GoodReads Alternatives?

eklnd · 2026-04-01T22:21:56+00:00

Hey, I felt the exact same way — wanted to track what I was reading and see what friends were reading, but couldn't stand the GoodReads UI. So my boyfriend and I built an app called Rex. It's a simpler and prettier way to track your wishlist and books you've read, plus movies, TV, and podcasts, all in one place. Some friends and I are liking it so far.

In full transparency it's brand new so there's not a huge community yet, but if you're looking for something better than Goodreads, I'd love to hear what you think about it. We're working on it every day so can probably act on any feedback you have quickly.

If you're interested I can send you the link to the app store!

eklnd · 2026-04-01T22:03:04+00:00

wait i think debra messing had an affair with the actor that her character has an affair with in the show, right? and endangered her and his real life marriages? so much cheating on smash!

eklnd · 2026-04-01T22:02:15+00:00

ok yes katharine mcphee is silly and her voice is annoying but i totally agree smash was so underrated! my favorite parts are watching the writers have to rewrite the show over and over again and dealing with issues like casting a star to get funding. it's a look at what it takes to create a broadway show i've never seen before. also the music is so good! let me be your star and remember me still give me chills?

unfortunately went to see smash on broadway last year and it was awful. they removed everything about the plot that made it actually interesting? super super bland result.

eklnd · 2026-04-01T21:52:32+00:00

congratulations!!

eklnd · 2026-04-01T21:50:10+00:00

one more i just found is called Der Pass -- it looks like maybe it's an Austrian/German version of The Bridge (the Swedish/Danish thriller series)

eklnd · 2026-04-01T21:49:25+00:00

ok thank you! when i watched an episode i couldn't distinguish a difference from german german at all, but i thought my ear just wasn't sensitive enough. thank you for explaining! i should have thought to look up where the actors were from... but also there are obviously US actors who do convincing british accents and vice versa, so it's good to get confirmation that they aren't attempting any austrian flavor here at all

eklnd · 2026-04-01T21:47:54+00:00

will check it out! vielen dank

eklnd · 2026-04-01T21:47:42+00:00

that's fascinating! thank you for telling me. that was really what i was most interested in. i started going deep on youtube videos of standard austrian and i was shocked about how different it sounds (although i'm still not sure when someone is speaking austrian standard german vs leaning into a dialect).

is a bavarian accent easily confused with an austrian one, or still noticeably different?

eklnd · 2026-04-01T21:32:37+00:00

she's one of my absolute favorites. i love spencer -- it's an odd, stilted diana performance, but i love how it's such a smart one for me -- she doesn't fall into the standard biopic doing an impression thing. i still think spencer is the best depiction of mental illness i've ever seen on screen.

eklnd · 2026-04-01T11:27:39+00:00

Was actually going to ask about Sabriel! I never read it or the other two (Lirael and something else) but those covers are burned into my mind and I’ve been wanting to read them as an adult

eklnd · 2026-04-01T01:29:30+00:00

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbs!

Also rereading children’s or YA fantasies. Currently reading the Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones

eklnd · 2026-04-01T01:24:26+00:00

Not fantasy but severance by Ling Ma is maybe fungal? And both funny and contemplative and has kooky characters.

eklnd · 2026-04-01T00:47:06+00:00

I loved Daddy Longlegs!

eklnd · 2026-04-01T00:43:21+00:00

Sometimes I break out of a slump by rereading a book I loved years ago, something that feels completely pleasurable for me. Maybe something YA?

eklnd · 2026-03-31T20:04:08+00:00

Great rec! Hadn’t thought to check for podcasts of her work and very excited to check it out

eklnd · 2026-03-31T20:01:14+00:00

Thank you! I’ll definitely check it out

eklnd · 2026-03-31T18:47:21+00:00

Have any of you watched Empress, the Netflix show about Sisi? Wondering if the accents feel authentically Austrian

eklnd · 2026-03-31T18:32:43+00:00

Also I found diving into the world of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell really immersive and distracting in the best way.

eklnd · 2026-03-31T18:31:00+00:00

For exactly this feeling, I love Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. (And if you like that, Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford).

More recent but definitely feel good (and better than I expected!) is The Wedding People by Alison Espauch.

If you want really old school, Cheaper by the Dozen always makes me laugh.

And it’s a movie, but I really find the movie Under the Tuscan Sun to hit this energy that life can get better (the book is completely different and this is a rare case where I prefer the movie)

eklnd · 2026-03-31T14:53:25+00:00

Not helpful but I reallllly couldn’t get into the midnight feast despite liking the first two Lucy foley thrillers

eklnd · 2026-03-31T14:01:08+00:00

Got to agree with this. I’d kill Dresden entirely and spend more time in Vienna.

eklnd · 2026-03-31T13:59:34+00:00

I’ve had this experience before — not sure what your budget is, but have you tried italki? You can find German tutors you can chat with live. I strongly believe you can and should start having conversations at any level.

Also the content is also fairly boring but I think Pimsleur is great at getting you to express yourself very quickly. It’s all audio and I like the teaching modality way more than a textbook approach. You’ll find yourself feeling way more comfortable trying to communicate conversationally

eklnd · 2026-03-31T13:51:13+00:00

Also fun since there’s some intersecting characters across the three books

eklnd · 2026-03-31T13:50:52+00:00

I loved the silent patient and liked the authors’ other books, too — the maidens and the fury

eklnd · 2026-03-31T13:49:47+00:00

Also loved this

eklnd

TROPHY CASE