Goodreads: Are Book Recommendations Doomed to Failure?

I've been a member of Goodreads for a few months now. It's a popular social networking website with 2.8 million users, and it's based primarily on books. It allows people to list books they've read, to review books, and to recommend books to their friends using a variety of features.

But I'm not entirely sure why I use Goodreads. I don't use it as it's meant to be used: I never take book recommendations from my friends, and I rarely use the lists or reviews to discover great new books that I want to read. I don't even pay attention to the News Feed, which shows what my friends are reading on a daily basis.

To be honest, I'm constantly confounded by others' reading selections. My grad school friends are busy listing every tome of critical theory they tackle. My high school and college friends are reading mostly popular contemporary fiction, which I rarely attempt. And my writer friends are reading very impressive novels and short story collections by very famous writers; their selections make me feel impressed, ashamed, and a little bit sleepy.

On the whole, Goodreads reminds me how impossible it is to match your reading interests up to those of others. Even with good friends, it's an incredible challenge: have you ever met anyone who shared your reading tastes exactly? I mean, someone who could recommend books to you that, 85% of the time, you just love, and vice versa? Even for close friends, family, and former classmates, the best I can claim is about 35% shared tastes, and that's with my mom and boyfriend!

For some reason, reading tastes, unlike musical tastes or movie tastes, are nearly impossible to match up. Perhaps this is because reading a book is a real commitment. Reading one takes something like 8-10 hours (depending on the book and the reader). That's the kind of commitment that can deter someone from trying a novel outside of his/her known interests, preferred genres, and comfort zones. I mean, I respect, admire, and commiserate with the intellects and tastes of my Goodreads friends, but I wouldn't take one of their recommendations blindly without already feeling some strong interest in the book's subject matter, author, style, etc.

Even though I doubt the plausibility of building friendships through reading lists, I'll probably keep using my Goodreads account. I'll probably never use it for its recommendations or reviews, but I'll use it to keep myself honest: once I've posted a book on my profile, I feel compelled to finish it or face the shame of everyone knowing that I stopped in the middle.

Speaking of which, William Carlos Williams, I'm coming for you! I am determined to see your Sour Grapes through to the end!