Amazon has owned Goodreads since 2013 and is the largest social media network devoted to books. Goodreads is accessible on Kindle e-readers, so it is easy to craft your own reading lists and and create goals. Amazon is currently testing out on the desktop a new way to display Goodreads book ratings on Kindle books. It is only available in the US right now and is in the testing phase. It should be rolled out to all users in the next couple of weeks. The Goodreads reviews are right next to the Kindle ratings, so users have two different options to see what people thinking about a title they are wanting to buy.
The Goodreads reviews are not showing up for all users yet, so don’t be afraid if you are not seeing it yet. I have heard that it is only displayed to people who have a valid credit card on file and have purchased many books over the course of 2022. The reviews are showing up for a number of books published by major publishers and also authors who use Kindle Direct Publishing. The ratings are not showing up on the mobile site yet, only the desktop version.
In preparation for the formal launch, Goodreads has been adding some new security features. In the past, it was really easy to create multiple accounts and review bomb a book that is controversial, in order to plummet it in the rankings, so it won’t show up in any bestseller list, or Amazon charts. Now new accounts have to verify their email addresses and login with one time passcodes.
I think further Goodreads integration into the wider Amazon ecosystem is a good idea. Amazon displays star ratings at the top of the page, whereas Goodreads presents them as a numerical value. This will appeal to people who are more visual or analytical. At the very least, it might prompt the wider public to check out what Goodreads is all about and signup for the service. Book people know of Goodreads, but the average person who buys digital or print books, does not.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
