Book Title search seemed like it could use some kind of "not found, but..." Helper, or suggestion functionality.
I searched "Moscow Calling," "Remembered Prisoners of a Forgotten War," and "Nixon at the Movies" with no title results. Huckleberry Finn worked OK.
Would use it again though, thanks for dropping a link in the discussion.
We don't have those books in our system yet as no author has recommended them is why nothing is showing up. We are still pretty limited as we have interviewed 8,000 authors in different areas, but that isn't a lot in the grand scheme of books. Slowly getting in more every week :)
For example, I like Bill Bryon and have read most everything he has written. He's good at making subjects I am not interested in captivating. For example medical history and anatomy in his book The Body.
I would love to read other books that make the uninteresting interesting but when I put The Body into Shepherd (or most recommendation engines) I mainly get other books about anatomy. This makes sense on the surface, but I've already read a book on anatomy. I'm ready for something else interesting.
I realize that might not be very actionable or useful, but when I am looking for something new to read I don't know what I am looking for. I just know the "vibes" books and authors I like, and often find that recommenders default to similar subjects only. Maybe this is difficult or impossible to capture, but it's been nagging me as something missing.
Yep, I totally understand what you are saying, and that is what I am working toward. It is a challenge.
Right now, I ask authors to share 5 books they love around a topic/theme/mood. So I am collecting a human grouping of books similar in some way that humans decided along with why they love it.
For example, if you like "Notes from a Small Island" or "Down Under" (two of my fav Bill Bryson books), here are books that authors have grouped with it and also loved:
https://shepherd.com/books-like/notes-from-a-small-island https://shepherd.com/books-like/down-under
So I am using human groupings to help discover books that humans associate with his work somehow. And above each book, their list title helps you understand how their mind grouped it.
For example, "Into The Wild" is associated with it based around a human grouping books that capture the spirit of Jack Kerouac's On The Road.
What do you think?
What is next to improve this?
I'll add filters to help people hone in on why they loved the book to help pull that thread out and show books along those lines. For example, if I liked Catch 22 for its absurd humor, I want to make that the common denominator on the page. Or if I like "From a Small Island" for the humor and history, picking those to try to find books with a similar book DNA.
In about 4 to 5 weeks I'll ship the first version of this on the bookshelf pages. And in maybe 12 to 16 weeks on the books-like pages, as that needs a lot more work.
And, I am hoping next year to launch Book DNA, where I pull in reader data and help line up books that are your all time favorites with others to map this out a bit further. Slowly getting there and a lot will dependon collecting more data from readers in 2024.
I like the idea of pulling as many threads out of a book to drill into why you might like something. Especially if those threads are not necessarily related to each other as that should widen the recommendation pool.
I still think there is something worth doing with author links as well. I played around with gnooks.com after someone else posted a link and within a few minutes found authors I had never heard of that had books that looked interesting.
Yep the author links is coming as well, I've been working on some basics there.
https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Shenanigans-Fourth-Accounti...
http://portal.som.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/MGT%208...
Ya that is harder topic, I am working on more around fraud, but here are some that might be good: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/fraud https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/confidence-trick https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/money-laundering
In about 5 weeks I'll have filters to help you hone in from those to a specific topic.
You also might like this list on money laundering from Monica, she is a world expert on the subject and did a fascinating list on the subject: https://shepherd.com/best-books/tackling-money-laundering-ri...
And in which other sites you input a list of books and get a list of recommendations?
Like this one: anonymously, directly?
They're anonymous-ish (in that you don't have to be logged on, though I'm sure tracking cookies gunna track), and they're direct, but they're only for one book at a time.
I can import the same echo chamber anywhere I go
I want to hop dimensions, we dont have a shared reality and are coddled with a familiar soma just like in brave new world
Honestly the best I’ve seen for this are website that just let you browse YouTube and social media sites under a different users session
> Prompt: give me some books similar to "Three Body Problem", "Brave New World", and "Dune" - but dont give me the common suggestions, give me some more esoteric stuff i probably haven't heard of
> I understand that you're looking for lesser-known, yet thought-provoking science fiction novels similar to "Three Body Problem," "Brave New World," and "Dune." Here are some esoteric suggestions that you might not have heard of:
> "Blindsight" by Peter Watts - This hard sci-fi novel explores the nature of consciousness and humanity's first contact with a terrifyingly alien intelligence.
> "The Quantum Thief" by Hannu Rajaniemi - A post-human heist story set in a future Solar System, where advanced technology has given birth to an array of strange and wondrous societies.
> "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin - A groundbreaking work of feminist science fiction that explores gender and societal norms on a planet where inhabitants can change their sex at will.
> "The Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester - A classic sci-fi novel that combines elements of revenge, teleportation, and corporate intrigue in a richly imagined future world.
> "The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin - A thought-provoking tale of two societies, one anarchistic and the other capitalistic, and the physicist who attempts to bridge the divide between them.