Peter CohenA decade ago I thought GoodReads was a handy way not only to glean insights from other readers but also to engage with the authors themselves. But it's become the same sort of toxic morass as other social sites in recent years, accelerated by Amazon's blithe indifference.
The problem with GoodReads is the same problem with most sites that lean on crowdsourced content: without very active moderation (which doesn't scale), bad actors will game the system. People take advantage because they can. It's human nature, and it sucks.
Dan Moren