# Goodreads Scraper (`anyxsolutions/goodreads-scraper`) Actor Scrape Goodreads books and authors from lists, genres, shelves, author pages, book URLs or title searches: ratings and star breakdown, genres, series, pages, ISBN, publisher, awards and the first page of reader reviews. Track bestsellers and reader sentiment. No login, no API key. - **URL**: https://apify.com/anyxsolutions/goodreads-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Anyx Solutions](https://apify.com/anyxsolutions) (community) - **Categories:** E-commerce, Social media - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $2.50 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md. ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run. For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below. Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`). # README ![banner](https://anyx.solutions/banners/goodreads-scraper.png) ## Goodreads Scraper **Goodreads books and authors — ratings, star breakdown, genres, series, editions, awards and reader reviews — as clean JSON.** Goodreads is where readers rate and review what they read, which makes it the largest public record of what people think of books. This Actor reads any Goodreads list, genre, shelf, author or book page, or searches by title, and returns every book with its average rating, ratings and reviews counts, the 1-to-5-star breakdown, how many people are reading it, genres, series, pages, format, publisher, publication dates, ISBN, ISBN-13 and ASIN, language, awards, settings and characters, the description as HTML and plain text, and the first page of reader reviews. Author pages add the author's profile. There is no login, no API key, and no proxy to configure. Built for publishers and literary agents, booksellers, book-recommendation and reading apps, and market researchers. ### ⚡ Quick start ```json { "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1.Best_Books_Ever" } ], "maxItems": 5 } ``` Or search by title: ```json { "searchTerms": ["dune", "the hobbit"], "includeReviews": false } ``` ### 🧩 Input | Field | Type | Required | Default | Description | | -------------------- | ------- | -------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `startUrls` | array | no | — | Goodreads pages: Listopia lists (`/list/show/…`), genres (`/genres/…`), shelves (`/shelf/show/…`), author pages (`/author/show/…`), an author's book list (`/author/list/…`), book pages (`/book/show/…`) or search pages (`/search?q=…`). | | `searchTerms` | array | no | — | Book titles or keywords to search for, such as `dune`. Each term returns Goodreads' top 5 matching books. | | `maxItems` | integer | no | — | Maximum number of books per start URL or search term; an author page's profile counts as one. The input form starts at 5; leave it empty to get every book the page lists. | | `includeReviews` | boolean | no | `true` | Add the first page of community reviews (about 30) to every book. Turn it off for smaller rows when you only need book data. | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | no | `{ "useApifyProxy": false }` | Proxy settings. Goodreads pages need no proxy. | **Which pages work.** A Listopia list is read in rank order, page after page. An author's book list is read in the order Goodreads shows it, page after page. A genre returns the books most shelved under it, as does a shelf; Goodreads shows the first 50 of those to visitors. An author page returns the author's profile and then their books. A book page returns that book. ### 📤 Output Each book is one dataset row with `itemType` `book`. An author page start URL also produces one row with `itemType` `author` for the author's profile. Books keep their position in the list, shelf or search they came from. #### Fields | Field | Type | Description | | ----------------------- | ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `itemType` | string | `book` or `author`. | | `url` | string | The book's or author's page on Goodreads. | | `bookId` | number | Goodreads book ID (this edition). | | `workId` | number | Goodreads work ID, shared by every edition of the book. | | `title` | string | Book title. | | `titleComplete` | string | Title with the series and number, as Goodreads shows it, e.g. `Dune (Dune, #1)`. | | `originalTitle` | string | The title the work was first published under. | | `author` | string | The main author's name. | | `authorUrl` | string | The main author's Goodreads page. | | `contributors` | array | Everyone credited on the edition: `name`, `url` and `role` (Author, Editor, Translator, Illustrator…). | | `description` | string | Description as plain text; for an author, their biography. | | `descriptionHtml` | string | The same, as HTML. | | `coverImageUrl` | string | Cover image. | | `averageRating` | number | Average rating out of 5 (all editions; for an author, all their books). | | `ratingsCount` | number | Number of ratings. | | `reviewsCount` | number | Number of written reviews. | | `ratingsDistribution` | object | Number of ratings per star: `oneStar` … `fiveStars`. | | `currentlyReadingCount` | number | Readers currently reading the book. | | `toReadCount` | number | Readers who want to read it; `null` when Goodreads does not show the figure. | | `genres` | array | Genre names, most voted first. | | `series` | array | Series the book belongs to: `name`, `url` and `position` (its number in the series). | | `pages` | number | Number of pages of this edition. | | `format` | string | Edition format, e.g. `Hardcover`, `Paperback`, `Kindle Edition`. | | `publisher` | string | Publisher of this edition. | | `publishedDate` | string | Publication date of this edition (`YYYY-MM-DD`). | | `firstPublishedDate` | string | Date the work was first published (`YYYY-MM-DD`). | | `language` | string | Language of this edition. | | `isbn` | string | ISBN-10, when the edition has one. | | `isbn13` | string | ISBN-13, when the edition has one. | | `asin` | string | Amazon ASIN, when the edition has one. | | `awards` | array | Literary awards: `name`, `url`, `category`, `designation` (`WINNER` or `NOMINEE`) and `year`. | | `places` | array | Settings of the story: `name`, `url`, `country` and `year`. | | `characters` | array | Characters: `name` and `url`. | | `reviews` | array | The first page of reader reviews: `url`, `rating`, `text`, `textHtml`, `isSpoiler`, `likesCount`, `commentsCount`, `createdAt`, `updatedAt`, `shelves` (the reviewer's own shelves for the book), `reviewerName`, `reviewerUrl`, `reviewerImageUrl`, `reviewerFollowersCount`, `reviewerReviewsCount` and `reviewerIsAuthor`. `null` when reviews are switched off. | | `position` | number | Position in the list, shelf or search the book came from; `null` for a pasted book URL. | | `searchTerm` | string | The search term that found the book, when there was one. | | `authorId` | number | Goodreads author ID. | | `name` | string | Author's name. | | `imageUrl` | string | Author's photo. | | `birthPlace` | string | Where the author was born. | | `birthDate` | string | Date of birth (`YYYY-MM-DD`). | | `deathDate` | string | Date of death (`YYYY-MM-DD`), when given. | | `website` | string | Author's website. | | `twitter` | string | Author's X (Twitter) handle. | | `influences` | array | Authors listed as influences: `name` and `url`. | | `worksCount` | number | Number of distinct works on Goodreads. | | `followersCount` | number | Number of Goodreads followers. | | `booksUrl` | string | The author's full book list on Goodreads. | | `sourceUrl` | string | The start URL or search the row came from. |
Example output ```json [ { "itemType": "book", "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44767458-dune", "bookId": 44767458, "workId": 3634639, "title": "Dune", "titleComplete": "Dune (Dune, #1)", "originalTitle": "Dune", "author": "Frank Herbert", "authorUrl": "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/58.Frank_Herbert", "contributors": [ { "name": "Frank Herbert", "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/58.Frank_Herbert", "role": "Author" } ], "description": "Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for...\n\nWhen House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.", "descriptionHtml": "Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for...

When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.", "coverImageUrl": "https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555447414i/44767458.jpg", "averageRating": 4.29, "ratingsCount": 1717585, "reviewsCount": 90053, "ratingsDistribution": { "oneStar": 26183, "twoStars": 56081, "threeStars": 206422, "fourStars": 528062, "fiveStars": 900837 }, "currentlyReadingCount": 155558, "toReadCount": null, "genres": [ "Science Fiction", "Fiction", "Fantasy", "Classics", "Audiobook" ], "series": [ { "name": "Dune", "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/series/45935-dune", "position": "1" }, { "name": "Dune Universe", "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/series/106170-dune-universe", "position": "14" } ], "pages": 658, "format": "Hardcover", "publisher": "Ace", "publishedDate": "2019-10-01", "firstPublishedDate": "1965-06-01", "language": "English", "isbn": "059309932X", "isbn13": "9780593099322", "asin": "059309932X", "awards": [ { "name": "Hugo Award", "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/9-hugo-award", "category": "Best Novel", "designation": "WINNER", "year": 1966 }, { "name": "Nebula Award", "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/award/show/23-nebula-award", "category": "Best Novel", "designation": "WINNER", "year": 1965 } ], "places": [ { "name": "Arrakis", "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/places/1065-arrakis", "country": null, "year": null }, { "name": "Caladan", "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/places/500547-caladan", "country": null, "year": null } ], "characters": [ { "name": "Stilgar", "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/characters/28954-stilgar" }, { "name": "Vladimir Harkonnen", "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/characters/28955-vladimir-harkonnen" } ], "reviews": [ { "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4330174634", "rating": 5, "text": "just when you thought 2021 couldn't get any weirder.", "textHtml": "just when you thought 2021 couldn't get any weirder.", "isSpoiler": false, "likesCount": 1055, "commentsCount": 46, "createdAt": "2021-11-14T07:21:46.317Z", "updatedAt": "2022-01-04T16:27:04.515Z", "shelves": ["favourites"], "reviewerName": "Lala BooksandLala", "reviewerUrl": "https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31027440-lala-booksandlala", "reviewerImageUrl": "https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1759276820i/31027440._UX200_CR0,0,200,200_.jpg", "reviewerFollowersCount": 76411, "reviewerReviewsCount": 608, "reviewerIsAuthor": false } ], "position": 1, "searchTerm": "dune", "sourceUrl": "https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=dune" }, { "itemType": "author", "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/58.Frank_Herbert", "authorId": 58, "name": "Frank Herbert", "imageUrl": "https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1591018335p5/58.jpg", "birthPlace": "Tacoma, Washington, The United States", "birthDate": "1920-10-08", "deathDate": "1986-02-11", "website": "http://www.dunenovels.com/", "twitter": null, "genres": ["Science Fiction & Fantasy"], "influences": [], "description": "Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel Dune and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer.\n\nThe Dune saga, set in the distant future, and taking place over millennia, explores complex themes, such as the long-term survival of the human species, human evolution, planetary science and ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, economics and power in a future where humanity has long since developed interstellar travel and settled many thousands of worlds. Dune is the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, and the entire series is considered to be among the classics of the genre.", "descriptionHtml": "Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel Dune and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer.

The Dune saga, set in the distant future, and taking place over millennia, explores complex themes, such as the long-term survival of the human species, human evolution, planetary science and ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, economics and power in a future where humanity has long since developed interstellar travel and settled many thousands of worlds. Dune is the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, and the entire series is considered to be among the classics of the genre.
", "averageRating": 4.14, "ratingsCount": 2966429, "reviewsCount": 161873, "worksCount": 634, "followersCount": 17576, "booksUrl": "https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/58.Frank_Herbert", "sourceUrl": "https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/58.Frank_Herbert" } ] ```
### 💡 Use cases - **Publishing and agenting** — size up comparable titles: ratings, reader counts, genres and awards for any list or genre. - **Bookselling and merchandising** — find the books readers rate highest in a genre, with ISBNs to match against your catalogue. - **Reading and recommendation apps** — enrich titles with covers, descriptions, series order, genres and rating breakdowns. - **Sentiment and market research** — collect reader reviews with ratings and dates to see how a book or author is received. ### ❓ FAQ - **Do I need a Goodreads account or an API key?** No. The Actor reads the same public pages any visitor sees. - **Do I need a proxy?** No. It runs without one by default. - **How many reviews do I get per book?** The first page Goodreads shows on the book page, about 30, in Goodreads' default order. Older reviews are not included. Turn `includeReviews` off when you only need book data. - **How many results does a search return?** Goodreads' top 5 title matches per term. To collect more books, start from a list, genre, shelf or author page instead. - **Why does a genre or shelf stop at 50 books?** Goodreads shows visitors the first 50 books of a shelf. Lists and author book lists have no such limit. - **Which edition do I get?** The one the URL points to. Ratings, reviews counts, awards, places and characters cover all editions of the book; pages, format, publisher, ISBN and the publication date are those of that edition. - **Why is `isbn` empty for some books?** Many e-book and audiobook editions have no ISBN; they usually carry an `asin` instead. ### 🔗 More scrapers by Anyx - [Trustpilot Scraper](https://apify.com/anyxsolutions/trustpilot-scraper) - [App Store Scraper](https://apify.com/anyxsolutions/app-store-scraper) - [Steam Scraper](https://apify.com/anyxsolutions/steam-scraper) - [Wikipedia Scraper](https://apify.com/anyxsolutions/wikipedia-scraper) ### 🤝 Anyx Solutions We build custom scrapers and data-extraction pipelines. - Email: tantosthor@gmail.com ### 🖼 Image credit Image credit: [goodreads.com](https://www.goodreads.com/) # Actor input Schema ## `startUrls` (type: `array`): Goodreads pages to scrape: Listopia lists (https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1.Best_Books_Ever), genres (https://www.goodreads.com/genres/science-fiction), shelves, author pages (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/58.Frank_Herbert), an author's book list, book pages or search pages. ## `searchTerms` (type: `array`): Book titles or keywords to search Goodreads for, for example dune or the hobbit. Each term returns Goodreads' top 5 matching books. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of books to return per start URL or search term; an author page's profile counts as one. Leave empty to get every book the page lists. ## `includeReviews` (type: `boolean`): Add the first page of community reviews (about 30, in Goodreads' default order) to every book, with rating, text, date, likes and reviewer. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Proxy settings. Goodreads pages need no proxy; for runs of thousands of books, a datacenter proxy spreads the requests over several IPs. ## Actor input object example ```json { "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1.Best_Books_Ever" } ], "maxItems": 5, "includeReviews": true, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `overview` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1.Best_Books_Ever" } ], "maxItems": 5 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("anyxsolutions/goodreads-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1.Best_Books_Ever" }], "maxItems": 5, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("anyxsolutions/goodreads-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}") for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "startUrls": [ { "url": "https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1.Best_Books_Ever" } ], "maxItems": 5 }' | apify call anyxsolutions/goodreads-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,anyxsolutions/goodreads-scraper" } } } ``` The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer ` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). ## OpenAPI specification Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/RJGMiTFbwsl64FkdA/builds/jLGMefRn6u7TDUW4x/openapi.json