internet

Reading Trackers

Thoughts, Web

This past year was the year to really try out some new reading websites. Goodreads is the OG tracker for me. I started using it in 2010. Amazon purchased it several years ago and at the time it was disappointing news but I didn’t really make any moves as there wasn’t any other web based reading tracker that was as useful at the time. And yet, over time the site more or less stagnated. Somehow it still has value for referring to book reviews but other than that it’s a pain to use on mobile devices.

In 2020 when people had more concentration at home time, a few new sites popped up claiming to be the next alternative to Goodreads. Several of the options I signed up for go heavy on stats. But both Hardcover and Storygraph are only as good as their book matching. Even Goodreads wasn’t perfect still does have the best reference library to different publication formats. So as Hardcover and Storygraph try to lean heavy into things like format delineation, sometimes I just have to default to whatever is available.

Hardcover was the first one I came across that seemed legit. Looking at it now compared to when I signed up has updated a lot more features and community. Last year they did a 2024 Year in Books and I look forward to what they put out for 2025. I think the data will get better over time as more people use the service.

Example of stats Hardcover provides. This goes as far back as what I had captured in Goodreads. That’s why 2009 has a crazy uptick as that was most likely when I signed up and just kept adding books to my profile.

I also signed up for StoryGraph when it started getting attention. This one has more of a LLM backend and a focus on stats. I’m not so impressed with the LLM generated reviews as it is more of a morbid curiosity. They generate a synopsis based on user reviews and then they try to make a user custom review on whether or not you, based on your history, would like the book.

Funnily, I recently started reading some non-fiction books and the generated synopsis made it sound like I wouldn’t like it. Even for normal book reviews, I don’t let reviews sway my decisions unless I already had an inkling something was going to be bad. In this case, was a bit disappointed that the LLM generated synopsis took my history and suggested that I wouldn’t like this type of book, which I think for others who take that kind of feedback seriously, would stop people from exploring something new.

Stats from StoryGraph for 2025. Much like the stats on Hardcover, it really comes down to whether or not you log progress and if they have the right format listed.

LibraryThing is cute in that older web style with updated features. It has way more support in metadata from an open source Dewey Decimal system. I really like using this more for library and cataloguing. I will most likely spend more time cleaning up my database here. They also provide some stats and in this case for my year in review for 2025, it’s my whole library of things because I joined this year.

The last website I found a few weeks ago was Pagebound. This site is also on the cute side from a modern web design. And they use emojis as part of the rating system. Their 2025 wrap up is a bit more basic. It’s still fairly new and not as robust, but I think that’s why I like it.

Now that it’s 2026, I think I need to make a decision on which services I’d like to keep up. Honestly, leaning into LibraryThing for keeping track of the books I own. The rest are seriously a toss up. I was favoring Storygraph as it seems the most similar to Goodreads down to the free book raffles. Then at the end of the year, Hardcover really updated their UI. Pagebound is so cute and simple. Ugh. But then do I give up and keep Goodreads because my friends are still on there?

Generation Net

Thoughts

Just in time for the year to end, but ideas and thoughts wait for no one. I’ve decided I wanted to get back into blogging again back in July. I dipped my toes back into Tumblr when I realized it’s now owned by wordpress people (that’s what this thingy is on). It’s fun over there. Random. Like a closet that you just put stuff in you want to sorta keep and maybe get to again.

But here. I want to really think out loud again. I think the best days of blogging were when my friends did it too – Xanga and Livejournal days. It felt like a different way to hear my friend’s thoughts and communicate with them. But you guys don’t keep blogs anymore T_T (this is a crying face in case you don’t keep up with emoji).

Short form video, I just can’t really get into it. When I use Instagram, I have my phone on mute all the time anyway. I miss old Insta. That was really how my friends still “blogged”. A quick photo, quick blurb, just life things. Even Tumblr does images better. It feels like channel surfing and I really don’t hear my friend’s real voice, just the random thought bubble. Sure, I enjoy the every so often meme. I’m guilty of reposting those videos too. Lately, I’ve subscribed to all the PBS accounts, NASA accounts and overall education focused stuff to beat back the constant selling of random product. Overall, It’s just not the type of experience I want to have all the time.

I prefer reading. Which is what leads me to Reddit a lot. It’s annoying though that AI junk has made it’s way in so many places. I use Reddit more for current events at this point but it’s still the activity of see reddit post -> try to go to a different news source -> ask myself questions on the validity of anything that’s said. It’s just a lot of mental workload lol.

So, if you don’t mind reading blog posts again, let me know! I think this blog allows for email subscriptions if you still use email. I might just find a way to text out blog posts for fun or something.

Happy 2019

Thoughts

Welcome to the last year for this decade! Cue every time I write the date down with the wrong year for a few weeks. Haha!

What does this new chapter mean? Well, it means continuing the story of what every year before meant. I’ve got new goals this year, some are the same from last, but the point is just having something to work towards. And I’ve done that every year I new I was capable of deciding my own life. As a kid, I just went along with whatever came because that’s what being a kid was like 😙

I won’t go into all my goals; there’s many and they sound simple but they can become complex. This one goal is something I’ve already started and will be a goal into following years – owning my online self.

The net is a playground and a tool and it’s taken over the world. As much as I consciously get dressed and curate my image before I walk out my house, that is the maintenance that should go into my projected self, my internet self. Just like the clothes that I’ve given away because fashion changes, how I want to dress changes, cleaning and maintaining my closet translates digitally. Spring cleaning isn’t just for spring and it feels good to do anytime of the year.

Cheers to a new year! 🍾🥂

the data life

Thoughts

Time passes and things change. People do it every day, every minute. So, I can’t expect any less from corporations. The net has brought about so many interesting things and avenues of communication. It felt pretty free and naive at the beginning. A lot of that data was impermanent. Were people’s lives even referred to as data then?

Kind of like cleaning out an old closet is the same thing to apply digitally. Even though space seems almost endless, it still isn’t. It’s immense, but at the same time, who really wants to maintain all that data? If you’ve got accounts out there that you never use anymore, that already means you don’t want to maintain it yourself. I find that I too, no longer use accounts I’ve made over the years. As I learn more info on what is happening to these start ups or other companies, it definitely turns me off using the service.

Livejournal, I’ve deleted. Tumblr, I’m cleaning up also. Facebook is on the list, once I figure out a way to export some contacts. Instagram I’m torn over. It’s owned by FB but people actually still use it. It must absolutely be a tool for corporate, but perhaps if I continue to control what I post, maybe I’ve convinced myself I’m in control. Maybe not. Snapchat seemed to me like an interesting alternative, but even now I can see people use it a lot less. At least it’s still a company on it’s own, but you and I know that it’s probably only going to follow in FB footsteps as it struggles to be a profit making company. Not going to lie, just contemplating how to get out of google’s or amazon’s grasp is a doozy. Yahoo is one of my oldest accounts and I’m pretty annoyed that it’s probably going on my hit list next. Check out “How to opt out of Yahoo Mail’s invasive data scanning” if you still use Yahoo too.

I know some people will say it’s too late, corporate has everything on you. Just remember, yes they have a lot, but they do not have everything. Time passes and things change and the person you were at that time when you made that post 5 years ago, may not be the same person who shops for whatever now. You should be the only one in control of your life, your date. Right?