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Show HN: I built a modern Goodreads alternative

kaguya.io

51–60 of 214 posts

Re: Show HN: I built a modern Goodreads alternative

#51
post #45

It looks nice but like any social network the value is in the user base. I saw one book on your site (the order of time), and searched for it on Goodreads to see more reviews.

I agree. I hope we keep growing and one day reach that level. People also bring in their reviews when they import from goodreads. So it's not gonna take that long.

Re: Show HN: I built a modern Goodreads alternative

#52

Where are you sourcing book metadata? If this site takes off, you'll need a moderation strategy. Goodreads has been plagued by extortionary negative reviews. https://www.npr.org/2023/12/17/1219599404/goodreads-review-b...

I just assume all reviews are lying unless I know the reviewer or have validated their past reviews. I don't know why these sites don't lean into the social angle and weight reviews by social-graph distance. This certainly doesn't mean you have to HIDE the public reviews by unknown people.... just give an incentive to give input at what sort of reviews you want.

Doesn't that require the user to curate a friends list of people with comparable tastes? I've never met someone who has my exact (eclectic and multilingual) taste in books.

Besides, I wouldn't even know who to 'friend' or 'follow' on a site like this. What's the point? Chances are I'd just end up in some bubble, which defeats the whole point of reading.

Re: Show HN: I built a modern Goodreads alternative

#54

> 10-star rating system (More nuance than 5 stars) Does one really get anything meaningful out of saying this was a 6-star book vs a 7-star book? Personally I think 4 levels is sufficient. Either it's rather bad, not bad but not good, good but not great or it's great. Anything beyond that will have to be written in words.

It just feels satisfying to me—organizing my library neatly by rating, based on how much I like each book. A four-level system just doesn’t have the same impact. Personal preference, I guess.

If you added half stars and stuck to a 5-star system, there's less user surprise for functionally the same thing.

Re: Show HN: I built a modern Goodreads alternative

#55
post #5

I don't mind a goodreads alternative, but regarding the UI from 2005, I am not sure I care. It works and people are used to it. I am not a supporter of "let's try build a new interface using shiny new technology" for the sake of new .

That's totally okay. If it works for you, keep using it by all means. The point of an alternative is to serve those who do have a problem and are frustrated with the status quo.

Re: Show HN: I built a modern Goodreads alternative

#56

Is there a way to import your Goodreads library after profile creation? I skipped it because I couldn't get it to download on mobile, but will probably only use the site if I can import it later when I'm at my desk.

Hi, yes! You can import it anytime from Account Settings → Import Books.

Re: Show HN: I built a modern Goodreads alternative

#58

> 10-star rating system (More nuance than 5 stars) Does one really get anything meaningful out of saying this was a 6-star book vs a 7-star book? Personally I think 4 levels is sufficient. Either it's rather bad, not bad but not good, good but not great or it's great. Anything beyond that will have to be written in words.

It just feels satisfying to me—organizing my library neatly by rating, based on how much I like each book. A four-level system just doesn’t have the same impact. Personal preference, I guess.

Just ranking everything in order is the ideal rating system. And it's easy to convert to whatever poorly-chosen system someone else wants you to use. It does mean the scores for your first few ratings will fluctuate quite a bit, though!

Re: Show HN: I built a modern Goodreads alternative

#59
I dream of a good recommendation system because Goodreads is completely terrible. I just want to know two things: which books are similar and which books I would like, beyond typical recommendations. Something akin to what platforms like VOD, YouTube, and Netflix offer. For me, this is the most important killer feature.
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