Dear GoodReads...

Dear Goodreads,
I want to like you. I really do. I like the idea of seeing what my friends are reading and sharing what I'm reading. I really need to be able to track what I'm reading and what I have still on the to-be-read pile. Finding like-minded readers is a fun idea. And setting a reading goal each year is my favorite part of the site.
But for all these good ideas, I really don't like you. I forget that once in awhile and drop by for a visit only to leave frustrated and unfulfilled. And then I waste an hour looking on the web for an alternative. So if you want us to be friends, you're going to have to make some effort to change a few things. Here's some good places to start:

1. Clean up the interface. Boy, it's ugly. The brown is dated and bleak looking. And it looks the same as it did ten years ago. Get rid of the tiny type and boxes and boxes of junk and clean it up. Give it a clean, bright new look. Make it look like you care but if you don't, why should I?
2. Give me more control. Why do I have to have countless books without covers? Why can't I add cover art or add series information? Why can I not add anything to the entries that I wan't to track? Why can't I turn off seeing info I don't want to see. It's annoying to see a book with old or non-existing information or covers and then have to scroll through every person who ever read the book. Let me edit what I see and customize it for what I need.
3. Separate the view from the edits. Give me a page with covers of all my books. That's all I usually need to see when I first come to the site. Allow me to click on the book to see a semi-transparent screen with the areas I'd like to edit. A quick-edit like that would work seamlessly and let me get to the info I need right away. The ability to customize what areas show up in the quick edit would let me track the details that matter to me.

Without these things, I find goodreads only good for setting a reading challenge. I've only been on the site about three times this year so far. I'd be there a lot more often if you'd clean it up, update it, and act like it's a priority for you.
Sincerely,
A frustrated user