Exploring BookHints
Following the official launch of BookHints at AbeBooks.com yesterday, we have a few interesting observations about this book recommendation system based on the collections of LibraryThing.com members.
Most people who own a so-called literary classic, like say Moby Dick , are highly likely to also own other classics - perhaps Uncle Tom’s Cabin or Gulliver’s Travels. The same can be said for cookbooks where the recommendations returned are usually other cookbooks such as when you search for Rachael Ray.Â
But when you start looking for more specialized books and niche titles then the recommendations get quite diverse. A search for American Psycho returns books dealing with drugs, violence and bizarre car wreck-related sex (Trainspotting, Fight Club, and Crash) but all deal with the psychological effects on humans so you can see why people who enjoy Brett Easton Ellis would own these other books.Â
Some suggestions can seem counter intuitive at first, but really make a lot of sense. A search for Lesbianism Made Easy brings back picks that you would expect: So You Want to be a Lesbian and something by Ellen Degeneres. The more surprising recommendation is The Baby Name Survey Book but makes a bit more sense when you think of the growing number of same sex female couples who are adopting or using sperm donors in order to have children.
A book called Selling Women Short (which tackles the alleged exploitation of women by Wal-Mart) recommends a complete mixed bag of books, ranging from women in the punk culture to women fighting in the Vietnam War to straight forward feminism to black men and masculinity. I guess a book about masculinity makes the list because it looks at exploitation like the very first book search for - Selling Women Short.
