How I Use Edelweiss To Build My Goodreads TBR

Do you feel like you're missing out on what releases are upcoming? I felt like that too, especially when I first started blogging. I was even really nervous to do a Waiting on Wednesday meme because I wasn't sure what books were coming out. I also had no idea how to even start to find them. Sure there are lists on Goodreads that have upcoming releases, but to go through them take hours (trust me, I've done it for the 2017 debuts and 2017 releases). And most are very general and don't allow you to filter to find exactly what you are looking for. 

Enter Edelweiss. 

Edelweiss is a scary place. It took me weeks to master it but you don't have that much time, so I'm going to give you a quick run down of what I do to find releases and how I shelve them on the interface's limited shelving opportunities. I'll talk about what those shelves translate to on Goodreads as well so that you have a better understanding of how I use these websites to stay on top of releases.


One thing you should know before I begin: I have my settings set to the US instead of Canada. I find it easier to find release dates and have access to descriptions if I use this under the American part. You can change this by clicking on the flag next to the Edelweiss symbol at the top of the page as seen below.

Finding New Releases

When I'm on the hunt for new releases, I'm typically looking specifically by month rather than by publisher. So instead of using the catalogues under the Browse Feature, which is the default as soon as you log on, I use the Browse Title feature. Click on "Titles" to use this part of it.

Once you have done so, your screen should look like this: 

I then use the filter options to make the list much more manageable. I use the following filters:

• Publication Date
• Format
• Age

I find that these three give me the most and best results for finding exactly what I'm looking for in terms of new releases. I sometimes use Subject if I'm looking for Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy books in general and not by release date.

For "Publication Date," I select the working date I want to look at (in this case, January 2017); for "Format," I select hardcover, and; for "Age," I select Young Adult. I know that this will exclude some of the books that only have Trade Paperback releases (such as books from Swoon Reads), but it also excludes the new paperback releases of books that have already been released in hardcover. 

After Filters

Once these filters have been applied, I have a working list to go through of new releases. I typically have Goodreads open at the same time so I can immediately shelve books I'm interested in. I look through all the books that either 1) sound interesting based on title or 2) have an interesting cover. I don't look at books that I have previously heard about and have no interest in to save myself some time. However, I would say that one month with about 80-90 books will take me about 2 hours to go through. 

Individual Titles

Clicking on the book will bring you to a page that has the exhaustive book information including marketing plans and selling points. It will also have the ISBN number, release date, and summary. I read through the summary and make my decision how to shelve it on Edelweiss. They give you four options:

• Highly Anticipating
• Anticipating
• Currently Reading
• Finished Reading

I use these shelves to gauge my reaction based on the initial summary and then transfer this over to the Goodreads version of the book. For me, they translate as such:

• Highly Anticipating becomes one of these options:
• To Read
• To Read + Need Now
• To Request
• Anticipating becomes:
• Maybe Read
• To Read for sequels to books I haven't read yet

I use the "Currently Reading" shelf on Edelweiss to put my ARCs (or to say I have it pre-ordered and will read it soon). I use the "Finished Reading" shelf on Edelweiss once I finish reading and have added my review. I try to cross post my reviews to Edelweiss about once or twice a month.

Rinse And Repeat

Once I have gone through all the books in the month, I move onto the next month and continue this until either 1) I am tired and don't want to do anymore or 2) I have finished the year. I repeat this process multiple times and at the end of every month, I go back through Edelweiss again to see if there are any other releases I may have missed (or just been uploaded).

You can also use Edelweiss to request review copies of books, but that's a post for another day.

Do you use Edelweiss? Why or why not?

Are you going to try using it now?