4 ms·

I found that it recommended the same books that I'd get from any non-AI-powered site when I say I like "Three Body Problem", "Brave New World", and "Dune". What

I found that it recommended the same books that I'd get from any non-AI-powered site when I say I like "Three Body Problem", "Brave New World", and "Dune". What I'd really like is for it to help me find books I wouldn't think to try reading by asking me questions about what I enjoy in life and topics I find interesting.

bwb 4y ago
Can I get your thoughts on https://shepherd.com/ https://shepherd.com/? Working on it and going to add genres and filters soon.
- themodelplumber 4y ago
  I just tried it. The look and feel is really nice. The topical search was helpful. Bookshelves are a cool idea and "lists we think you will like" in the footer was helpful when I found a list that was OK but with books that were too academic for my interests in a topic. 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.
  - bwb 4y ago
    Ya, the search is really simple and more of a browsing tool. I wanted to try something unique and get it out quickly. It is not working well; I am going to redo that more in the style of Google search. And ya I will def do something better if it is not found in the future. 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 :)
- acjacobson 4y ago
  I'm echoing my other comment a little bit but I've been following Shepherd and thought I would comment since you're here. I like a lot of your ideas but I haven't quite managed to get recommendations that consistently sound interesting. I think it has something to do with authors and it would be interesting to know how you're thinking about how authors or writing styles are related. 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.
  - bwb 4y ago
    Thanks, this is super helpful! I love Bill Bryson as well :) 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/notes-from-a-small-island https://shepherd.com/books-like/down-under 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.
- malshe 4y ago
  I want to read more books like "Financial Shenanigans, Fourth Edition: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks and Fraud in Financial Reports". However, neither the book nor the first author are listed in your database. I couldn't find any narrow topic to match either. https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Shenanigans-Fourth-Accounting-Gimmicks/dp/126011726X https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Shenanigans-Fourth-Accounti...
  - maxbond 4y ago
    You might be interested in looking at the books & papers assigned in Chanos' financial fraud class. http://portal.som.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/MGT%20848-01%20Financial%20Fraud%20A%20Forensic%20Approach%20-%20Spring-2%202015.pdf http://portal.som.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/MGT%208...
    - malshe 4y ago
      Thanks!
  - bwb 4y ago
    Yep we only have books in our system that the 8,000 authors we have done these interviews with so far loved. So we are still missing a ton of books. We are adding more every week and eventually, I bet we will find someone who loves it. I am also hoping in late 2023 and early 2024 to expand and bring in the 3 favorite books that readers read that year. So that will give us a bit more data. 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/fraud https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/confidence-trick https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/confidence-trick https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/money-laundering 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-risk https://shepherd.com/best-books/tackling-money-laundering-ri...
- ethanbond 4y ago
  Just used this successfully to find a book about olfaction, which I've been looking for and asking around for for a while! Thanks for this service :)
  - bwb 4y ago
    Sweet, that is awesome to hear and thank you for sharing :)
costcofries 4y ago
It would be great if the AI knew what was on our respective bookshelves and then recommended new books based on that.
- samcuse 4y ago
  I played around with something similar to what you are talking about - take your Goodreads bookshelf, see what you've read and what you have marked as "to-read" and then make a recommendation based on that. It is not perfect by any means, but would love feedback! https://goodreadsgpt.streamlit.app/ https://goodreadsgpt.streamlit.app/
johnfn 4y ago
GPT4 is pretty good at this. Here's what I got on a first run, though you can keep prompting it to go more esoteric if you want. I honestly think that GPT4 will obsolete most existing recommendation systems; it's already better than what I previously used (Goodreads). > 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.
- soco 4y ago
  I can vouch for the entire recommendations list (Blindsight or Quantum Thief series are my go-to answer when people say "what's your favorite book"), but I wouldn't really call them "lesser knowm" - they all won prestigious awards like Locus or Hugo.
yieldcrv 4y ago
Exactly, I want a new echo chamber 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
mdp2021 4y ago
> that I'd get from any non-AI-powered site And in which other sites you input a list of books and get a list of recommendations? Like this one: anonymously, directly?
- justinpombrio 4y ago
  Lots of book sites have recommendations. E.g. "Readers also enjoyed" on Goodreads and "People who bought this also bought" on Amazon. 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.

bwb 4y ago

Can I get your thoughts on https://shepherd.com/ https://shepherd.com/? Working on it and going to add genres and filters soon.

themodelplumber 4y ago
I just tried it. The look and feel is really nice. The topical search was helpful. Bookshelves are a cool idea and "lists we think you will like" in the footer was helpful when I found a list that was OK but with books that were too academic for my interests in a topic. 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.
- bwb 4y ago
  Ya, the search is really simple and more of a browsing tool. I wanted to try something unique and get it out quickly. It is not working well; I am going to redo that more in the style of Google search. And ya I will def do something better if it is not found in the future. 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 :)
acjacobson 4y ago
I'm echoing my other comment a little bit but I've been following Shepherd and thought I would comment since you're here. I like a lot of your ideas but I haven't quite managed to get recommendations that consistently sound interesting. I think it has something to do with authors and it would be interesting to know how you're thinking about how authors or writing styles are related. 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.
- bwb 4y ago
  Thanks, this is super helpful! I love Bill Bryson as well :) 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/notes-from-a-small-island https://shepherd.com/books-like/down-under 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.
malshe 4y ago
I want to read more books like "Financial Shenanigans, Fourth Edition: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks and Fraud in Financial Reports". However, neither the book nor the first author are listed in your database. I couldn't find any narrow topic to match either. https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Shenanigans-Fourth-Accounting-Gimmicks/dp/126011726X https://www.amazon.com/Financial-Shenanigans-Fourth-Accounti...
- maxbond 4y ago
  You might be interested in looking at the books & papers assigned in Chanos' financial fraud class. http://portal.som.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/MGT%20848-01%20Financial%20Fraud%20A%20Forensic%20Approach%20-%20Spring-2%202015.pdf http://portal.som.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/MGT%208...
  - malshe 4y ago
    Thanks!
- bwb 4y ago
  Yep we only have books in our system that the 8,000 authors we have done these interviews with so far loved. So we are still missing a ton of books. We are adding more every week and eventually, I bet we will find someone who loves it. I am also hoping in late 2023 and early 2024 to expand and bring in the 3 favorite books that readers read that year. So that will give us a bit more data. 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/fraud https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/confidence-trick https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/confidence-trick https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/money-laundering 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-risk https://shepherd.com/best-books/tackling-money-laundering-ri...
ethanbond 4y ago
Just used this successfully to find a book about olfaction, which I've been looking for and asking around for for a while! Thanks for this service :)
- bwb 4y ago
  Sweet, that is awesome to hear and thank you for sharing :)

costcofries 4y ago

It would be great if the AI knew what was on our respective bookshelves and then recommended new books based on that.

samcuse 4y ago
I played around with something similar to what you are talking about - take your Goodreads bookshelf, see what you've read and what you have marked as "to-read" and then make a recommendation based on that. It is not perfect by any means, but would love feedback! https://goodreadsgpt.streamlit.app/ https://goodreadsgpt.streamlit.app/

johnfn 4y ago

GPT4 is pretty good at this. Here's what I got on a first run, though you can keep prompting it to go more esoteric if you want. I honestly think that GPT4 will obsolete most existing recommendation systems; it's already better than what I previously used (Goodreads). > 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.

soco 4y ago
I can vouch for the entire recommendations list (Blindsight or Quantum Thief series are my go-to answer when people say "what's your favorite book"), but I wouldn't really call them "lesser knowm" - they all won prestigious awards like Locus or Hugo.

yieldcrv 4y ago

Exactly, I want a new echo chamber 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

mdp2021 4y ago

> that I'd get from any non-AI-powered site And in which other sites you input a list of books and get a list of recommendations? Like this one: anonymously, directly?

justinpombrio 4y ago
Lots of book sites have recommendations. E.g. "Readers also enjoyed" on Goodreads and "People who bought this also bought" on Amazon. 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.