Goodreads.com and the "Discoverability" Problem

Apropos of our discussion last week about how readers choose what to read, this article about the website Goodreads.com ran in the New York Times a few days ago. It highlights how readers, particularly those with niche tastes and/or living in more remote locales, use specialty social media sites like Goodreads to connect with other like-minded readers to discover what to read. In particular, the article treats books as "social objects" and stresses the role of trust that readers rely upon to make these decisions - and claims that readers tend to trust the book recommendations of fellow readers over the recommendations of retailers, publishers, critics, et al.

Also, as these sites have gotten more popular, they've become important platforms for publishers to combat what they call the "discoverability" problem, allowing them to circumvent the press and retailers and promote new books directly to readers.