Some of the main differences I noticed:
One thing I noticed almost immediately was that the reader bookshelf displays an archived date. This way I don't have to click on the title to find out when it will be archived and no longer accessible. I am very grateful for this change.
Unfortunately I no longer see a way to view all my books on one page (they're listed by page, which is annoying because I have a lot of books). Previously I archived those I was done with and they were kept on a separate page. I would like some option to do that here. According to their twitter, some changes are planned and I hope this will be one of them.
There are much bigger pictures in the request area and I think it will be harder to accidentally request stuff now (yes, I have accidentally requested titles before!) The information is easier to read now and I'm excited to continue exploring the new offerings.
Want:
I wish Netgalley had a way for its users to suggest categories for the books. I am so tired of seeing non-YA books in the YA section (I believe this is because publishers recognize how many eyeballs they can get there). Currently there is an FDR biography that does not seem to be aimed at teens in any way. Perhaps Netgalley could recruit some of its most dedicated users to help clean up these areas.
Are you an user of Netgalley? What do you think about the new design? What changes would you still like?
I miss being able to see the pictures of the book covers. Now all I see is "Cover Not Available". The covers were a nice way to browse for what looks interesting.
ReplyDeleteOh and when trying to browse the teen books, I didn't see the author's name listed either which bugged me.
ReplyDeleteOkay so I just realized that they do show the pictures once I scrolled past the first page of YA books. Sorry about that!
ReplyDeleteI don't use NetGalley, but I do occasionally go in to have a look around, just for the sake of understanding the site. Like you, I think the site has a serious problem with bad genre definitions and designations. While I'm all for genre blurring, the sheer number of books that are poorly labelled makes it significantly harder to maneuver the site and find suitable books...
ReplyDeleteI agree with it being nice to see the archived date. I don't know how many times I've requested something, only to be denied because they're archiving it either right then, or even already had, but it was still up. Or, I've been granted it, but then it was archived before I was done reading it. I just have to get used to the new format I guess.
ReplyDeleteThe genre's are definitely a problem for me. I do like the easier to see archive date as well - it lets me know which book I should read next.
ReplyDelete- Jessica @ Book Sake
I'm right there with you on the archive function. It was so much easier for me to track what books still needed to be read and reviewed in the old Netgalley. I sincerely hope that they'll bring that function over to the new Netgalley as I hate scrolling through books that I'm already done with to find the books that I still need to read and review.
ReplyDeleteHere's hoping...=)
I'm still adjusting to the new look and format. I did notice that on my profile page, many of the categories I had marked as ones that I was interested in weren't marked anymore in the new format. I'm not sure how that happened, but I had to go back through them and mark many again.
ReplyDeleteI liked the old format in that you got a bit of the book summary under each book. Now if I want to know what the book is about I have to click on each title - just a bit inconvenient.
I preferred the old look that included a short blurb about the book. I liked being able to archive those books with which I was finished. As a Kindle user, my copies don't expire so the archiving issue isn't that big a deal to me; generally I have time to download before it is archived, and once downloaded, it's mine. I'd like to see a "bookmark" or "save" function so that I could go to the site periodically, scan a bunch of titles and then mark a bunch that appeal to me. Then, when I'm ready to request new books, I could check that list and request a number that I could actually finish rather than requesting everything that catches my eye and hoping that the publishers don't get mad because I don't review stuff (stuff I haven't read because I request too much)
ReplyDelete