Goodreads is a popular platform for managing your To Be Read (TBR) pile, finding recommended titles, tracking your reading stats, and sharing reviews, ratings, and notes with friends, but there are ways to make the experience better. If you're an avid reader, use these tips, tricks, and hidden hacks to get the most out of what Goodreads has to offer.
Use the barcode scanner to vet books while you're in the bookstore
The Goodreads mobile app has a built-in scanner that uses your device's camera to scan either the book cover or barcode. It then pulls up information about the title, including a description and ratings/reviews from other Goodreads users, so you can decide whether to add it to My Books while you're in the store or perusing a friend's shelf. Simply tap the camera icon in the search bar. You can also see a history of scanned books in the camera tab.
Log rereads with separate dates to avoid overwriting your existing data
There are some books that are worth reading multiple times, and Goodreads allows you to track each reread as a separate activity so you don't overwrite your original entry or affect your reading challenge stats. If you just hit the Read button on the title page, it'll simply log the item as read without any additional information. Instead, select Edit my activity > Add read date to enter start and finish dates for each reread.
Select your book’s correct edition to get accurate progress tracking
If you care about nitty-gritty reading stats, make sure you choose the specific edition of the title you're reading. Different editions have different page numbers, and you can also select audiobook versions if you're listening rather than reading to keep those pages from being counted in your totals. Find available editions on the book's title page, or tap Show all editions and select Switch to this edition next to the correct one.
Exclude audiobooks and graphic novels from your Reading Challenge to preserve your stats
Goodreads counts all books read within a calendar year toward your annual Reading Challenge, but there may be titles you don't want included in your year-end stats. For example, if you're tracking audiobooks, graphic novels, or children's books in Goodreads, you can exclude them from your Reading Challenge so they don't count toward your page goal. You can also exclude titles if you want your Reading Challenge to focus specifically on one type of book. In the app, go to More > Reading Challenge > Challenge details, select the book you want to remove, and hit Remove from challenge > Remove. (This can be found under your profile on the web interface.) To add titles back later, remove and re-add the read date.
Use Goodreads to access Kindle notes and highlights directly
If you're a Kindle user, you can link your Amazon and Goodreads accounts to see your Kindle notes and highlights centralized on Goodreads, including those for library books read through Kindle. You can add to or edit existing notes, which sync back to your Kindle book, as well as share notes and highlights with other users. On the web, open the profile menu and select Kindle Notes & Highlights > Connect your accounts.
Create a secret group to maintain a private reading log
Goodreads doesn't have the option to make a bookshelf private, meaning anyone can view your activity. Even if you set your profile to private, your shelves and reading activity are visible to your Goodreads friends. To keep a reading log that no one can see, you can create a secret group of which you are the only member and use the group's bookshelves to track private activity. On the web, go to Community > Groups > Create a group and select This group is secret.
Use a DNF shelf to separate abandoned titles from those you've read
A DNF shelf is spot for titles that you started but abandoned, giving them a dedicated place separate from your other categories. Earlier this year, Goodreads added a default Did Not Finish shelf alongside Want to Read, Currently Reading, or Read, so you no longer have to create one manually. If you give up on a book before finishing, you can still track progress but put it on your DNF shelf. (Note that these books will still count toward your goals if you include a read date with the entry, so you'll need to exclude them using the steps above if you only want to count books you've read all the way through.)
Use Compare Books to find recommended titles for book club or reading with friends who have different tastes
If it's difficult to find books that both you and your friends want to read together, you can use Goodreads' Compare Books feature to see a head-to-head comparison of your shelves for shared interests. Go to your Friends list and tap compare books next to their name to pull up an analysis of your libraries, including a list of books you have in common and a score for how your tastes line up.
Set sort criteria to keep highly ranked titles at the top of your TBR
Goodreads has granular settings for what criteria you can view and sort by on your bookshelves. If you have hundreds of titles saved on your Want to Read list, customize and save a category to sort by so you always see the highest-rated books (or those with the lowest page count or most recently published, for example) at the top. Each shelf must be sorted separately. Open the Settings tab at the top of the list, select inclusion criteria, and then choose a sort option from the dropdown. Press Save Current Settings to your shelf to lock them.
Export your data for backup or for in-depth analysis of your reading history
Goodreads tracks your reading history and stats, but you may want to do a regular backup of your data to ensure you don't lose years of logs if something happens to your account. Library exports include fields like book title, author, publisher, year published, and number of pages, as well as read dates, ratings, and notes. When downloaded as a CSV, the data can also be sorted and analyzed in myriad different ways. To export your books on desktop, go to My Books and click Import and export under the My Tools section. Click Export Library followed by the file name to download it to your device.