Amazon Kills Shelfari
It’s official, the day that I’ve been dreading for several years has arrived. Amazon, which owns both Goodreads and Shelfari, has decided that it no longer cares to maintain Shelfari. Officially, “Shelfari is merging with Goodreads.” But let’s call it what it is: a shutdown. I feel like I’m losing a best friend and I’m pissed off.
For those of you who don’t know about Shelfari, it is a book cataloguing and discussion site. I’m a member of both it and Goodreads, and they each offer different things that I like and use. What makes Shelfari special is its passionate and supportive community of serious readers. Goodreads is great but ,when it comes to book recommendations, I always turn to my Shelfari friends. Why? Because my Goodreads friend list is populated primarily by Facebook friends — many of whom read relatively little or and have vastly different tastes.
Shelfari is superior to Goodreads when it comes to discussions. The Shelfari site had the ability to “nest” replies within discussion threads, thus allowing for more in-depth and active discussions. It has been my experience that Shelfari members are much more serious about their reading (on average) and also are more courteous and respectful. There’s a lot of shaming that occurs on Goodreads that doesn’t happen on Shelfari. For example, check out this article from Book Riot that came out last year.
The worst thing about the whole “merger” is that Amazon is giving Shelfari members just two months to move all their data over to Goodreads. I actively participate in two Shelfari groups that have been operating since 2008/2009 and have thousands of discussion threads, challenges, and games. The move will likely kill one of those groups completely and severely impact the other. So two months just doesn’t cut it – it is rude and sends a message that Amazon doesn’t truly care about some of its best customers.
I get that Goodreads is a giant compared to Shelfari and it makes economic sense to be prioritized. Yet, Amazon should know that Shelfari members are VERY voracious readers. Last year I read over 170 books, many specifically recommended by members in my various Shelfari groups and I buy most of my books through Amazon. One of my groups has 21,000 members listed on the roster and the other group has several thousand. And those are just two of the groups on the site. That is a lot of potential income. How costly can it be to maintain both sites and keep readers (who spend lots of money on Amazon) happy?
Right now I’m wallowing in self-pity and watching my fellow Shelfari members grieve the loss of a site that has become so special to so many of us. So, thanks to Amazon for destroying something that we all love. From what I’m seeing on the discussion threads, it looks like you have sent a lot of potential business to LibraryThing and Leafmarks.
I know a bunch of my Shelfari friends are follow us here. What are your thoughts?
UPDATE 5/31/16: Turns out that Leafmarks (mentioned above) is also shutting down. Members received an email notifying them of the closure of the site effective July 1. I ultimately migrated to Good Reads since I already had all my books there. I also use Library thing but all my groups are on GR. I feel bad for all the people who decided to migrate to Leafmarks rather than one of the two more established sites. Now they have to make yet another move.
Feeling lost and want to know where to go? Here are some options:
Good Reads: You can track books, join book discussions, add friends/connections, get recommendations. Good Reads has a social media feel and since I’ve been active there it appears that they are making their interface look more and more like facebook. Downsides: 1) It’s owned by Amazon (that can be a plus depending on your outlook), 2) it is huge so hard to maintain those close connections that you likely had at Shelfari, 3) no nested discussions and don’t expect it anytime soon. Good reads users are very vociferous about their dislike of nested discussions. Upsides: 1) Amazon has clearly made it the platform of choice so it will be around for a while, 2) great database with options to add different editions and covers, 3) lots of authors are there so plenty of opportunity to interact with favorite authors, 4) a wide variety of discussion groups, and 5) they have a mobile app.
Library Thing: You can join groups, track books, join book discussions, participate in early reader program to get free galleys/arcs. If what you are looking for is tracking your books, Library Thing is the best site given the extensive number of features for cataloguing. Downsides: 1) harder to use than other sites and requires some playing around to figure out all the features; 2) no nested discussions; 3) no mobile app; 4) small fee if you want to catalogue more than 200 books. Upsides: 1) great cataloguing site with many features; 2) early reader program; 3) only partially owned by Amazon so for those who dislike Amazon; 4) really friendly users and helpful admins.
Litsy: A new Iphone app that is like a combination of instagram and goodreads. Upsides: great visuals, ability to link photos with short blurbs, reviews, and quotes. Downsides: Only available on iphone (for now), not as good to catalogue books and not that conducive to in depth discussions.
Rifflebooks: I just joined this site so I will come back again later to update. Thanks to one of our readers for letting us know about this site. It lets you track books, create lists, make friends, and they will provide reading recommendations. I’m still exploring all its features.
A few other places to check out include:
Book Likes
aNobii
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jenp27
Nicole Del Sesto
The Reader's Room 
Reblogged this on authorkdrose.
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I’m very unhappy about this. When I initially looked for a book site way back in 2009, I felt that Shelfari was the best fit for what I wanted and I have not been disappointed. I guess I will be updating my other sites and I also really hope that we can find a way to continue PBT.
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I haven’t been very active on shelfari in the last few months but I am kind of in a reading lull. Some of my favorite reads have come from challenges in the shelfari groups I was in or recommended by other members. I am never really got into using goodreads. I really hope Amazon spend sometime improving the groups in goodreads. It is a huge loss and I will miss my shelfari.
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While I understand Amazon’s desire not to run two sites, one that it will not be updating, what I find hard to fathom is their unwillingness to work with group administrators to facilitate the move of their groups. What’s worse is that I am pretty sure the Shelfari product managers know that the reason all the people haven’t migrated is because they like nested messaging so that conversations can be deeper and more thoughtful. That’s a feature that I’m pretty sure could have been implemented in the many years Amazon has controlled Goodreads. So as a result, arguably some of Amazon’s biggest book reading customers will be disenchanted and may move to alternative web sites. Communities that have been together over seven years will cease to exist, and these communities DRIVE book sales and ereader sales. I would say the average reader in my group is reading 65 books a year. And we all write reviews of our books – – in great part because that is the foundation of it – – and often post those reviews in multiple places (blogs, Shelfari, Goodreads, and Facebook). Unfortunately, it’s a situation where business interests win, but I think if Amazon really cared, it could have subsumed Shelfari – – groups, members and all – – into Goodreads, so that our communities could continue. But I suspect that once again, our over regulated climate prevents unsuspecting consumers from being placed on a site they did not choose . . .so no one wins.
I am just heartbroken at the thought of losing this community myself and three other administrators so carefully fostered. It’s been a complete labor of love. One we have all devoted many hours to creating. The thought of trying to recreate all the work is overwhelming.
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I tried Goodreads once and found it very user UNfriendly. Shelfari I found so much better, and as you said, with many more serious readers. Amazon either does not realize how much these serious readers spend with them, or else doesn’t care. I lost a book group once before with Frugal Reader, and the thought of losing what we have on Shelfari is devastating. Even if we do succeed in moving the whole group of Play Book Tag, it won’t be the same without the nested discussions. I agree that if Amazon really cared, it shouldn’t be that difficult to add the Shelfari features we love to Goodreads to make it that much better. I truly hope that our community won’t die, but I suspect that even if we keep the heart alive, we will lose a lot of limbs.
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Oh Jen I am so devastated. I love Shelfari especially my beloved groups. I don’t know what I will do without them. Ironically I created a Goodreads account this year. I recently bought a new phone which was android and did not support my 1001 book app so I felt I needed at least a shelf I could access from my phone. With my husbands help I managed to upload all my books and reviews successfully but that is little consolation to losing the site I love the best. I am going to go cry now, sniff, sniff.
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I am absolutely devastated by Amazon’s decision to shut down Shelfari. I have been a member there for 8 years and have been one of 4 administrators that has been one of the most active groups on the site since its inception 7 years ago. Our group is filled with book lovers who not only love to read but enjoy discussing, dissecting, recommending and reviewing books. We have become a community, many of us have become friends in real life, not just on the web. We have met and gone to book festivals and shared in each others joys and sorrows. We care deeply for all our members. And today Amazon (of which I am a long time Prime Member) yanked the rug from under us. It didn’t come as a shock exactly, since they basically abandoned the site when they bought Goodreads. But to give us just two months to find a new home and being told they will not migrate any of our discussions is heartbreaking. We have years of discussions, reviews, challenges, lists and more. To have it all end without much support from Amazon is heartbreaking. We administrators will spend the next few weeks trying to copy and save all the discussions we find most vital to our community. I feel as if Amazon turned it’s back on us. Overwhelmed at the loss.
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Hi, Linda. How are you going to save the discussions? My admin friends and I are trying to figure that out.
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We have a google docs page set up and are saving information there. (My co-admins were the ones doing it, so I don’t know details on exactly HOW to go about doing that!)
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Heartbroken. Yes, I can (and have) duplicate my bookshelf on Goodreads, but I can’t duplicate the community of reader friends. People who have shared their passion for books with me. Who have cheered my good news, and consoled me in tough times. We will find a way to continue, but it won’t be the same.
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I find Goodreads harder to navigate from my tablet, and that recommendations that pop up are the books that are trending. No, I really do not want to read Grey by EL James, thank you very much!
Seriously, though, I feel that through Shelfari I’ve found friends from around the world, and that the community on Goodread won’t feel as friendly, or as intelligent. I’m hoping the 1001 group will find a new home elsewhere, either on Leafmarks or Library Thing.
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Reblogged this on ArtSeblis and commented:
This is a sad for book lovers. Shelfari’s strength is its group discussions. This is where I met so many friends. The thought of losing my bookshelves is terrifying. I tried using the Migrate Button — it doesn’t work! Too many redirects: “There Was an Error with This Oauth Request.” The thought of losing all my group discussions (since September 2007) is heartbreaking.
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heartbreaking is the right word. The export didn’t work for me either when I tried a few years ago (in the fear that this day was coming). I got a bunch of odd books uploaded – things like cliff notes versions, etc. Hopefully they sort it all out in the next two months so we don’t end up having to import hundreds/thousands of books titles manually.
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I got further in the export today. I’ll check back tomorrow and see if my books made it
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Don’t count on the export. Mine didn’t carry over 65+ books (for no stated reason) and garbled a significant numbers of others. As an added bonus none of the date or rating information made the transition, so I may as well have done it manually, since I’m going to have to go back through and edit them all anyways.
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I dont use but two mo this notice does sound a vary cavalier approach to customers. Library Thing is better than Goodreads in terms of the quality of discussions but I stopped using it because it’s not very user friendly
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That’s why we’ve heard. We at trying to decide where to move certain groups next and LT Simone of the options
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The loss of Shelfari is devastating. I feel like I have lost a dear friend. In a way I am. This site has been so much more to me than just a website. I have made so many friends through Shelfari that I never would have met. These are the people I trust to make recommendations, it is because of these people I have learned to examine my books and learned what I truly love to read. My friends there supported me through the death of my sister, and I have seen them do the same for others. So yes, it is more than just a website, it is my online home. It cannot be easily replaced, and Goodreads does not provide that same environment of belonging. That Amazon is treating them as interchangeable is a huge mistake.
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Well, that made me cry 😦
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I literally cried!
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Didn’t mean to make you all cry!
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Sara, that’s the second time in two days you’re making me cry!!
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I haven’t used Shelfari but I sympathise with your sense of loss. I used to use Goodreads before Amazon acquired it, and quite liked it as a book tracking tool. I’ve never found it a friendly place, though, and have never really spoken to other users who weren’t already friends offline. Once Amazon took over it went badly downhill – I couldn’t find books, it didn’t update properly, book catalogue data was incorrect. I moved to Library Thing. I haven’t really immersed myself over there, but people generally seem friendlier in the Groups I’ve joined. Discussions don’t nest, which is frustrating and stops meaningful discussion happening, but I get the impression that the people who run LT are open to suggestions. Maybe one of the Admins of a large Shelfari group could start a conversation with them about migrating content? When I joined it was just after Amazon took over Goodreads, and they were really helpful getting new members set up, even offering a membership fee waiver on the lifetime membership so people could migrate their full catalogues.
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I’ve heard that there is a way of nesting comments. We are debating where to migrate our groups. I haven’t used it though I have heard that it’s a supportive place with more serious readers than GR. I do like some features of goodreads but I don’t find discussions there useful.
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LibraryThing is my next-favourite after shelfari (then leafmarks, then GR). I think some are turned off by the small fee. One of the things many of us love about shelfari, though, is the nested discussions in the groups. Unfortunately, LT doesn’t have that, either.
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I can’t speak to group/talk/comment features, but I *can* tell you that the fee for cataloging beyond 200 items in LT is negotiable – there’s a “pay what you want” option. And if you don’t want to pay anything, tell me: I’ll pay for you. I’m that certain that you’ll enjoy being part of the LibraryThing culture.
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I wonder if that really is an issue for people. Isn’t it only $25 for lifetime membership? Cindy, have you heard people complaining about the fee?
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Jen, I’ve seen one person mention it specifically. Beyond that, I guess I was just assuming that was a barrier for people.
Thank you so much, glitterfern! I’ll pass along that information, as well. 🙂
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And for anyone for whom it is a barrier, hey! We lifted it! 🙂
http://blog.librarything.com/main/2016/01/shelfari-import-2016/
If you import your library from Shelfari, either as a new user or an existing LibraryThing member, you receive a free Lifetime Membership.
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How do I add people as friends? I just joined.
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Great to hear, glitterfem! Thank you!
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What’s your user name on LT, Cindy? I’m missizicks.
They posted on the LT blog yesterday that they’re offering the same free automatic upgrade to lifelong membership for anyone transferring their Shelfari accounts http://blog.librarything.com/main/2016/01/shelfari-import-2016/ – worth a look?
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Oh, glitterfern already told you! Pays not to reply to replies in the app, Jan!
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Jen, when you’re looking at someone’s profile, the actions you can take are on the top right:
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Thank you! I should have waited because I figured it out.
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Whoops, looks like this platform doesn’t like my embedded image 🙂 But, I just saw your comment, so I guess we’re all set!
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Jen, did you find out how to find people on LT? Off the top of my head, I believe you can search for their name in the main box, then on the left menu, you can select “members”. Or something along those lines. Does that help? Of have you already figured it out?
Mrs. H, I am LibraryCin there (and on Goodreads, and Leafmarks, as well). It’s a unique name (and I’m not very creative to come up with other names!), so I’ve kept it on all my sites. 🙂
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Mrs. H, please find me and “friend” me. I have been so busy, there is so much activity with everyone moving everywhere, so it’s hard to keep everything straight, while I try to keep up with all the discussions on all four sites! Plus to help my co-admins of one of the large shelfari groups figure out where we’ll move to… It’s just been crazy. So, I’ll admit to not (at least not now) looking for people or friending them. I am however, accepting those requests for anyone who finds me!
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Yes, thanks
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Cindy, I found you and have sent a friend request!
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Yes, I am also devastated to say the least and like many others felt this coming and went through the grueling task of transferring my shelf to Goodreads. I have tried many times to familiarize myself with the layout but I have to say it feels congested, not user friendly at all and kind of frustrating to use !! I have met so many readers through Shelfari and know who shares my reading tastes and look to their book choices and rely on their opinion. I will miss that terribly. Another thought I had was the readers on Shelfari are so incredibly respectful of opinions that might differ from their own (which is part of the joy of reading and talking about our differences, seeing different perspectives) However, I experienced something the total opposite on Goodreads. One of my reviews was criticized by another reader because this person felt I didn’t realize something specific about one of the characters and sent me an email with an accusatory tone. As if I would have liked the book better had I known and believed the author secretly was trying to convey this? No. This person liked the book I did not and this fact would not have changed my mind. It was disrespectful and needless to say I didn’t comment. I do feel it may keep me from posting extensive reviews though. Who needs things like that about something they love………….books and reading. But I have never had any experience like that on Shelfari. Everyone I have met truly feels like my personal book club and family. I will miss it and my reader friends.
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I joined Shelfari in 2008 when I lived in a rural part of Southeast Texas. At the time I had absolutely no one with whom to discuss books. On a fluke I just googled on line book communities and Shelfari popped up. I came to love the community. Since I travel so much I have had the opportunity to meet many of my on line friends and that has deepened my bond because I have enjoyed every one of those of those encounters. When I first joined I had a very defined reading profile. First, I was able to connect with people who shared that same enthusiasm. But, maybe more importantly, it helped me expand the breadth of my reading. For instance, I have never read science-fiction. Last year I read three books and added one of those to my all-time favorite list.
As #Anita mentioned, I’m most frustrated with the prospect of losing the conversation history. I administer a group called the Chronological Read of American History. We are reading presidential biographies in order and are up to Eisenhower. We have 12 biographies left! All of that previous discussion is more than simply conversation, it is a resource to us. I refer back to a thread often as my interest gets piqued on a topic related to American history.
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I’m basically losing my online book club of ten years. Librarything has all my data. Goodreads is awful. Nothing but trolls and stupid memes and barely literate people who think they are big readers.
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P.S. It feels like I’m being forced to move all my favorite personal belongings to a house I don’t care for : (
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Great analogy.
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I think I created a Shelfari account several years ago but I never used it, and I never knew until now that it could have offered what I’ve been missing with Goodreads. Even without knowing the alternatives were better, I know Goodreads doesn’t provide the community I want. I’m sad for all of you who are losing that community, and I’m sad for myself that I don’t have the opportunity to find it now. That’s so disappointing.
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This is heartbreaking for me. I have made so many friends through shelfari. When my husband unexpectedly died and i was left as a widow at a very young age nearly 7 years ago the people of shelfari were there for me. I haven’t found another online book community where people care like they do at shelfari. Shelfari has helped broadened my reading immensely and led me to some fantastic books. If amazon would copy group content over to goodreads that would be one thing but as it is this is losing at least 8 years of history.
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I am also very unhappy with this merge. I tried Bookreads a few years back and received a barrage of daily emails from them. I finally shut them down and sent their emails straight to spam. I don’t spend much time in chat rooms, but have been with Shelfari for years. I love the virtual bookshelf! I have 979 books to move, but I will be jumping ship anyway, and heading to LibraryThings or some other. Any Suggestions? bookrabbit.com had positive feedback, but they appear to be down.
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I have no idea yet. We are trying out a variety of platforms including leafmarks, library thing, and attempting to see if we can recreate our groups at GR.
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I have been with Shelfari for years and I was so disappointed when I opened up my site last night and saw the notice they were merging with Goodreads. I gave Goodreads a try when Amazon got involved with Shelfari, but then I barraged with hordes of emails every day. I finally shut Goodreads down and sent their emails to Spam. I don’t spend a lot of time in chat rooms, but I have loved Shelfari’s virtual bookshelf. I have 979 books to move, but I’m jumping ship anyway. I’m looking at LibraryThings, but am not sure I like their layout. I read that bookrabbit.com is a good site. Opinions? Suggestions?
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Hi Wendy, I’m no Goodreads fan, but you can definitely turn off all those emails. Let me know if you need help doing so — I’ll try to assist.
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Hi Anita,
I could turn the emails off … or… I’m loading some books onto Leafmarks to feel it out. It’s a bit slow, but offers better cover jacket options than LT – and you can add books to the database if they don’t already have them. It feels a bit like Shelfari way back when Shelfari was just a mote. If you try it let me know what you think.
Wendy
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Wendy, are you an iPhone user? The new LibraryThing app has an awesome cover uploaded that allows you to add your own cover image and edit it and upload a hi-res image to the site. Otherwise, you can also use the “change cover” link when you’re looking at a title on LibraryThing to choose a member uploaded cover image.
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Hi Glitterfem does library thing have an android app had a look but couldn’t see one. Everyone else I am BookWormM at LT feel free to friend me 🙂
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Hi, BookWorm! No android app yet; it’s in the plans, but it’s not on the current timeline. We have some other exciting stuff launching this month, and once that’s rolled out and we’ve settled in with everything existing, Tim will be better able to determine when that might happen.
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Thanks for the update 🙂
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oops. I just signed up and it looks like I commented twice. Sorry folks.
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No worries. I think it’s because I have to approve your first comment then the next ones are automatically approved. This often means that people hit reply twice because the first time it looks like it didn’t go through.
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Like Jen I am devastated, I love Shelfari and the people I have met there. That’s how me and Jen met and arranged to collaborate on this blog its a very sad day.
Leafmarks do offer the ability to nest conversations but the community is not there yet, that said with no Shelfari it may be that the community suddenly appears.
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I used shelfari for years before amazon took it over yesterday I tried all day and I mean all day to get to my book shelf could not find my books I did notice that you could catalog you kindle books but that isn’t what I wanted so I got in touch with customers service first the person could barely speak English then she kept putting putting me on hold so she could find out the answer to my questions I finally hung up very annoyed
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Full disclosure: I work for LibraryThing for Libraries, which is part of LibraryThing, but only began working here in 2014 and have been a member of LibraryThing since 2007. I’m commenting here as a member, not an employee.
While my initial reason for joining LibraryThing was to be able to see if I already owned a book when shopping, I’ve found the Talk threads to be by far the best thing about LT. The 75 Book Challenge is especially fun, and very active. There are other challenge groups, game groups, special interest groups, and any member can create a group at any time.
I encourage Shelfari admins to take a look around LibraryThing and consider it as a possible new spot for your groups. I know it won’t immediately have the cozy, familiar feel that Shelfari has now, but I think that lots of book lovers could benefit by your bringing great people and great energy to a place where you will not only be welcome, but may even meet some new folks who will fit right in. 🙂
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Thank you! From what I am seeing, admins have been seriously thinking about moving there. Quite a few of our admins are very active over there already and have noted the same benefits and upside to your site. I will definitely be checking it out.
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Excellent! Look me up if you end up over here 🙂
https://www.librarything.com/profile/kgriffith
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[Work hat on, but cocked at a rakish angle]
Also, my colleague Loranne is currently writing up a wiki for Shelfari folks to make the transition as simple as possible: if you’d like to reach out to her, or to share her email address with your groups (anyone, not just Jen) please feel free: loranne@librarything.com
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LT is my next-favourite site after shelfari. I have been trying to promote it, but I know some people are turned off by the fee. The other tricky one is that people love the nested discussion threads at shelfari. Leafmarks has this, but neither LT nor GR have it.
I am in one of the Challenge groups (in addition to a few others) and the people there are great! I would love to see more shelfarians over there, as well!
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So far I’m in the 50 Book Challenge, Japanese Literature, Monthly Author Reads, and Crime, Thriller & Mystery groups, but only active in 50 Book Challenge. I keep being distracted from Monthly Author by other reading priorities. I’m thinking of trying Club Reads at some point. I’ve had some good conversations with other LT members and picked up some recommendations I might not otherwise have encountered.
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Mrs. H., I’m in the 2016 Category Challenge (plus a few other groups where I am active, but that’s the main one; I guess I’m fairly active in the Horror group, as well). I’ve been watching the Month Author Reads group, but am not sure I’ll join. I actually was admin of a similar group on shelfari, but we had such a small membership, we will not be moving the group. I did recommend for anyone interested to check out LT’s similar group.
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There are petitions being held. Please consider signing:
https://www.change.org/p/amazon-com-prevent-shelfari-goodreads-merger
https://www.change.org/p/amazon-com-please-don-t-get-rid-of-shelfari
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I think most of us on here have already signed, but this will help those who haven’t
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we need thousands of signatures, not 100’s … I wish we could get a wider audience.
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Agreed, Nicole! 😦
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I am very unhappy with the merger. Like you, I use both sites for different reasons but I prefer Shelfari. The discussions, the groups and especially the interface and shelf widgets are the best. Too bad these features are not merging over to Goodreads.
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I joined shelfari in 2007. Got active in groups in early 2008.
I have met and made so many friends at shelfari (met a few in “real life”, as well, and even travelled on a cruise with one person I met on shelfari!). I like the look of it best (among other things – the people, the nested discussion threads, the tags…). I felt “empty” when I first read the news.
I am very upset with Amazon. Yes, they’ve been neglecting shelfari since they bought GR, but it’s still a blow.
LibraryThing is my next favourite, with leafmarks following. Very upset about the whole thing…
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Reblogged this on Kaleidoscope of a dream.
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I haven’t been active on Shelfari in a while. I use Fictfact and Leafmarks. I think Leafmarks has the best discussions, reviews…and some really nice people. I am on Goodreads too, but it is so unwieldy for discussions that I no longer really participate in discussions there. I think you can set up a group on Leafmarks and I KNOW it’s easy to port books over there. Goodreads lets you export your entire catalog (and so does Shelfari now, I think). I just imported it to Leafmarks and was good to go. It even grabbed the reviews and stars. I probably did lose the private comments I leave for myself, but I’ve never checked (and now I leave the private comments on Leafmarks so I’m not sure I can check!)
Amz never did much with Shelfari. I was on a fantasy reading group there that rocked and some of the bargain find groups were good too.
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Last post with my work hat on, promise, I just want to make sure as many of you know as might be interested: LibraryThing is waiving the membership fee for Shelfari imports. New user or existing, your account will be automatically given or upgraded to Lifetime Membership status when you import from Shelfari.
http://blog.librarything.com/main/2016/01/shelfari-import-2016/
Hope to see some of you over there on Talk threads! 🙂
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Thanks for the mention of Leafmarks, I’d managed to miss it all this time! As soon as I’m done with this post I’m moving everything over there.
I am saddened and legitimately ticked off that Shelfari is being shut down. I have never liked Goodreads, and I don’t feel that it offers even a small part of what Shelfari has. Every time I’ve been to the site it feels like high school: small, tight cliques who have nothing better to do than harass anyone who disagrees with them.
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I agree that it has a different vibe. I’ve been trying to have a dialogue with people in a thread there and while most people are nice, there is a very vocal group who is pretty hostile and rude to those of us trying to discuss our feedback
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A lot of Shelfari cast aways have found their way to Leafmarks, and there are several groups and discussions already going. The communities there are pretty easy to navigate and the whole atmosphere is way better than Goodreads. I would encourage people to skip “merging” with Goodreads and just come on over
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I gave up on both Shelfari and GoodReads when I found LibraryThing. Granted my groups aren’t 21,000 strong, but the groups which I belong and host are with people with my same reading interests. I read over 100 books a year and because of my wonderful LT friends have found many books I never would have considered before. Check us out, we welcome newcomers with open arms!
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I should say the group was huge but the number actively participating was fairly small. Thanks for the welcome. I’ll probably join to check it out. You all seem very friendly and a sting community of readers. I find the interface takes some getting used to but I guess that’s probably true of any site
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Jen, my recommendation for joining LT, and probably any cataloging site really, is to start small. I had no idea how much LibraryThing could *do* until I’d been around for a while, and at first I just added things willy-nilly, didn’t tag or tagged erratically, etc. Collections weren’t a thing yet and I was a beta tester for them, so my catalog is really all over the place with them. Now, with the in-depth knowledge that I have about how I really want to use the site (on the cataloging side at least), I am honestly contemplating clearing my library and starting fresh. (I’ve also done two huge book purges and instead of clearing those books, I’ve tried to keep track of them – less useful and more complicated than I initially thought!)
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Cyderry, I stalked — errr, looked you up, on LT — tututhefirst is your sis?? I’ve followed her here and there for several years now, as she’s a felllow Mainer 🙂
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yes, tututhefirst is my sister. We share our reads and books back and forth between visits. She’s in Mane and I’m in Maryland. But we talk at least 3-4 times a week. Books is always a topic. In fact, tutu was the one who told me about LibraryThing because I was on Good Reads and had tried Shelfari. I’m very thrilled with my experience at LT and have made lasting friends. (we even meet in person on occasion.) Hope you will join us.
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I wish my sister were more of a reader, but what can ya do 🙂 I’m in Portland; I don’t often work from the LT “office,” but I live just a few blocks away from Tim. I’m sure I’ll see you around on Talk!
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I just wanted to post, for those shelfarians who are trying out LibraryThing, I just created a “Shelfarians on LibraryThing” group over there, so we can find each other and people can ask questions.
http://www.librarything.com/groups/shelfariansonlibrary
Please join us if you are giving LibraryThing a try. 🙂
Jen, hope that little bit of “self-promo” is ok.
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Fine with me
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You’ve certainly picked up a lot of comments on this post. I, too, am a Shelfari fan even though I use both Shelfari and Goodreads. Some of the groups I followed in Shelfari are setting up new groups on Leafmarks. So, it seems that’s where I’ll continue to be with my Shelfari friends. All the best to you! 🙂
@dino0726 from
FictionZeal – Impartial, Straightforward Fiction Book Reviews
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I just (begrudgingly) transferred all my shelfari data to goodreads only to find out it didn’t transfer much of the data I wanted. Data such as when I read my books, the fact that I had even read the last 30 books on my shelf, half of the books I owned (just lists as read), or any ratings or reviews. There is only an option to challenge yourself by books to read in this year when I was previously doing by page number (I read comics and novels, doesn’t make sense to count them each as a book). Several of my books didn’t transfer over at all, they just don’t show up as existing. I miss my shelf. I’m so very bummed.
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The transfer is atrocious. I saw this coming a few years ago and transferred my shel back then. It was still bad (books getting added as cliff notes, books missing) but over the last year I cleaned it up and kept goodreads updated. My recent Transfer to Library thing also had some problems – all books got put into one folder but way better. My transfer to leafmarks was the best but that was from good reads to leafmarks.
Funny how all of a sudden the ability to transfer from shelfari to leafmarks )the only site not owned at least in part by Amazon). Call me cynical.
Sorry to hear you are having trouble. It has been a difficult process all around.
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I should add that I’m writing this while working my way book by book through goodreads to make sure I have everything. I can empathize.
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I am so very sad to be losing shelfari. It does feel like the death of a friend. I had both a goodreads account and a shelfari account and I really did prefer shelfari. Not to mention, I went ahead and started the switchover to goodreads from Shelfari. They said it would only take 24 hours. A day later I got an email saying it was going to take 1-2 WEEKS. SO very frustrating.
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I’m freaking out. I not only love Shelfari for all the reasons you stated but have come to rely on it for it’s cataloging abilities. I have a goodreads account and never liked the platform. I feel like they always want to sell me something. Not to mentions the spam emails I constantly receive from them. Blech! I feel like crying.
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😦 Library Thing is the best I’ve found in terms of cataloging abilities. We’ve moved one group over to goodreads simply because it has more of the features we need for our group. But, I will be using Library Thing too. The export feature to goodreads is a nightmare. Feel free to contact us if you need help with anything. There are also some library thing people on this comment thread who have been very helpful. It is an awful process but hopefully we can all make it work somewhere.
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I am in the thick of transferring my bookshelf to Library thing. Maybe I’ll sign into a few sites and see which one works best. *sigh* Thank you for your support Jenp27.
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Oh, and a tip for emails. You can go into your email preferences and change starting so you don’t get any emails. It took me a while to figure this out but it is much nicer. I just opted out of everything.
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Reblogged this on Life Memoirs and commented:
Only just heard about this. Thought you may like to know about this change.
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I always liked LibraryThing best. The catalog was just so good, which was why I wanted a site like that. I also liked I could pay as a member (best $20 I ever spent was on a lifetime account there), thus being the customer, not the product (unlike GR, and Shelfari).
HOWEVER
Shelfari was always the best looking of the sites.
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I agree ~ Just the whole appearance of Shelfari is nicer, cleaner, very user friendly. Maybe Amazon will do us a favor and “clean up” Goodreads a bit. Just because Amazon is getting rid of Shelfari doesn’t mean Goodreads couldn’t use some major housekeeping ~ Fingers crossed. Until then just keep reading my friends, just keep reading !!
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I just opened my Shelfari today and I didn’t expect this very bad news that Amazon decided to merge Shelfari and Goodreads. I was devastated because I have been using Shelfari for eight years and never has it caused inconvenience to me. I tried Goodreads a few years ago but I just didn’t like its features so I didn’t use it. Goodreads is very cluttered compared to Shelfari’s simplicity. Plus, Shelfari has far more advance features dedicated for book enthusiasts than Goodreads’ goody-goody look for plain readers.
If they will merge it then they should merge Shelfari’s best features, which I think are the following:
1. The virtual bookshelf that makes your shelf look not only organized but also classy
2. The option to add multiple dates on books you re-read. (Seriously they don’t have this in Goodreads and how are you supposed to count your reread books to various annual reading goals?!)
3. The organized tabs that filters the details you want to see about a book (Book Extras, Readers and Reviews, Discussions and Editions), not everything in one page.
4. The privacy with no one bothering you with unwanted notifications. I want a catalog not another social media platform.
I use Shelfari for a convenient and organized catalog of my books. I dreaded saying goodbye to it. 😦
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