You are right nobody cares about your novel but the rush from finishing and publishing something even if nobody reads it is pretty satisfying.
I've gone back and forth with taking Open Libray's [0] catalog as that would at least flesh out our collection of books but then I'd have to deal with verifying authors to accounts so they can access their books. Which sounds like a major headache and also just defeats the concept of building a community.
Since this is really a weekend project, I'm just going to keep building the tools out to perfection and hope people will trickle in over time.
Luckily for me I just want to write, so the tools I'm building are exactly what works for my writing goals and I think overtime others will find the same value.
As another author I am happy to create an account and pop my "masterpiece" on and re-link it for the 100 or so bots that visit my website every year.
Holiday coming up in a few week's time, so I have downloaded your first book for a read so at least you got something good from your post :-)
Have you tried asking for recommendations from your librarian(s)? On my public library's website there's a form for this, and if I'm ever at a loss for what to read next (I usually go with recommendations from friends, family, and HN threads) I'd either ask this way or in person.
There's also the NPR Book Concierge, BookPage (paid for here by Friends of the Library), and the Libby app, with lists put together by librarians and a option to see similar books (based on keywords? Sometimes the list items don't make much sense, but I have found some good ones this way).