy that somehow overrides my wishes as the author and makes no sense. Why recommend a book that no longer exists?I don't expect the result I'm asking for--to delete the display of my book from their pages--but hope that enough of these complaints will prompt this shoddy business to close down.
Business response
06/08/2023 Dear Better Business Bureau, We received your correspondence of June 03, 2023 and are writing to respond to complaint 20139179. We have a strict policy against removing published books that comply with our Guidelines from Goodreads. Goodreads is a complete database of all published works, and we are within our rights to continue to display information about the book for the purposes of discussion and analysis by Goodreads members. In addition, it's important to ** that members are able to rate and review books, including those that are no longer in print. The customer who contacted ******************** may reach out at any time should they have any further questions. Sincerely, The Goodreads Team
Customer response
06/08/2023
Complaint: 20139179 I am rejecting this response because: As a writer I have a strict policy, too, and it is this: My work is my own. I did not give Goodreads permission to post my book, Bump in the Dark. My original agreement was with Amazon Kindle. When I wanted to remove it from their lists I did not have to request permission. I had only to click one little button and it was done. No questions asked. Goodreads should do the same for any other writers who object to their argument of a "strict policy." Sincerely, ***************************** - Complaint Type:
Problems with Product/Service Dear Better Business Bureau,My formal complaint about Goodreads is related to the company's inefficient and untimely removal of an inappropriate route of communication comment on my author/book page. The company took 72 hours to remove a harassment comment. Last week, I contacted Goodreads help desk that the App was not updating my book feed, see reference ticket # ******* representative **************** on Friday 5-5-23. We corresponded by email and on 5-6-23 I notified her the author ***************************** had put an inappropriate route of communication comment on my author/book page for my work: "******* the Triumphant." I requested the comment to be removed and put under the correct book. She did not resolve the issue. On Saturday 5-6-23 and Sunday 5-7-23, I flagged the comment for removal as it was inappropriately placed under the wrong book. I also sent a message to the help desk, see ticket # *******. The comment was not removed until Monday morning. This is grossly unacceptable. The author ***************************** stated in her response comment that I blocked her comment. I did not block her comment, Goodreads did. The App icon features on this specific book review are disabled and grayed out. Even I was unable to comment on this review thru the App and had to login to the official Goodreads.com to add an additional comment. I had already notified the help desk of this technical difficulty with the App. It appears the author ***************************** did not login to the website or contact the help desk. As I did. Instead, she posted an inappropriate route of communication comment. I have already informed Goodreads that a formal BBB complaint would be filed, see ticket # ******* representative ******************** on 5-8-23. I was informed they are looking into the matter. It should have not taken 72 hours to remove the comment, especially on the weekend due to high traffic for potential book sales. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.Sincerely,*************************
Business response
05/12/2023 Dear Better Business Bureau, We received your correspondence of May 10, 2023 and are writing to respond to complaint 20036592. Our team carefully reviews reported items, and takes appropriate action on any content or accounts that violate our policies. It's worth noting that investigations can take some time, and we thoroughly investigate each case that is brought to our attention. Goodreads members are always welcome to contact ** with a link to any content that they feel is abusive, and the customer who contacted ******************** may reach out at any time should they have any further questions. Sincerely, The Goodreads Team
Customer response
05/15/2023 Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, ************************* - Complaint Type:
Problems with Product/Service Since February 2022, Goodreads **** has been illegally listing my works, three novellas and one full-length novel published under my imprint, Process Protocol LLC. *********************** - The Forerunner *********************** - C1 *********************** - Alidala *********************** - America is a Zoo Under title 17 of the United States Code, I rightfully own the aforementioned works and reserve the right for publication on any platform. I have been targeted by ill-advised reviewers coming from TikTok and ********* and it has hurt my business and my brand's credibility. Today, I sent a cease and desist letter to Goodreads **** and I strongly advise the company to respond to this BBB complaint and remove all my current works from their platform. I also demand for any future work from me, author ***********************, not to be listed on their platform. Any other outcome will lead to further legal actions.
Business response
04/26/2023 Dear Better Business Bureau, We received your correspondence of April 21, 2023 and are writing to respond to complaint 19965096. Goodreads is primarily a book review and recommendation site. We display basic information related to a book's publication, like the book cover and book blurb, so our members can keep track of books they've read or want to read on their online shelves. We don't remove listings of published works that comply with our guidelines, even if the books are no longer in print or available for sale, particularly if a book record has received ratings and reviews from Goodreads members We hope this is helpful, and the customer who contacted ******************** has our contact information should they have any further questions. Sincerely, The Goodreads Team
Customer response
04/26/2023
Complaint: 19965096 I am rejecting this response because: This response did not address my complaint. Even though Goodreads does not automatically sell products, it is our right to decide which platform we decide to publish our works on. Ownership laws do not only cover sales but also publication. In this case, there is also a case of defamation of character that led to a loss of income, emotional distress and death threats. I will proceed with a lawyer. Sincerely, ***** Dos ******Business response
04/27/2023 Dear Better Business Bureau, Weve received your response on April 26 regarding complaint 19965096. Please be advised that the decision to retain the book records on Goodreads is final, but we will continue to respond to any other questions or inquiries the customer might have through our standard contact channels. Wed like to reiterate that Goodreads is not a publishing platform, and only operates as a social cataloging website that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Sincerely, The Goodreads Team
Customer response
04/27/2023
Complaint: 19965096 I am rejecting this response because: Will initiate a class-action lawsuit with a conglomerate of indie authors who were victims of your toxic leadership and lackluster moderation. Sincerely, ***** Dos ****** - Complaint Type:
Guarantee/Warranty Issues I am the author and cover designer on two copyrighted books on Goodreads website. I have never given permission for them to display my books. I have ask several times to remove them but they refuse.
Business response
04/25/2023 Dear Better Business Bureau, We received your correspondence of April 17, 2023 and are writing to respond to complaint 19944363. Goodreads is primarily a book review and recommendation site. We display basic information related to a book's publication, like the book cover and book blurb, so our members can keep track of books they've read or want to read on their online shelves. We don't remove listings of published works that comply with our guidelines, even if the books are no longer in print or available for sale, particularly if a book record has received ratings and reviews from Goodreads members. We hope this is helpful, and the customer who contacted ******************** has our contact information should they have any further questions. Sincerely, The Goodreads Team
Customer response
04/25/2023
Complaint: 19944363 I am rejecting this response because: I own the Copyright to the book cover design of ***** Box Dancers and the copyright on the photograph of Better Off Mine. Using them is copyright infringement. Also the reviews on their website are not verified readers of the books. Anybody can leave a review for whatever reason. This is unethical to the authors as well as the reading public. I have given Goodreads the opportunity to remove my books before I file a lawsuit for copyright infringement. Sincerely, *******************Business response
04/27/2023 Better Business Bureau, Weve received your response on April 26 regarding complaint 19944363. Please be advised that the decision to retain the book records on Goodreads is final, but we will continue to respond to any other questions or inquiries the customer might have through our standard contact channels. Theyre also welcome to reach out to us about specific ratings or reviews that they believe are in violation of our guidelines. Sincerely, The Goodreads Team
Customer response
04/27/2023
Complaint: 19944363 I am rejecting this response because there is no reason to keep my books on your website the biggest reason is the owner and author does not want them there as it's a violation of my rights The book is no longer in print so there is no reason to recommend it to anyone. Also it's the right thing to do. Sincerely, *******************Business response
05/03/2023 Better Business Bureau, Weve received your response on April 27 regarding complaint 19944363. We have a strict policy against removing published books that comply with our Guidelines from Goodreads. Goodreads is a complete database of all published works, and we are within our rights to continue to display information about the book for the purposes of discussion and analysis by Goodreads members. In addition, it's important to us that members are able to rate and review books, including those that are no longer in print, or for sale. It looks like the book record has received a number of ratings/text reviews, and it wouldn't be fair to delete user content. We're sorry that we can't comply with the request. Sincerely, The Goodreads Team
Customer response
05/03/2023
Complaint: 19944363 I am rejecting this response because: the reviews on Goodreads are not verified purchasers of the book. The book is no longer for purchase so there is not any reason for it to be there. Also like I keep trying to tell you my cover design and photograph on the books are copyright protected and cannot be used without my permission. Sincerely, ******************* - Complaint Type:
Problems with Product/Service I have asked them repeatedly to take down my book information. A book I removed and that is not in print. Apparently now they feel they own the rights to my work and are refusing to remove it off their site. Authors, beware! Do not publish through Amazon or Goodreads will use your information without your consent forever and will claim ownership to any images or descriptions of your work. Very dishonest. I never would have published through them if I knew this.
Business response
02/28/2023 Dear Better Business Bureau, We received your correspondence of February 27, 2023 and are writing to respond to complaint 19506053. As we we have previously informed ************, we have a policy against removing published books that comply with our guidelines as Goodreads is striving to be a complete database of all published books, even if the books are no longer in print or available for sale. We are not selling or distributing the book on Goodreads and we are within our rights to continue to display information about this book, including the cover image, for purposes of discussion, evaluation and analysis by Goodreads members. However, as the books are no longer for sale, and there are no ratings of the books, we were able to make an exception and remove these book records from the general catalog. ************ can contact us directly if she has any further questions. Sincerely, The Goodreads Team Goodreads.com
Customer response
02/28/2023 Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, ******************* - Complaint Type:
Billing/Collection Issues I have been unsuccessful in requesting that Goodreads deletes the account and books associated with the account in my old and current name. They were informed I legally changed my name, the content they are sharing is no longer published and should not be listed. They initially fixed it, one of their representatives changed it back and refuses to delete the information. They advised their goal is to avoid deleting information, but they have been advised the **** they are listing is not viable. The publisher and I no longer have a relationship, and they have pulled all of the books with their ****, nor is the metadata Goodreads refuses to delete live. Goodreads also had another authors books listed under my profile for years, which did not belong to me. I had to alert them to remove the book from my profile. Below is the last correspondence from them:Sent: Tue, Nov 22, 2022 3:18 am Subject: Re: [#*******] book_records: Name Change/ Books Hi *******,Thank you for writing back in. Goodreads is primarily a book review and recommendation site. We are not selling or distributing the book; the books you see on Goodreads are records of books, not the books themselves. We display metadata about a book's publication so our members can keep track of books they've read or want to read on their online shelves. We also don't remove listings of published works that comply with our guidelines, as Goodreads is striving to be a complete database of all published books, even if the books are no longer in print or available for sale.Please be aware that this will be our final email on the matter.Please let us know if we can help with anything else.Sincerely,The Goodreads Team
Business response
12/09/2022 We received your correspondence of December 1, 2022 and are writing to respond to complaint 18487313. We have a policy against removing published books that comply with our guidelines as Goodreads is striving to be a complete database of all published books, even if the books are no longer in print or available for sale. We are not selling or distributing the book on Goodreads and we are within our rights to continue to display information about this book, including the cover image, for purposes of discussion, evaluation and analysis by Goodreads members. We also dont delete accounts on users behalf for security reasons, but users are able to delete their own Goodreads account from the Account Settings page, by clicking Delete my account at the bottom of the page, and then confirming the removal on the next page. We have communicated this information directly to ************** who has our contact information should she have any further questions. Regards, The Goodreads Team Goodreads.com
Customer response
12/09/2022
Complaint: 18487313 I am rejecting this response because: "We have a policy against removing published books that comply with our guidelines as Goodreads is striving to be a complete database of all published books, even if the books are no longer in print or available for sale. We are not selling or distributing the book on Goodreads and we are within our rights to continue to display information about this book, including the cover image, for purposes of discussion, evaluation and analysis by Goodreads members." We also dont delete accounts on users behalf for security reasons, but users are able to delete their own Goodreads account from the Account Settings page, by clicking Delete my account at the bottom of the page, and then confirming the removal on the next page. -- I have asked Goodreads to provide me with terms where I agreed that I would be part of their process to continue publishing a book that is no longer in print or available for sale. I need those terms that I signed and/or agreed to with a date timestamp. They are actually not in their right to continue displaying said book, because the metadata was deleted by the publisher and Goodreads parent company. Goodreads advised I could delete the account, but I cannot delete the books without the account. This is counterproductive as the purpose is to NOT have any affiliation with Goodreads. Additionally their note that I can contact them, per the prior communication they have advised me that they would NOT respond to any of my further correspondences thus the need to defer to BBB. Additionally, messages to their leadership team have gone unanswered. Sincerely, ******************Business response
12/14/2022 Better Business Bureau, Weve received your response on December 9 regarding complaint 18487313. Goodreads has a strict policy against deleting records for books that have already been published when the book adheres to our Book Records Guidelines, as Goodreads is striving to be a complete database of all published works, whether they are currently in print or not. To add on, Goodreads does not publish, republish, or sell any of the books that appear on the site. These book records are displayed for the purpose of discussion by members of our community. Weve created a new edition for each of their books with the authors preferred covers, and set them as the "default" edition on their author profile. That way, the only book record that appears in search and on her author profile will be this new edition. The old edition would only be available in the "Other Editions" pane on the book page. These changes are usually made by authors themselves or by Goodreads Librarians, and are aligned with our book record guidelines. All our terms, and guidelines can be found through this link: //www.goodreads.com/about/terms Please be advised that the decision to retain the book records on Goodreads is final, but we will continue to respond to any other questions or inquiries ****************** might have. Sincerely, The Goodreads Team
Customer response
12/16/2022 Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. It seems they should have done this first instead of having it escalate to the BBB. Sincerely, ****************** - Complaint Type:
Problems with Product/Service I require deletion of the account associated with ************************* *****************, enigmatheobvious. Communicating with the company so far has been a brick wall, even though Ive provided the information to an alternative resolution to me being able to restore the account [I cant] to delete the account [I literally cant]. This was reached in email. I provided it twice.It was either ignored or not read twice. I have followed up the two days prior, to now 18OCT22, and such hasnt been acted on. It needs deleted because it is a security and personal risk [this doesnt need explained but it has to do with trying to be a penetration tester later on]. The company needs to act and delete *my* account at ************************* Theyve been provided details such as my address/postal code, books on the private shelf, and all of that and still have yet to act. Looking at the other complaints/reviews so far: it looks like the company has done this before to people in similar positions [or worse] so Im hoping that it will be expedient in this to set a new record. There is the whole email dialogue too, which Im assuming yall already have. With kind regards, ************************* Niece With kind regards, **************
Business response
10/19/2022 Dear Better Business Bureau, We communicated an update with ************** regarding this complaint and our resolving actions on 10/19/2022. Sincerely, The Goodreads Team
Customer response
10/20/2022 Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, *********************** P.S. I would like to update my review to reflect the end positive experience overall that ended up being experienced. - Complaint Type:
Problems with Product/Service Using two Goodreads profiles entitled *** Gentle, I sent two friend requests to the ****************************************** author page. *************************** appeared to reject the request from the profile with the ******************** email address. The friend request from this profile was resent. Currently, both profiles have pending friend requests to ***************************. I would like Goodreads to activate the accept feature of the friend request button in both cases, so that both *** Gentle profiles are on ******-Goldmans friend list.
Business response
07/14/2022 Dear Better Business Bureau,
We received your correspondence of July 14, 2022 and are writing to respond to complaint 17564510. Goodreads staff is unable to accept any friend requests on behalf of authors or members for privacy and security reasons. Friend requests can only be accepted or denied by users themselves, through their own accounts. We have also communicated this information directly with Mr. Gentle. Regards, The Goodreads Team Goodreads.comCustomer response
07/14/2022 Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, ***** Gentle
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How do I clear my want to read on Goodreads?
How do I remove a book from the "Want to Read" list? lukastymo likes this. Updates | Shelves | Recommendations | Friends menu and find the book in question where you can choose "Remove from Shelf" as an option on the books drop down menu.
How do I clear my rating on Goodreads?
Navigate to the shelf the book is on from My Books . Tap the stars under the book in question. Select Clear Rating.
Why won't Goodreads let me review?
It may be that the Goodreads servers are over capacity: please try again in a bit. You may also try to sign out and sign back in [or force-close and relaunch the app] to refresh your user session.” What can I do to fix this?
How do I delete a post on Goodreads?
To remove a status update [progress update] from Goodreads on desktop:.
Navigate to the book page with which your status update is associated..
Scroll down to Ratings & Reviews..
From your rating and/or review, click the date link..
From Reading Progress, click the percentage status update..
Click Delete this status update..