Patterns and Flows: Goodreads
Goodreads is a platform designed for people all over the world to discover new books and form a community of readers by sharing interests, reviews, lists, and insights. It is the perfect solution to fill the void after reading an amazing book but having no one to share the experience with.
As I recently discovered the bookworm in me, Goodreads quickly became a go-to platform in my routine. I not only enjoy reading reviews and tracking my yearly reading progress but am also completely addicted to finding new books through lists and community recommendations and adding them to my reading list.
I chose Goodreads for this reflection on flow and patterns because I only recently started using it, which means I am still on its learning curve, however have used it enough times to manage to analyze it. For this article, I will be considering the desktop website experience since it is where I mostly access it.
Task flow
To describe a usual task flow I go through in Goodreads I reflected upon the process of saving, reading, and rating a new book. Since I already know which books I want to read this year, the process starts with a search. Once I find what I am looking for, I enter the page and read the summary and reviews of the book (avoiding spoilers, of course). I then add it to my reading list.
I eventually get on to reading it, immediately updating its status to “currently reading”. Once I finish the book, I rush to Goodreads, mark it as read, rate it 1 to 5 stars and write a review. At this point, I enjoy going back to the reviews section to see other users’ thoughts on the book. Now that I have read the book, I can relate to what users described, and sometimes I even comment on a review that interests me.
Having this platform to discuss my favorite books and connect to other readers takes my reading hobby to a whole new level.
Patterns
The patterns used at Goodreads make the platform a mix of social media and IMDB for books, mixing feeds and community with ratings and lists.
Some of these patterns include:
Navigation: a simple top menu bar with a dropdown function activated by click, takes users to their saved books, browsing, community, and homepage feed. A search bar is embedded in the navbar, together with notification, messaging, and profile buttons.
Search: a search bar with a text field and search icon where the user inputs a keyword (title, author, or ISBN code). Suggestions are offered when users insert 1+ letters or numbers. These suggestions include the title, author, and book cover image. This feature makes the search function extremely intuitive and efficient.
Feed: similar to other social media, Goodreads has a feed on the user’s homepage where recent activities from their community members are shown. If the user follows other users or even authors, the feed will be constantly updated. This feature is an excellent way to gain insight into new books.
Rating system: one of Goodreads’s best features is its rating system. It is a common 5-stars system where users may choose to include a review. The title’s average rating is shown within its main information section, together with the total amount of ratings. This feature helps users filter books worth reading based on community opinion, and if in doubt, reviews help understand the strengths and weaknesses of the title according to its readers.
Profile: since Goodreads is an account-based platform, a profile is an expected feature. In their profile, users may add a photo and also select favorite genres, which allows Goodreads to recommend books according to their taste. In their account, users have 3 initial lists — want to read, currently reading, and read. Users may also create new ones, and add tags to their books to further categorize them.
Lists: Besides the 3 main personal lists, Goodreads also offers community lists based on best picks of the year, specific genres, specific targets, among others. New lists may also be created by community members, and they offer an excellent space for users to discover new books.
Although, in my opinion, the website could use an update in terms of information architecture, UI, and usability, it is still an excellent platform for bookworms all over the world. You should definitely check it out!
