Goodreads

[cimorene]

I signed up for goodreads (here) because I read this news item last night that got me all WHEE LIVING IN THE FUTURE!:

Goodreads Has Acquired Discovereads

On Thursday, Goodreads will announce that it has acquired another start-up, Discovereads.com. It uses machine learning algorithms to analyze which books people might like, based on books they’ve liked in the past and books that people with similar tastes have liked.

I had a vague idea that Goodreads was more like... I guess Librarything? Which I see people mentioning. It seems to be intended as a sort of book queue/book rec/book review blog, as opposed to cataloging one's library. For example, when you enter a book it asks what exact date you finished it. Obviously you don't remember what day you finished every book in your library unless your memory is eidetic or you don't own any books.

But the thing is, if you want this algorithm software to be able to do its thing, the more data it has the better, so it's certainly in the interest of Science to enter everything you've read and rate it as best you can. I suppose I'll just ignore the date field from now on unless I'm writing a review or something, but it's irritating to my slight OCD tendencies. (Although, speaking of those, it's probably good that it doesn't have a complete set of ID3 tags and a library-catalog setup or I might fall into a compulsive vortex and wake up hours and shelves later, suddenly realizing I'd forgotten to eat.)

Comments

[pierydys]

Hmm... I have a smidge under 1000 entries dating back to 1988, though there are a few errors from when I had to transcribe the first few years from notebook to computer when we got our first PC. It started from a local library's summer reading program, where we got little awards for reading a certain number of books. Once I started cataloging, I just couldn't stop ;-) I suppose this will be a little side project for me to work on when my fingers are too sore and need a break from crocheting...

[cimorene]

True, I've had to take breaks from it recently due to elbow pain several times.

How many balls of yarn did you use for the blanket, I meant to ask? I'm planning a lightweight crocheted cotton one for a summer bed coverlet, to be made in squares, but I was warned there's a huge amount of yarn involved that can get pretty expensive. I also want to do a more colorful mosaic blanket to go in the livingroom, something decorative in multi-colored hexagons or squares maybe, but I figure once I get some of the colors I want to use I'll just work on that between other projects.

[pierydys]

The blanket took 12 skeins of Katri (http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/novita-katri) and ended up only being 3x4 feet, but that was probably because I was using a fairly thick yarn and a thick texture. With a skinnier yarn, larger hook and flatter pattern, you could probably get a pretty large blanket out of 12 skeins. I chose that yarn because I knew I'd have to get a bunch of it -- it was acrylic and therefore cheaper than any of the other stuff -- EUR 2.20 a skein, according to my notes. Very reasonable final cost, I think.

[cimorene]

Oh yeah, the cost wouldn't be as much of an issue with acrylic yarn. I could definitely use that in the livingroom. The bed coverlet's got to be cotton though. That's the nicest texture/feel for a summer blanket.