Online Recipe Reviews for Cookbooks

I'm a long-time cookbook lover and home cook posting here for the first time, and I'm hoping that some of you experts can give me a little feedback on a project I've been working on. Like people were saying in the "How has the Internet Affected your Cookbook Collecting" thread, I've found myself simultaneously using lots of online recipes as well as finding ideas here on LT and elsewhere for new books to buy. The more I used online sources like Epicurious with comments and ratings for recipes, the more I wished that somehow I could get that sort of great feedback for my regular cookbooks.

I couldn't find anything like that online, so I thought I'd give it a shot myself. This was 2 1/2 years ago! (I have a day job and I had to teach myself how to program on evenings and weekends). I started before I discovered LT and by complete coincidence called the website Cookbooker. So now it's brand new and online at http://www.cookbooker.com.

People who love cookbooks are the audience for this, so I thought you'd be the perfect people to ask for any thoughts, suggestions or criticisms. I've only shown this to friends and family so far, so I figured this group would be the most fitting place to actually go public.

Thanks in advance for any feedback, and don't be afraid to be critical. If I can take it from my mother...

It does sound like a great idea.

I did have a problem with signing in at first, but it seems to be solved now (although only in Explorer, it does not work in Firefox yet). I will now add some cookbooks...

Thanks so much wester! I see you've been busy adding reviews too: excellent!

If you could me know by email what your problem was in Firefox I can try to fix it. There's a contact form here: http://www.cookbooker.com/contact.php

I just had the same problem in FF. Left a note in the contact form.

What a wonderful idea!

*she says, sitting in front of her computer with a library copy of Joy of Cooking open after adding one of its recipes to a CSA (community supported agriculture) newsletter*

There! I joined the site and added comments on the apple crisp I just finished eating now. :)

Just wondering...

I see you get your cookbook data from Amazon. Why not from LT?

Thanks for the quick feedback everyone! For some currently unfathomable reason, it looks like if you sign up for your account using FireFox for Windows something goes wrong and you can't login. However it looks as if you use another browser to sign up (or even to login once) the problem goes away. It's fine on the Mac, and with IE. Just in case anyone else signs up until I fix it (I have to run out to meet the teacher night now...).

And SqueakyChu, to be completely honest I didn't know I could get the data from LT. I saw that LT used Amazon so I did that too. I'll have to look into it.

My bad. I'm logged in. Note for others - the login page wants e-mail address and password not username and password. Read the words, Jim!

--> 8

I logged in with IE8 and had no problem. I'm sure Tim & Co. are happy that I no longer have IE6. :)

LT uses data from many other sources in addition to Amazon. See the "add books" page (the tab at the top). On second thought, perhaps the data is not on LT to "give" out. LT supplies book information to libraries when they buy an account from Tim. It might be something you'd want to look into later if Amazon does not provide you with sufficient source material.

Your site looks as if it will be fun. I already added three recipes from Joy of Cooking, but that book needs to go back to the library. I borrowed it to take to the beach. Hmm? I might just have to buy it eventually. It's a great cookbook (and not all that expensive if you figure out everything it has to offer).

Back to my comments. I think the idea and the execution of it are great. Adding recipes was easy. I always write in my cookbooks, but this way I can share what I write in my own cookbooks with others. It's often hard to do online because one cannot copy a recipe verbatim. With your website, we are all using the same recipe and nothing has to be copied. I like that decrease in my workload!!

Best of luck with your beta. It looks fine to me.

One suggestion. Is there any way to change your screen output so I don't have to side scroll? Is it your configuration or my computer screen that don't quite fit together?

I'd like to be able to add books by ISBN as well, especially as the page numbering is dependent on edition so it's important you get the right one. At the moment I type in the title, get 20 hits and then have to find the right ISBN among those.

What I'd also like is if different editions of the same book could be joined in a cluster, the LT "work" idea. For instance, there are two copies of Enjoy! More Recipes from the Best of Bridge the the database, and it does not show in any of those that there's another copy.

But this is just nit-picking, I've been waiting for this website. Thank you!

I suspect that we may be pushing Tim's envelope here (and I'm surprised that the OP hasn't been flagged yet - I nearly did when I first saw it!). Since Andrew hasn't yet added a forum function, may I suggest an off-LT venue would be more appropriate. Here's one I prepared earlier (TV chef joke).

#14: I don't really see the problem. I suppose you are referring to Do not use LibraryThing as an advertising medium. Egregious commercial solicitation is forbidden. as it's the only thing I can find in the TOS that (sort of) applies to this. I cannot call one specific thread in one specific group "egregious". It's just letting people know about a website that they might like.

Oops. I hope this wasn't inappropriate. I really like LT and wouldn't want to be in the bad books... I agree that this has gone a bit off topic from cookbook collecting on LT, so I'm grateful for the suggestion of a place offsite to discuss things. I didn't set up forums yet because we don't have enough users (and I haven't had time), but this etherpad thing looks interesting. Thanks justjim!

Oh, and thanks for the comments wester. Good idea about the ISBN. I have put in the plumbing for clustering different editions, so it should be fairly straightforward to allow people to combine them - I just haven't added it yet. The Moosewood cookbook, for example, is a place I've tested this.

#16

Don't worry too much about this thread being inappropriate. I am one of the quickest to flag spam and, although I did look closely, this thread passed my 'smell test'. It really helped that you have been a member for over two years.

Looking over your web site is on my to-do list but my plate is fairly full so I don't know how soon I can get to it. Good luck.

Wester and justjim, I'm glad you got to this thread before the "rabid flaggers" got here. They're really hot to flag whatever!! Angray's new web site is very cool!

I like the etherpad, justjim. Thanks for setting it up (although I really thought I was finished with giving angray my ideas. Perhaps not.). :)

I joined cookbooker.com today and have started adding books & reviews :)