SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Well, not so long ago, GR repeatedly recommended me some kind of manifesto by 'church of Jesus Christ of last days' or whatnot... based on several dragon fantasy books

/facepalm

I'm getting nearly exclusively Swedish recommendations since I read a book translated from that language. Perhaps they are great, but I don't understand a single word of what they want to tell me ...

I got a "Based on your woman/feminine presenting authors" shelf...

...with a book by a guy.

The book may have been something I'd like to read, but that robotic lack of context made me chuckle.

I don’t really have time for goodread recommendations , however I do try to match up if you liked this then try that with my previous want to reads .

Because you enjoyed Cesar Millan's Guide to Audiobooks for Dogs:
The Jewel of Dantenos: A Lee Starfinder Adventure from the World of The Godling Chronicles by Brian D. Anderson

Description:
Filled with confidence and no small measure of arrogance, young Lee Starfinder, along with Millet Gristall, set off on their very first adventure. Lee quickly discovers that life beyond Hazrah can be far deadlier than he could have ever imagined. And soon he must learn that muscle and steel cannot replace loyalty, bravery and friendship.

So... I listen to a nonfiction short about playing audiobooks to dogs to help with separation anxiety, and they recommend a fantasy adventure short story. Whut.

Allison wrote: "I got a "Based on your woman/feminine presenting authors" shelf...

...with a book by a guy."

It's trying to make you a more diverse reader.

I mean I just got recommended a bunch of conservative politics books. (joke)

haha! Yes *looking at my equally populated masculine presenting author shelf* perhaps that author was actually NB and I am being very prejudiced ;-)

Do let me know which of the conservative politics books makes it onto your TBR!

Gabi wrote: "I'm getting nearly exclusively Swedish recommendations since I read a book translated from that language. Perhaps they are great, but I don't understand a single word of what they want to tell me ..."

This is funny, because English is actually a frequent reference language for a lot my understanding of Swedish ^^'

*hohoho* This just now:
"Because you read Two in Torquay: How to Escape from Prison"



(Seems eerily sentient of GR to draw such parallels).

I get a lot of them, all because I read Imajica

A Gradual Awakening which appears to be meditation and self-help.

The Heidi Chronicles "Comprised of a series of interrelated scenes, the play traces the coming of age of Heidi Holland, a successful art historian, as she tries to find her bearings in a rapidly changing world."

A book called F*ggots (I'm not linking it because the title is, obviously, a slur) "...one of the best-selling novels about gay life ever written. The book is a fierce satire of the gay ghetto and a touching story of one man's desperate search for love there..."

Hope for the Flowers "Often categorized as a children's novel, it is a fable "partly about life, partly about revolution and lots about hope – for adults and others including caterpillars who can read"

Ich, Gina Wild: Enthüllung I don't know what it's about because I don't speak German.

I don't think GR has any idea what Imajica is about.

What??



"Because you enjoyed The Martian Child: A Novel About a Single Father Adopting a Son >>> The Complete Guide to Building Classic Barns, Fences, Storage Sheds, Animal Pens, Outbuildings, Greenhouses, Farm Equipment, & Tools: A Step-By-Step G"

Haha 🤣

Not GR but I'm impatiently waiting for The Physicians of Vilnoc to be released (should be today), and I keep clicking through to Amazon from the GR book page (no use, I know, but did I mention I'm impatient?) and since Amazon doesn't have it yet, it keeps suggesting I look at these instead :D

haha! Is that really a mishap? Or should you really have slippers like that?

I definitely should not.

But Anna! Soft faux fur footbed and upper surrounds your foot in softness! And provides support!!

lol, my foot is already surrounded by much softness! Also known as fluffy socks! Well a sock. For a foot. I have two of them. Socks. And feet also.

edit: I feel that I should clarify that I own more than one pair of socks.

Lol! Maybe the slippers are indispensable for enjoying your books properly? I've been reading wrong all this time!

@Caillen: that last book on your list reads "I, Gina Wild, Full Disclosure" and is apparently the biography of a porn star.

Guess you should never have read Clive Barker!

Ever since I added Shadowmarch by Tad Williams, GR has been recommending endless books about which countryside dog walks to take if I ever buy a dog and visit Great Britain, e.g. Countryside Dog Walks : Peak District South - 20 graded walks with no stiles for your dogs and Countryside Dog Walks: Snowdonia - 20 graded walks with no stiles for your dogs and Countryside Dog Walks : Peak District North - 20 graded walks with no stiles for your dogs.

hahaha! That's quite a leap, Eva. I guess you know your quest now though!

Sure, Anna. We really know that you have no feet because you are an AI.

Ha ha. I am not an AI. Smiley face winkwink!

They make them so convincing how! I never would have guessed but now that you mention it...

Allison wrote: "hahaha! That's quite a leap, Eva. I guess you know your quest now though!


I just hope they will eventually let us fly to other countries again! My quest would take on a completely different level of difficulty if I had to smuggle myself (and a dog) into Britain somehow, dodging controls and checkpoints, trying to fake a British accent...

It sounds like you know what you have to do. The world depends on you!!

Eva wrote: "I just hope they will eventually let us fly to other countries again! My quest would take on a completely different level of difficulty if I had to smuggle myself (and a dog) into Britain somehow, dodging controls and checkpoints, trying to fake a British accent..."

at least you don't have to quarantine dogs for 6 months to get them into the UK now. I still have one critter (cat) with an EU pet passport...

Almost ready to go:

hahhaahaha

Well ... I wouldn't exactly call this 'close enough'.

Those are polar opposites!

Oh, maybe that's the point? "We see you're happy, would you like to read something that'll make you miserable?"

In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu watches reruns of Sanctuary Moon.

Because I'm reading Tales from Earthsea, apparently I should check out Kevin the Unicorn: It's Not All Rainbows

I... I just.... 👀😓

It sounds like you're having a hard time expressing your feelings, Amanda, can I recommend a book to you about just that? lolol

Amanda wrote: "Because I'm reading Tales from Earthsea, apparently I should check out Kevin the Unicorn: It's Not All Rainbows

I... I just.... 👀😓"

*hahaha* Adorable <:D

By the way, weird recommendations are not just a Goodreads thing. It can happen to videogames as well.
Courtesy of Steam...



KCD and Witcher 3 are tagged as 'nudity'... because of a few cutscenes.
M'kay.

Goodreads still seems to be confused about Murderbot. I was recommended 'Persuasion' by Jane Austen, 'Anne of Green Gables' by L. M. Montgomery and 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Bronte because of it.


Also, this happened:

The German title of the book the recommendation is based on translates to 'Most important women of world history'.

So ... yeah, now you know! :D

Because I am currently reading The Expats by Chris Pavone Goodreads has recommended

The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million—and Bucked the Medical Establishment—in a Quest to Save His Children by Geeta Anand

Yeahhhhhh very similar.

Goodreads just told me, that because I enjoyed Space Opera, I would also like The Count of Monte Christo and, uh...

Tomas wrote: "By the way, weird recommendations are not just a Goodreads thing. It can happen to videogames as well.
Courtesy of Steam..."

I bought one JRPG and it recommended a bunch of games with anime-looking characters and "nudity" tags. Um, I just want to beat up monsters, thanks. (I'm pretty sure you can exclude games with specific tags, but this was pretty baffling to see as the algo's choice for a potential next purchase.)

What?? How and why?



"Because you read The Grace of Kings:
Jungs sind wie Kaugummi - Süß und leicht um den Finger zu wickeln"

Lol!

Haha! Jemina, that is hilarious.

The twists on that algorithm sometimes 🤨

This thread almost makes me want to use the GR homepage. But not really, than monster will never get me.

RL picture of Anna avoiding all things GR actually looks like

LOL XD

Ha :,D

(How cute!)

Ooooh! I got a winner!

RECOMMENDATIONS
Because you are currently reading
Dishonesty is the Second-Best Policy: And Other Rules to Live By:

The Little Book of Sweets and Cake: A Jenny Colgan Sampler

Because David Mitchell's cynical snark and witty humor absolutely seems like the kind of thing that would generate a recommendation for a 64 page 'collection' of a few snippets from bakery-themed romance novels.

(ETA: There's nothing wrong with the latter... but that's definitely not my thing, and the recommendational leap from one to the other is... amusing.)

I've never figured out why, but Amazon used to insist I'd like Acute Renal Insufficiency Made Ridiculously Simple.

I dunno, but I suspect that if I wanted insufficient kidneys, I'd hire an expert.

haha

Just got this one:
Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Biography because I'm reading The Book of Cthulhu II.
Obviously, Goodreads also likes to recommend opposites, seeing as how Harriet Beecher Stowe was an abolitionist and H.P. Lovecraft was a famously racist piece of...well, you get the drift.
And although none of the authors in The Book of Cthulhu II share Lovecraft's views, the books still have nothing in common that I can see.

Ed wrote: "I've never figured out why, but Amazon used to insist I'd like Acute Renal Insufficiency Made Ridiculously Simple.

I dunno, but I suspect that if I wanted insufficient kidneys, I'd hire an expert."

:,D