Today’s topic: Recommendations. Do you use LT’s recommendations feature? Have you found any good books by using it? Do you use the anti-recommendations, or the “special sauce” recommendations? How do you find out about books you want to read?
I have looked at the recommendations feature on LibraryThing, but I’ve never went by it. And the anti-recommender is the anti-Christ when it comes to telling my what I won’t like… I wrote a post about that a few weeks back called Does A Christian Have a Brain? if read more on that. The special sauce is interesting but, again, I don’t use it.
Actually, the three ways I find out about the books I’d like to read is:
1. BookMooch Recommendations -though I’m not entirely sure if it just throws out a bunch of books or if it’s really guessing at what I’d like. The thing suggests books I’ve mooched and posted, so I don’t know if it has a brain. At least LT’s algorithm sorta-kinda makes some sense.
2. ARC sources such as Shelf Awareness, publishers’ and authors’ emails offering me books, and other “free” book places. Hey, of course I’m gonna take free books!
3. From my fellow LT’ers and bloggers. I take your recommendations over an automated guesser any day! At least you have a soul. At least you have emotions. At least you have some sense of aesthetics. What’s the bot going to tell me? Because I have Nietzche I won’t like The Purpose Driven Life… which I actually do have in my library? Yeah…. whatever. (that goes back to the unsuggester is the anti-Christ.)
4. Jan and Obie at my Waldenbooks… they know me so well! And Jan’s only been wrong once. She suggested Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral, but I thought it was just mneh.
5. My momma. Though, lately her taster is running on the off-side for me. Lately she’s been reading about some retired old ladies running a B&B and solving crimes or something… I don’t know, maybe they are killing the guests. I forget. Maybe I watch too much Law & Order and read too much Stephen King.
6. Then, of course, there’s just little me, touching-feeling-looking at the actual book on the shelf and reading the back cover. However, with Mt. TBR and Mt. TBarc at capacity, I can’t even go to the mall for fear I’ll be drawn into Waldens and won’t be able to resist the lovely books… they want to come home with me…. they jump on the counter and make me buy them….
Okay, that’s enough silliness.
Filed under: Tuesday Thingers | Tagged: Annie Freeman, anti-Christ, ARC, blogging, book, book reading, book recommendation, bookmooch, Christian, compulsion, free books, Law & Order, LibraryThing, local bookstore, Nietzche, Purpose Driven, silly, Stephen King, Tuesday Thingers, Waldenbooks |
In the Shadow of Mt. TBR 
“I can’t even go to the mall for fear I’ll be drawn into Waldens and won’t be able to resist the lovely books… they want to come home with me…. they jump on the counter and make me buy them….”
I have the same problem at the library. I tell my husband its like going to the Humane Society and trying NOT to bring home a puppy.
Sounds like I should be getting recos from your mom. “Some retired old ladies running a B&B and solving crimes” sounds exactly like something I’d read! Could she give me some titles, please?
LOL I totally agree with you. I refuse I have machine intelligence tell me what book to read.
I’m with you on having to avoind the bookstore and the library these days. I have a tiny condo and the books have taken over! Sure, the library books go back to the library, but I have to physically take them back, and I’m sure to find something else to read, which means I’m still not reading the books I’ve mooched and bought (and I’m convinced they multiply when my back is turned ). I actually started having giveaways on my blog to force myself to read and give away the books that are filling my shelves!
I’m with you on #3. I use the list of what my LT friends have recently added or reviewed much more than I use the built-in recommendations feature (though I check that occasionally too).
And JLS Hall, sounds like she’s thinking of Mary Daheim’s B&B series, perhaps?
“At least you have a soul. At least you have emotions.
I second that emotion…I suppose the formulas are nice if you’re a solitary reader who prefers that sort of thing, but I love talking about books and hearing about what other people are reading…other readers are definitely the best source of recommendations.
I agree – people are the best source of recommendations, whether on their blogs or on LT. Especially when you find those people who have eerily similar tastes, which does happen.
Funny thing…. books jump out at me too! 🙂
I think Swapna beat me to it, but I’ve nominated you for a blog award…you’re definitely in my top 7, so I figure it’s OK to double up. Details are in Readerville
I’m in total agreement: I’ll take living, breathing recommendations any day over some blasted bot. And thanks for steering me toward Shelf Awareness!
I don’t use LT nearly as much as I probably should. I subscribe to so many book lovers blogs, that is usually where I get my recommendations.
#6 is totally me – the books look at me (and I swear) they are saying “buy me please, you don’t understand what it’s like to watch all the other books going home while I sit here, lonely, unloved, in complete fear of ending up in the (insert scary music and dramatic pause) BARGAIN BIN!!”
I had to laugh at your mother’s taster being off. Too funny!
no words but awesome for this post!