New to the group - hiya - and have been reading previous posts.
I understand that the books you are likely to be sent are down to, among other things, your library (and therefore reading tastes). Based on the books you've already received, what do you think the Great Algorithm thinks of you and your taste in books?
I've only had one (
Gents by
Warwick Collins) and it would be nice to think that the Great Al recognised my interest in London (my home!). I may feel differently after a few more books - if it was all cats, knitting and how to bag a man I'd have to admit that Al had me down as a spinster.
You see where I'm coming from (I hope).
Well, I've gotten
Wife in the North and
The Swap, which I guess says that I like humorous mainstream fiction set in contemporary England? Hopefully Al doesn't have me so narrowly pegged, because none of the September books I requested fit that profile, LOL.
Message edited by its author, Sep 7, 2008, 6:25pm.
Well, I've got pretty eclectic tastes, and so far the algorithm has honored them...sort of. I did get a memoir about Africa which now fits in my library, but it didn't before since it's really the book that started that interest. I also got a golf book (doesn't fit at all) and a chick lit. which I liked, but again doesn't fit at all. My other few were literary fiction, which fits exactly. So, I suppose I'm into literary fiction that tends closely toward sports, chick lit, or current affairs. Not sure how that works quite.
Al seems to have me pegged as a religious studies afficianado, which is spot on. Can't wait to see what I get next.
My library is so hodgepodge, nope--uh so eccentric... so eclectic--yeah that's the word-eclectic! that unless there are are a large number of copies to be given away, I don't usually fall into Al's golden circle.
It also means that usually at least half the ER books look good to me.
So far: a chick lit, a mystery/thriller, the Darfur crises, Buddhism (this is my one snag that only offerred a 'normal' number of review copies)...and now a paranormal mystery from the August bonus batch.
Let's see...
#1 was about gorillas (wtf?)
#2 was about Darfur (neither on nor off)
#3 was about classical music (spot on -- a textbook)
#4 was about the human genome project (more on than off)
So it's getting better at pairing people. The last two were pretty good: that classical-music book cited another work by the author of that textbook in one of the few footnotes it had, and I'd read a similar book not more than a month or two before the last one I got.
Message edited by its author, Sep 7, 2008, 11:53pm.
Lately, the Algorithm seems to be saying that I don't need any more books. I guess it knows me pretty well, actually.
I'm obviously a messed up American or Scottish woman (well, I am a woman) trying to hold together a dysfunctional family (
Being Emily,
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee,
The Story of A Marriage)... oh and I like toilets (
Gents)
Actually it's not bad as I have a lot of small town America books, the rest of Anne Donovan's works and a fair amount of books, fiction and non-fiction, about the immigrant experience. None about toilets, though!
> 10 virginiahomeschooler:
Lately, the Algorithm seems to be saying that I don't need any more books. I guess it knows me pretty well, actually.That's both funny and frightening, as it seems to be true for me, too! Very well-stated, thank you!
For the most part, the books I've gotten (they seem so long ago now, sigh) were good matches for me:
Tipperary, and I already owned
Ireland by the same author;
Telephone ringing in the labyrinth, and I have a good amount of poetry including other books by the same author; and
Arlington Park and
The Wednesday sisters, novels focusing on the everyday lives of women. So, Al has a good idea of the kinds of books I enjoy; now if only he'd give me a couple MORE of them! ;-)
Well, I've only done ER for two months, but I did get books both months. My collection is pretty eclectic, so I suppose that
Stalking Irish Madness comes in with my interest and background in psychology, and
Greasy Rider, which is what I got this month, reflects my interest in travelogues.
Hmmm...
This is a fun thread! It thought I was a middle aged (
The Richest Season) Latina (
Dirty Girls on Top) who has an interest in writing and killing? (
The Killing Circle)
I haven't read the newest one yet, so I can't say anything about that! But I've enjoyed all the books I've received so far!
The first two times were pretty iffy:
Winter haven (gothic romance on an island, not fantasy) and
Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Alexander Selkirk (okay, I have lots of books about islands and survival). The last two were definitely good choices
Tell me where it hurts &
This Gaming Life.
So apparently I'm a gothic veterinarian heroine on an island who likes animals and video games.
Well... the animals and video games part is right at any rate. And I just like (reading about) islands.
Not sure about
Any Given Doomsday yet, since it's not here, but throwing supernatural, psychics, mystery onto that list fits my library too.
Message edited by its author, Sep 8, 2008, 1:47pm.
Hehehe, I can't make up any hilarious scenarios...I've only received one book (
Ghost in the Mirror by
Leslie Rule)...and its been, pardon the pun, dead accurate, lol.
I'm a paranormal investigator, and as research manager for a local group, I seem to amass books on every aspect and subject of paranormal theory...plus I love a good ghost story. My LT account is solely to help me sort out the hundreds of books I own on the subject.
Unfortunately, the only book that I'd probably have a chance of getting this time around,
Oval Office Occult, is listed as the most heavily requested of the September batch, lol. Oh well...I can hope.
jfslone: How was
Time Bandit? My hubby and I love the show, and he has the book on his TBR stack, but neither of us has read it yet.
> 10 virginiahomeschooler:
Lately, the Algorithm seems to be saying that I don't need any more books. I guess it knows me pretty well, actually.
> 13 HeathMochaFrost
:That's both funny and frightening, as it seems to be true for me, too! Very well-stated, thank you!
What a scary thought - could be the same for me, too. Haven't had anything since Feb, when I joined. Looking forward to more books, it would be nice to recognise a trend where Al's choices are concerned, then I could contribute TO MY OWN THREAD ;)
I'm loving everyone's answers by the way. Seems that the system works for most and the Great Al hasn't insulted anyone too badly... yet...
I've only been selected for one book, but I'll join in, since this thread is so much fun. The only book I've been selected for so far was
Murder on the Eiffel Tower, so I guess the algorithm thinks I'm a Francophile (sort of) who loves historical fiction (dead on) and crime (dead on again, though reading about them, not committing them, lol).
This is such a funny topic, I was just thinking that the mighty algorithm had some very particular ideas about me. Almost every book I've been slated to receive has been a story about an immigrant experience, and most of them are specifically female second generation South Asian authors(
Love Marriage by VV Ganeshananthan,
Bitter Sweets by Roopa Farooki,
A Map of Home by Randa Jarr, and
My Father's Paradise by Arial Sabar). Isn't that wild? If I see a book by a female second-generation South Asian, I know I'll get it. I blame that set of books from my college Asian American lit class. Not that I don't enjoy the genre, it just feels like I'm being typecast. I like other types of books too, you know!
Even though I'm the reviewer, my library is a combination of my husband and I's books. I think that's why the algorithm has decided that I'm an outdoorsy person who loves travel and saving the world (
Adventures with Purpose), and loves chick-lit and politics (
American Wife) and has a sick sense of humor (
Silent But deadly). Pretty accurate, except for the outdoorsy part -- as I like to joke, my idea of roughing it is staying at a hotel without room service.
#20 bnbooklady:
I'll tell you that it's definitely not for everyone. I went into it expecting it to be exactly what the show is when it follows the Hillstrands... crazy, a little vulgar, and all over the place. And that's exactly what it was. Especially Jonathon seems to really just shoot from the hip and say whatever comes to mind. But as an avid fan of the show, I really liked it. It made me laugh a lot, and even cry a couple times. It seems like people either love it or hate it... no middle ground.
>25 jfslone: thanks for the summary...My hubby and I love the show and the guys' personalities, so I'll probably like it, if I ever get around to reading it.
I know I'm not as clever as many of you above, but here goes.
Al knows I like to learn about other people's lives through their memoirs
The Translator and
Jorgy, and that I have a nose for sniffing out evil-doers
Any Given Doomsday.
Message edited by its author, Sep 9, 2008, 4:07pm.
#10:
AI must know that I'm a busy grad student since I still haven't received a book since starting the program in August 2007 (which is also when I started grad school). Perhaps though, this month AI will give me another
Assignment to add to my growing list of homework. Or at least help me get into
The Company after I finish my masters.
Message edited by its author, Sep 9, 2008, 2:56pm.
I joined 3 months ago and have received two books: (In the Country of Brooklyn) and (Obscene In The Extreme: The Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath). Both were spot on with regard to my interests since I adore both nonfiction and history. Obscene In The Extreme was a particular score for me since I would have been frothing at the mouth to buy that one.
**Will now go through and tag all her banned books as such in order to avoid doing homework/work**
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