Comments: 5
Debbie's Spurts 7 years ago
We've been promised better discussion room features here. Maybe hang on to your account here and check back in a couple of times a year?

I have a lot of discussions on posts, but it is weird and hard getting up to discussions that way. If you don't find folks to follow, booklikes can be pretty dead with an uninteresting feed. I lucked out moving here with massive numbers goodreads refugees broadcasting links to their booklikes profiles when booklikes decided to change from being let-us-tell-you-the-next-book-to-read to being an alternative to goodreads and now apparently to being a book blogger platform as well.

Booklikes staff are back now and active again. We've lost many book sites like Shelfari and Leafmarks (I had really high hopes for Leafmarks).

It's been up/down here for me as I watch times people give up on booklikes. The long months it took to actually get a book database lost many or caused them to go inactive for months. Long wait to get discussion rooms lost more people (lack of features means Imsee many initially active groups inactive for four or more years as people gave up -- some very active goodreads groups even started satellite groups here then gave up). Rough book database until they added librarians and just like on goodreads it will take time to grow the book database.

I took a multi-month break actually concerned booklikes was also closing down when staff were so absent last winter. I didn't find any good alternatives with most sites including goodreads seemingly one just endless feed of book promotions; sure, they you all want you to add review content but not really encouraging of the reader voices that made communities like goodreads beyond let-us-pick-your-next-book or let-us-use-your-reviews-to-get-book-seen-by-your-followers.

I'm happily back on booklikes. Sad to have lost some folks who are either gone or inactive for a while but having fun discussing stuff with other folk and reading all the dashboard posts, I left for months, and I'm right back here feeling quite at home. I enjoy booklikes. But, I have to admit they need to step up to the plate this year with promised group features, staying active and reachable and in top of any bugs, more librarian features and efforts to improve book database, more communication.

I enjoy booklikes, but I left it for half a year with no regrets beyond missing some fellow readers I could connect with on other sites. Writing book reviews, I can take it or leave it. Sometimes on sites where I engage with other people writing reviews I write reviews to join in snd have discussions. But not reviewing in no way impacts my reading or my reading enjoyment. I did find trying to participate on other booksites that I really miss the dashboard/feed aspects and all the reading progresses. Missed sharing reading progresses way more than writing reviews.

If by 2018 booklikes still doesn't have a way to backup our book catalogs, I have a final decision to make. I really do like it here but reading us a hobby. It's a bit if a chore having to be vigilant about using other sites and apps to echo my book data where it can be backed up. Likely I'll stay away and check back in 2019 to see if they have a backup yet and who is still here; decide how much I did or didn't miss it.
Angela 7 years ago
Oh, I am not giving up on BL. I am just trying to find a better way to just simply chat about books and maybe life altogether.
Debbie's Spurts 7 years ago
Over in Facebook, you can find some book discussion groups. Many went private, though, to avoid author spam and attacks -- you might want to post out to your Facebook friends asking to be invited to any of their book (or other hobby) discussing groups.
Angela 7 years ago
Still learning. My daughter is helping me; I have orders to enter my favorites books and shows over the weekend in order for friends to find me.
You can see about setting up a discussion group here. Most of our blog posts get pretty big depending on the topic.