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Not any topic in particular. Things in my own field I can judge myself and I don't really get to chose anyway but I'm talking about general reading. Most lists
by Paul_S 10y ago
Not any topic in particular. Things in my own field I can judge myself and I don't really get to chose anyway but I'm talking about general reading.
Most lists just tell you which books are popular. I'd be reading nothing but Harry Potters if I followed those lists. I'm talking about choosing a book I will like. Not you, not the critic, not the public. Following these kinds of static lists doesn't really fair better than looking at the cover.
There needs to be some algorithm that can be applied to my books which is what I was hoping goodreads would do for me but their recommendations are a joke - they just recommend whatever goodreads author they're currently promoting regardless of what you like.
- TeMPOraL 10y agoI didn't realize you're talking fiction. The "algorithm" I applied works best for nonfiction, because those you choose by objective criteria. As for recommendation engines for fiction, I don't know any that don't have this conflict of interests you described with Goodreads. Personally, I tend to pick up books that are recommended by friends, writers I like reading and people on HN. There's way too much fiction to read all of it, but I try to aim for one (or both) of two separate types: insightful and genre-popular. Insightful, because I love to read new ideas, and genre-popular, because culture is pretty much defined by your ability to talk about it with other people.