cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/42666

I recently discovered Bookwyrm and am really liking it. It’s not quite as full-featured as The Storygraph or Goodreads but it covers all of the most important functionalities and it’s federated which I appreciate. Something that it is missing Vs either The Storygraph or Goodreads at the moment is volume of reviews (ie. Volume of users.) However, your review won’t get lost in the sea so much and I’ve found that it’s been quite easy to find readers with similar interests.

Anyway, who here is using Bookwyrm? What’s your account so we can all follow each other? (Mine is Unfreeze4257@books.theunseen)

  • drone509@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    I’ve been using it mainly as a way of keeping track of what I read. I guess I could use a text file, but it’s nice to be able to see it from my phone or share it.

    • Knoll0114@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Yeah I have in the past used a bunch of different on/offline methods but have always ended up most consistently at Goodreads, so online is definitely the go for me (I can’t lose it that way lol.)

      • Witch@beehaw.orgEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        OPPS. Accidentally linked to another another account that I found out I had and deleted when I made the new one. FIxed the link!

          • Witch@beehaw.orgEnglish
            4·
            1 year ago

            Followed you back! Out of curiosity, is there any particular philosophy books you like? I feel like Philosophy would be the next step up from my tendency to read self-help books.

            • Knoll0114@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
              2·
              1 year ago

              I’m not sure how relevant it is to you but I really enjoyed Seven Types of Atheism by John Gray. Also enjoyed Animal Liberation by Peter Singer (foundational to modern vegan movement if that’s your thing) and The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff (which tends to be in philosophy sections at book stores at least.) I will say the latter is a little overdramatic but it is a really interesting and important subject matter. Another one about tech ethics is Stand Out of Our Light by James Williams which is probably a better introduction to the ideas explored in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism.

              I definitely need to get into some more hardcore/classic philosophy since I do tend to read newer stuff rather than anything foundational. However, I also think it’s perfectly reasonable to explore more academic explorations of topics you’re already interested in in the self-help that you read. For me, the ethics of modern technology are a big thing so I have a dedicated tech-philosophy TBR going at the moment. If the topic is something people think about at all there will be some philosophy work out there on it.

              • Witch@beehaw.orgEnglish
                3·
                1 year ago

                Interesting! The Age of Surveillance Capitalism sounds like a fascinating read and might get me to understand a lot more about the topics that my housemates tend to talk about, haha. Might even surprise them. Seven Types of Atheism also sounds like a good read.

                My preference in self-help books tend to be related to creativity and mental health, so when it comes philosophical topics I am definitely interested in exploring things like idealism. However, I’m also getting into FOSS and technology as a topic due to my plan to explore Technical Support as a future career. Lots of different things to read about if I look it up properly, I think!

  • Squiddles@beehaw.orgEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    I had never heard of it. Going to give it a go! I’ve been having trouble pacing myself to keep up with what I want to read. Thanks!

  • emma@beehaw.orgEnglish
    3·
    1 year ago

    Just followed you with mine. Bookwyrm suits my needs at the moment, which are primarily as an adjunct to my aging memory. My main reading interest at the moment is the novels and short stories which inspired well known operas (many thanks to Project Gutenberg). Knowing the plot ahead of time is a useful accommodation for said dodgy memory. :)

    One limit at Bookwyrm which I do find frustrating is that we can’t make a post which isn’t linked to a book. So for short stories and other things I follow my fedi account on another platform, write the post there and then boost it to get it into my Bookwyrm feed so I at least have a record of it.

    • Someology@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Sometimes, rarely, you can find an independent listing for a short story if you search for it, but it is definitely a limitation of the platform in general.

      • emma@beehaw.orgEnglish
        0·
        1 year ago

        Individual short stories can be added as if they were books but that does skew the books read tally, so I use my work around to get the mention in there.

    • Knoll0114@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Oh wow I didn’t even think of reviewing/talking about short stories! I might have to start doing so following your method. I followed back!

      • emma@beehaw.orgEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        So glad I mentioned it then :) I couldn’t leave Madame Butterfly (the short story) off my list there.

  • _ed@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    Using it. Again to track what I read and motivate for x amount of books per year.

    Would be a fan of the discovery section more if I could filter out quotes and notifications about start reading and just have the reviews.

    • Knoll0114@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      4·
      1 year ago

      I agree that would be a great feature. Dunno if it’s exclusive to my instance but Discovery also doesn’t have an option for global notifications (it’s just the local one) which is a bit limiting since my instance isn’t that big.

  • sotolf@beehaw.orgEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    Been on it for almost 2 years for now and I really enjoy it :) I mostly just use it to remember what I read and how I like books for myself, and to share which books I’m reading with friends.

  • Seedling (she/they)@beehaw.orgEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    I really like it, although I keep it to people I know IRL. I’m considering making a TTRPG-specific public one though, does anyone know if books absolutely need to have an ISBN to work with that system?

    One thing that I really like about it, vs say Goodreads or any site that is tied to a corporate bookselling system, is that you can use a rating system that works for you, using the full 1 to 5 stars, without worrying that you are causing financial harm to any authors, especially if you keep everything followers-only