book recomending websites?

[spacefem]

I feel like netflix does a good job predicting what I want to watch, and pandora does a good job predicting what I want to hear, but when it comes to books I just have to chance it. this seems wrong, in 2011.

I don't buy books, just get them at the library. So is there some site you all use that lets you rate books, and recommends new ones based on that?

I googled around and found sites that let me track what I've read, and sites that'll tell me what to read based on one book I've liked, but nothing that's got a complicated algorithm to tie those parts together.

[rowan]

Oh, yeah, I have one. It's umm... gosh I haven't logged on in forever. Let me see if I can dig up. Ah here it is:
http://www.librarything.com/quickstart.php

I think it works pretty well, although I have such a backlog of things I want to read but don't ever have time for, that I don't use it much.

[Rainbow Dolphins]

I just buy those scifi short story anthologies compiles from magazines in the '50s and check out books from any authors from those I found interesting. This only works if you're interested in that niche genre, though....

I've honestly never had trouble finding books I like to read. In fact, my trouble is the list of books I need to read is always expanding faster than I can eat through books. It seems like a whole 'nother animal to music and movies, maybe because it takes a lot longer to get through one book than one movie or CD.

[rowan]

I like it because it recommends things I haven't necessarily heard of and expands the type of things I read. Otherwise I just stick to sci fi and fantasy.

[monk]

I just buy those scifi short story anthologies

These are what I get from libraries, almost all genre have anthologies of the best of (subject) from the best authors in that area(the years best SF is almost always a good one). I get one and start reading, if I don't feel the author I move on, if I like the author I add them to my list of looking up the books they've written.

[half-foot]

Call me lazy but I like getting audio books from itunes and listening to them in the truck. Its been awhile but I think Itunes picks books for you based on previous purchases. If I have time I do like going to the local library for some older historical books I am really into local history

[spacefem]

I've honestly never had trouble finding books I like to read. In fact, my trouble is the list of books I need to read is always expanding faster than I can eat through books.

that's actually part of my problem... the list of books I want to read/should read/need to read is different from the list of books I actually DO read. one of my "annual new years book resolutions" in fact is to read one book that I own. only one. that's turned out to be a hefty goal. this year I cheated and re-read Contact. I've bought too many books that looked like something I *should* read, but wasn't able to bring myself to read, so they just guilt the crap out of me!

[Sonic#]

I find it most useful to talk to someone else about books. It could be a friend that I know has comparable tastes, so that I just ask, "What've you read lately?" It could be on a web board or on Facebook, in which case I list a few criteria of what I"m looking for so that I don't end up with a birther book.

Outside of this, newspaper and magazine reviews are good for giving some slim idea of what a book is about, even though they generally do fiction and memoir-type books. I regularly check NPR and the New York Times for these.

Finally, I've found Amazon's reviews to be pretty reliable, in the sense that I can tell whether a review is inflated or not.

[she_rat]

i quite like goodreads.com
i also tend to use newspaper reviews, amazon and also read articles on authors i like because often they have recommendations of books that they love and i have read some brilliant books that way.

[miketheheadlesschicken]

It doesn't make recommendations based on books you've read, but Nancy Pearl's Book Lust has a LOT of book recommendations (and she has several books out with recommendations) in a lot of categories, which are listed in that middle column.