Where should the project go / ideas

[ladytinker]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned in the few things I have read is AUDIO books.  Audio books are really becoming the new way to "read" books as soo many people are too busy just to sit down and read.  Audio books are wonderful.

This is my thoughts:
Start putting up audio (I know that requires funding, rights, etc.) not only have searches to find audio books similar to what you listen to but also have it find the narrator that reads that book & what other books he/she reads.  I have listened to several audio books and as the book begins I think "don't think this is my type of book"; but, the narrator is so good I end up listening to the end of the book.  My daughter who just discovered audio had taken out a James Patterson book to read but she said it was so dry she took it back without finishing it.  She just checked that same book out on audio to see maybe she could listen to it; she was hooked the first chapter out due to the narrator.  She said he used such expression, humor, sound effects.  Now she is looking for more books that he has narratored. 
The same way with narrators that are too dry; I have actually had to take audios back because the narrator just had no personality for that book.

Right now everyone caters to books but mostly hard type not audio.  It would be nice to see someone take this on as audiobooks are coming out fast and furious.  Audio books are so hot that most publishers are actually putting them out now when the hardcover comes out.

This is just a suggestion if you are looking for funding or such.  Then maybe you get come up with widgets to use with Shelfari, etc.  to help us that use these services to help find similar audio books or just books and/ or that narrator that we like and want to know what else he has read on audio.

Just my idea....

thanks
Maria

[Aaron Stanton]

Excellent points.  I actually listen to books on tape a great deal, now days, partly because I can take a break from the computer (which consumes far too much of my life), and take 15 minutes to rest my eyes with a book on tape.  I also tend to listen to them for 15 or 20 minutes before going to sleep.

I think the obvious connection here is Amazon.com's purchase of Audible.  Makes the brain tick a little. 

Anyway, good points in terms of narrators and such; it'd take some tweaks to how we do things, but certainly that's an aspect we'll consider.

Thank you.    I've written it down in my nifty "book of good ideas" that people have suggested on the forums so far.

Aaron

[Zubin S]

I'm sorry, I'm new to Book Lamp and I noticed that all the books are sci-fi or it seemed that way. Is this going to open up to Classics and/or modern ficiton, etc?

Also, can this site be something of the last.fm type? You have authors that you have read the most. Books you "tag" or "love" stuff like that...

maybe a random book can be generated based on the user asking for any book by a certain author or in a particular genre.

[Daniel Bowen]

Zubin, the publicly available format and build of the BookLamp.org recommendation system is meant to be a "technology demonstration", hence the small database of books (mostly sci-fi), and the fact that it's a drop-down.  The system will eventually include all works of fiction (that have been scanned and made digital) where users will use a search bar, not a drop-down.

About the last.fm thought... there are many aspects along those lines that will be developed once the system is up and running, with a substantial database of books (at least ~10,000+), and ready for the world to use.  Our goal is to build the fastest, most useful and accurate book recommendation system available.  My personal opinion is that once that's in place, then truly, the sky's the limit; so a suggestion like yours is only a matter of time and necessity.

We are currently working through a substantial database of books, reworking the algorithms as needed.  For example, the original algorithms were built around the idiosyncrasies of the sci-fi database that you have experienced.  As we process new titles, we encounter new aspects of page layouts and other minute differences from book to book.  Changes need to be made to fix these "errors."

If you have any other questions or suggestions, please don't be afraid to mention them.  I hope I covered your concerns for now.

-Dan

[Stephen Rollins]

I'm sure they'll implement a way to mark certain books that you like, Zubin.  And while I know Booklamp isn't meant to find books based on user recommendations, it still would be neat to be able to see a list of all your favorites.  Sure, I can usually remember most of them, but after you read enough books you really start to forget which ones you liked and which ones you didn't.

That's another thing.  Maybe just a way to mark whether you've read a book before, so that you can go back and see which books you've read and how long it's been since you read them. 

(at least ~10,000+)

At least about ten thousand or more? 

[Daniel Bowen]

Stephen, I have heard Aaron explicitly speak of just what you're talking about.  It's just about time and (hopefully, soon to be reconciled) money.

... I guess if you read it like that, it is kind of redundant.

[Jack Welkenbach]

I, too, are new to this program, however, being 76  years young I have read some books in my short life.  Neverthless, I did not reconize any of the books or authors listed.  Blackjacksr

[Daniel Bowen]

Hi Jack.  The application that you experienced is a demonstration of the direction we had at the time.  The demo is (I think) 2 years old now, as is the list of books available.  We've accomplished quite a bit since then.

I'd hang around and keep in touch.

Dan