Goodreads vs. Storygraph: Is Storygraph the "New Goodreads"?
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| Goodreads and Storygraph Logos |
In the past six months of 2023, especially over Booktok, a wave of readers have discovered and begun using Thee Storygraph, a reading tracker alternative to Goodreads.
Often referred to simply as "Storygraph," it has quickly become a reader favorite. Here are some ways I think that Storygraph is actually better than Goodreads, and a few reasons why I'm still using GR.
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| Storygraph Logo |
Partial star ratings.
This is a big one for me. Often times in my Goodreads reviews, I put "Actual star rating: [insert fractional rating here]" because certain books may not feel like one full star rating or another. And I'm not the only reader who includes a fractional star rating - and has complained about not having this feature - in their Goodreads reviews.
Storygraph, however, has partial star ratings, specifically .25, .5, and .75. Which makes rating on a 5-star basis so much easier.
A DNF feature.
While you can set up an "exclusive" DNF shelf on Goodreads, it's a feature not readily available on GR. And because it's not readily available, and it's only just going around about how to create and exclusive DNF shelf on Goodreads (and not even with Goodreads sharing this information).
Storygraph does have an automatic DNF option when selecting a book's reading status. It's also not something the readers have to individually set up for their own reading/shelves. Furthermore, you can give an explanation of why you DNF-ed it. Which is another feature Goodreads doesn't have.
"Exclusive" shelves on GR are "Want to Read," "Currently Reading," and "Read." A book can't be on 2 or more of these shelves - it is exclusively on one of these shelves at a time. So if you set up an exclusive DNF shelf, it can only be on that and not under the other exclusive shelves - "Want to Read," "Currently Reading," or "Read."
Detailed statistics in graphs and charts.
I don't really consider myself a huge lover of graphs and charts, or even a lover of them. But it is nice to see them in relation to my reading. And I just find Goodreads' statistics for reading habits a little bit basic: shortest and longest book, average book length, most and least shelved, average star rating, highest rating on Goodreads (in general), and one's first and last reviews of the year. And you only get these statistics at the end of the year.
With Storygraph, there's an actual "Stats" tab you can click to view your reading stats. The stats Storygraph includes are: mood, pace, length ( <300, 300-499, 500> ), fiction vs. nonfiction, genres, format, most read author, number of books vs. page count per month, number of books per star rating, and average star rating. And the statistics Storygraph offers cover a variety of graphs and charts. (Where GR offers no graphs/charts to my knowledge.) Additionally, you can see these statistics throughout the year, and not just once the year's up.
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| Goodreads Logo |
So why have I continued to use Goodreads? For me, the answer is pretty simple. I do have a lot of friends on Goodreads who haven't switched over to Storygraph for a variety of reasons.
Additionally, when I open Storygraph, I also immediately open Goodreads out of habit. So I still use it and update my reading there as I go.
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| 5-star Rating |
You can find me on Goodreads and Storygraph at shannasbookshelf.
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