Short answers, pulled from the story.
Otis Chandler and Elizabeth Khuri Chandler launched Goodreads in December 2006, with the site officially opening to users in January 2007. The founders met while studying at Stanford University where he pursued engineering and she studied English.
Amazon acquired Goodreads on the 28th of March 2013 for an undisclosed sum during the second quarter of that year. Following the purchase, founder Otis Chandler continued running the company until 2019.
By September 2023, membership had surpassed 150 million users globally. At the time of acquisition in 2013, Goodreads held 16 million members.
Users can add books to personal shelves labeled read, currently-reading, and to-read, plus options to create customized categories. A popular feature is the reading challenge where users commit to finishing a set number of books annually.
Several accounts belonging to Iranian users were suspended following U.S. sanctions reimposed against Iran. Emails cited government sanctions and export control regulations as justification for the account removals.