Week 7 - LibraryThing Asignment

Well, it was an interesting assignment. I was FINALLY able to get my books linked to my blog with those cute covers. It was not an intuitive decision where to paste the html script (the what?huh?), so I just guessed and put it in one of the blog template elements. Guess it took, as I can see a couple of the cute covers on the side of my blog. I'm also including the link to my catalog list:
www.librarything.com/catalog/jillzinga

There's no way I would put all my personal books in this catalog - there would be way too many to add, I'm a cheap woman (but I'm not easy!), and I can't think that I'd consult it enough to make the effort worthwhile. I just keep a tiny notebook in my purse with the things I'm looking for when I check out used book stores, thrifts, etc. Just so you understand: I don't use an online calendar, either. I think it's a waste of time to input all that info, when I can just make the necessary notes on my master wall calendar at home. My husband and I go back and forth on this point, so you're not alone in your arguments with me! I've been dragged into the 20th-oops-21st Century kicking and screaming, I guess. LOL!

That said, the Library Thing is a very interesting tool for me to figure out what books I might want to add to my library. When I typed in "Atlas Shrugged" in the BookSuggestor, one interesting title popped up among all the similar editions of the book: "Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged:A Philosophical and Literary Companion." I may have to look that up ILL sometime.

When I used the LibrarySuggestor, some very random titles came up, probably because I added only 6 books to my list, and the tags ran the gamut from cats, fantasy, african violets, and humor to political satire, patchwork, and art quilts. I think I just had too many random tags for the suggestor to come up with a logical list, so I ended up with a variety of political biographies, heirloom gardening guides, and John MacDonald's Dreadful Lemon Sky, and that's not a title I'm at all interested in. Pehaps one needs to have more titles cataloged so the computer can ferret out some sort of pattern. But then, I don't just buy the same books all the time! I buy books on simplicity, frugality, parenting, bible devotions, making fudge, dowsing, humor, gardening, art quilting, cats, etc. So I don't know what pattern would be made of that.

Another quibble with the BookSuggestor:I tried at least six titles in the book suggestor before I finally came up with a good list of similar things to read. The first 5 titles I plugged in came back with several titles written just by that author. My sixth title "The Simple Living Guide" by Janet Luhrs came back with a generous list of books written by other authors I'll be looking closer at. Perhaps I'm just not getting the hang of this particular tool? Or is it just too narrow in some areas? Perhaps the tagging has something to do with it? I dunno.

As for the UnSuggestor, I couldn't get it to work. I typed in at least 4 of the titles I've mentioned above, and it came up with the lists of other books written by the authors. "Unplug the Christmas Machine", for instance, came up with some leader guides to use the same book with youth or church groups. Didn't look like an opposite suggestion to me. I didn't spend too much time there - the idea of putting in titles of things I liked just to come up with titles I won't like seems silly to me. Am I missing something?

I can see where LibraryThing might be an interesting addition to our reader's advisory arsenal. At this point, I'd probably find SCLS's Novelist more useful. Just my humble opinion.