There's a social reading platform called @bookwyrm which is an alternative to Amazon's Goodreads. BookWyrm is part of the Fediverse, and BookWyrm accounts can be followed from Mastodon etc. You can find out more at:
They are currently trying to get BookWyrm translated into more languages, so that more readers can use it. If you speak a language other than English, you can help translate at:
It's great to see so many new people joining various services.
Let's talk about some terminology to help you -- don't worry, we will keep it simple.
The #fediverse is a word used a lot. Basically, it is a way for lots of social servers to talk to each other and share posts. Like email, we are all on different email servers, but they all communicate.
When you join the fediverse, you pick a server to join. Some servers cater for niche topics. Don't worry, they still talk with the fediverse, but it means your server has people with the same interests as you. Other servers are more general.
There are various server types. Here are a few examples:
#Mastodon -- very popular; similar to Twitter. You can post messages, attach images, reply, like, share (called boosting)
#Calckey -- similar to Mastodon, but has some extra features (example, text formatting)
#Akkoma and #Misskey are also similar to Twitter but more niche
#Pixelfed is a phenomenal alternative to #Instagram. You will feel very at home there.
Importantly, all these servers talk to each other. So, if you are using Mastodon you can follow someone on Pixelfed and Lemmy and Calckey, all from your one account -- and interact with them too. How great is that?
There are NO computer algorithms in the fediverse to force content on to you. You only see posts from people you follow. So follow lots of people; you can unfollow later.
Do an #introduction post to let people know about you. Use the hashtag '#introduction' to allow others to browse collective posts and maybe follow you.
You will see I have used the # a lot here. Hashtags help others find similar posts. Use them for key topics in your post.
Don't be afraid to ask for help if you are not sure.
Let’s be honest, Goodreads is a dumpster fire and has been for years. Just like Steam reviews, Metacritic etc. These sites are worthless because their review systems are deliberately open to review bombing and other abuses #Bookstodon
Here's my growing list of alternative book & reading tracking services. Each one does things slightly differently, so you're likely to find one that works just right for you. 💜
Okay fellow #SFF bookworms! Please check out my shop of book picks via Bookshop dot org
Bookshop is a platform that helps
supports indie booksellers all over the world - and they've raised over $27 million and counting towards supporting local booksellers.
Check out my shop of SFF books from diverse authors I've enjoyed here:
While the above examples can be used for images, Pixelfed was built for, well, images. It was made to cater for uploading photos ah sharing your digital artworks.
Meanwhile, Bookwyrm is best for, can you guess it? #Books! It features bookshelves where you can categorise your collection. You can also track your reading. Leave reviews. #Authors can too, if they want.
It's no different to comparing the old #Twitter vs #Facebook vs #Instagram vs #Goodreads. All of it can host photos and albums, but Instagram is focused on sharing images. Twitter for #microblogging. Facebook for socialising (or ads). Goodreads for books and reviews.
The difference? The latter are disconnected. While the former, the fediverse, are interoperable.
Given the current brouhaha over #GoodReads, and that it seems generally a good idea to disconnect from #Amazon where convenient, what do people like as alternatives?
I have a #LibraryThing account, but it seems they haven’t really evolved much in the decade since I used them. Still has a very mid-2000s feel.
Started reading I Love Russia: Reporting from a lost country by Elena Kostyuchenko. Being a queer anti-war Russian myself, this book is important to me, putting in words many hunches I’ve been feeling for years about history, loss, feeling of disorientation and subsequent resentment that led to the present moment. Note that the author is very much against the current administration and its course, and it cost her dearly
Annoyed to see how many people on Goodreads have rated the book 1 star either based on name alone without even reading it, or for it daring to speak with empathy about any Russian :(
Amazon should either sell #Goodreads to someone who will give a shit about it, or shutter the site completely. It's been a dumpster fire for years and this latest review bomb scandal just underpins what a dumpster fire Amazon has turned it into.
For an alternative I recommend #TheStorygraph (which is what I use) or #Bookwyrm which is a #Fediverse service that I've dabbled in but found I prefer Storygraph. That does not mean Bookwyrm is bad, just personal preference.
#Goodreads -
The influential user review site has suffered a year of controversies, from cancelled #BookDeals to #ReviewBombing, and exposed a dark side to the book industry.
Interest in rewilding is growing, with more and more people wanting to connect with nature and help to combat the climate and nature emergencies. These books inspire, inform, and encourage appreciation of the natural world!
More: https://bit.ly/3EHhUkL #rewilding#nature#goodreads
Amazon is filled with garbage ebooks, often a result of keyword scrapers finding trending topics, and then so-called publishers using AI and cheap ghostwriters to generate books. "If, as they used to say, everyone has a book in them, AI has created a world where tech utopianists dream openly about excising the human part of writing a book — any amount of artistry or craft or even just sheer effort — and replacing it with machine-generated streams of text," writes Vox's Constance Grady. Here's her story about the underbelly of online self-publishing.
Bonjour, je cherche un site de type #Babelio, #Goodreads ou #Librarything qui propose dans un coin de leur site un classement des #livres (note ou popularité) en fonction de la nationalité de l'auteur ou du pays de la première publication de l'oeuvre. Vous avez ça sous le coude ? #books
Join Bookwyrm - The Federated Library Thing for book lovers (joinbookwyrm.com)
To all #readers and lovers of #books (and here there is a sea!) I point out the federated...