Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

A book that an AI chatbot recommends based on your favorite book.


Here is where I confess that I've kept my head in the sand regarding AI chatbots. I have no idea where to find one, nor do I know how to get one to recommend a book to me. Help!!


No Listopia for this one.

If people don't want to use AI:

Some pointed out in the chat that you can read the next book in a series. If you put in a series book, AI will probably recommend the next book.

Someone else said they were just going to go with a librarian's recommendation again.

You might also try one of the picks linked to on the book's page here on GR or whatever online shopping site you like. Besides the AI aspect, it's also really hard to pick a favorite book for many people. For me, I'll say that any five-star read can qualify as a favorite.

I dislike AI but I've been forced to use it for work purposes.

A really quick way to do this prompt would be to go to chatgpt.com (or, if you have Microsoft Edge, you can use the built in Copilot chatbot) and prompt it with something like "Give me 5 suggestions of books to read if I liked [title] by [author]." (Add multiple books you liked if you want better suggestions.)

Just be sure to double check anything it gives you, because AI likes to hallucinate and make stuff up.

I just tried with Claude AI (first time using a chatbox AI) and it went surprisingly well.

I asked for three recommendations based on books I like (10 exemples) and favorite genres.

It proposed me 3 books that I already read and loved, so I guess the next one I didn't read should be a good one.

It proposed me Hyperion

Dubhease wrote: "If people don't want to use AI:

Some pointed out in the chat that you can read the next book in a series. If you put in a series book, AI will probably recommend the next book.

Someone else said ..."

I am strongly opposed to AI and the terrible effect it has on the environment and these are both good suggestions, thanks!

ChatGPT recommended The Custom of the Country when I told it two of my favorite books are The Great Gatsby and The House of Mirth. A friend recommended this same book to me a few weeks ago so I guess it's kismet!

Grace wrote: "ChatGPT recommended The Custom of the Country when I told it two of my favorite books are The Great Gatsby and The House of Mirth. A friend recommended this same book to me a few weeks ago so I gue..."

The Custom of the Country was my favorite Edith Wharton for years. I was quite obsessed with her in college. Last I heard, an adaptation is supposed to be in the works, as well!

Dedra ~ A Book Wanderer wrote: "Grace wrote: "ChatGPT recommended The Custom of the Country when I told it two of my favorite books are The Great Gatsby and The House of Mirth. A friend recommended this same book to me a few week..."

I love to hear that!

Dubhease wrote: "If people don't want to use AI:

Some pointed out in the chat that you can read the next book in a series. If you put in a series book, AI will probably recommend the next book.

Someone else said ..."

I actively avoid AI because I work in a creative field and don't want any whiff of it near my output. But my library emails me monthly recommendations based on a questionnaire I filled out, so I figure that is probably based on some kind of AI (though my computer geek friends tell me none of it is real AI) but sufficiently removed from my workspace for me to feel comfortable.

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

Recommended to me by the description of the AI character in a booktube review -- made me think of Persuasion in a vague coming to know your own mind sort of way. That's my story.

No shade to anyone who wants to use it, but I hate this prompt because of what AI does to the environment and the damage it's done to my job. I think I'll use some kind of site, like https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/ that uses an algorithm or maybe I'll just use a number generator to pick a book from my Want to Read Shelf.

The library resource Novelist Plus features some read-alikes for books.

I'm torn on this one because I totally get the anti-AI stance, and also just going with a next-in-series or whatever Goodreads recommends seem like perfectly acceptable suggestions.

But I'm also really curious about what a bot would recommend, the same way I'm curious about what a "psychic" would say to me just because I want to know what unconscious cues they'd be "reading."

when you pick a book on amazon it usually suggests others like this to read, that's basically an AI chatbot right there. Since I know it'll suggest the next book in a series that's what I'm using because I don't want to encourage AI anything around creative projects

If anyone else opposed to this prompt wants an alternative, I'm going to look up a favorite book on Amazon or Goodreads and scroll down to the "customers also bought" or "readers also like" section and choose a book from there. It seems close enough.

I have Kindle Unlimited, so I was thinking I'll just use something that comes up in the algorithm of recommendations.

Like others, I’m not a fan of using AI but especially frivolously since it has such an impact on the environment. I used a random number generator to pick something off of my TBR list! I’m trying to whittle it down so it was still random and something I’d likely enjoy.

so glad to see that there are others who do not want to use AI because of its environmental impacts!! i hope popsugar will see some people's concerns about the inclusion of AI on their list and take it into account when making next year's.

maybe people in this thread can comment their favorite book and we can reply if we have any recommendations? after all, i know some goodreads users have encyclopedic knowledge that rivals the knowledge of any chat bot.

my favorite is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell!

I like the Readers Also Enjoyed and GR Recommends for options.

My IT husband constantly rants about the problems with AI. What I've gathered is most AI are actually just algorithms with better PR. Because of this I have zero issues with using goodreads' recommendations.

In actuality I'm going to be doing a sequel. It just takes out the middleman.

i wanted to check out the comments on this prompt specifically bc i was so annoyed they even had a prompt which included using ai lol. glad to see that there's more people interested in alternatives - if you want to go ahead with the prompt, no shade, but no one's underselling the environmental cost of using ai and tbh using it to get something you could just as easily get from a real person feels pretty ridiculous.

asking a librarian or a friend to rec based on your favorite book feels like a legitimate spin on this one for those avoiding ai. for me, i'm annoyed enough this one was included that i wholesale changed the prompt: instead, i'll be reading either a nonfiction book about artificial intelligence or a fiction book where artificial intelligence features prominently in the plot.

ChatGPT kept giving me books I've already read. Eventually I got Redshirts, Crosstalk and Space Opera. I've enjoyed Connie Willis in the past, so I think I'll go with Crosstalk

Out of the 6 books ChatGPT recommended to me (based on King of the Wind by Marguarite Henry), I've read 5 of them and the 6th one doesn't seem to exist, so I am picking a book that does exist by the author the AI suggested to me Tim Pears, The Horseman

The Catelog System my library uses has a "More Like This" that kinda functions off AI I think to recommend similar books. I think I'll just use that becasue I am so leary to use AI.

I am also going with Kindle, Amazon, or Goodreads, though these are technically algorithms not AI

I looked at my favourite mystery this year and GR recommended Home Is Where the Bodies Are so I'll probably read that one.

Shelley wrote: "My IT husband constantly rants about the problems with AI. What I've gathered is most AI are actually just algorithms with better PR. Because of this I have zero issues with using goodreads' recomm..."




LOL that's generally my rant about it too: "it's not actually AI why do they insist on calling it that?"

I asked for recommendations starting off with Le Petit Prince which is an all time favourite of mine.
It took the bot 9 tries to come up with one that I hadn't read already. We ended up with Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. Maybe it'll do.

Inga wrote: "I asked for recommendations starting off with Le Petit Prince which is an all time favourite of mine.
It took the bot 9 tries to come up with one that I hadn't read already. We ended ..."

Oh lordy Jonathan Livingston Seagull was THE HOT BOOK when I was in high school in the early 1970s. On the best seller lists as #1 forever, everyone including me read it. Very much suited that time. And not only do I not remember it, but I have not seen a copy of it or seen mention of it except when looking at bestseller lists from that era. It is illustrated as I recall, and will take you less time to read than Le Petit Prince. Which is a favorite beloved book of mine!

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era is what i was recommended.

The AI recommended W Bruce Cameron's A Dog's Purpose (A Dog's Purpose #1) when I listed Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain. Since I have read the first two installments in the Dog's Purpose trilogy, I'll read the third book, A Dog's Promise, since I've owned it for several years and keep meaning to read it. Beyond that book, it listed one that I could not find anywhere, along with several others that made no sense to me whatsoever! So much for AI recommendations!

I have ethical objections to AI as it currently exists, both due to theft and its atrocious environmental impact.

For an alternative, I'm going with What Should I Read Next?
https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/

I plugged in the first book in some of my favorite series. If you like any of these, feel free to use the suggestions.

Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate):
The Native Star by M.K. Hobson

Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn):
Jim Butcher (Codex Alera series)
Joe Abercrombie
Brent Weeks

Terry Pratchett (Discworld):
Brandon Sanderson
Robert Jordan
Scott Lynch

Mary Robinette Kowal (Lady Astronaut):
Planetfall by Emma Newman
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

https://www.literature-map.com cropped up in an ATY prompt in 2023.

If you type in the name of an author you like, it gives you a 'map' of other similar authors. That might be helpful for this prompt.

For this one rather than use a direct AI source because I am not a fan either, I'm just gonna switch it a bit to include tech resources (so like Instagram/TikTok/GoodReads/etc.)

I would never ever use AI for anything ever, and I'm a little disappointed that Popsugar would promote it. That being said, what I did was look up my favorite book in The Story Graph site and looked at their recommended readalikes.

I did NOT want to use AI, so I loved the suggestion to do What Should I Read Next?

https://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/

Put in a favorite book and got a recommendation for a book I've been meaning to read for awhile. So works for me.

I put some of my faves into chatGPT (The Book Thief, House of Leaves, Ancillary Justice, The Martian)

And it gave me:
The Night Circus
Cloud Atlas
The Broken Earth Trilogy
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
S.

I've been meaning to read S by J.J. Abrams for forever and it's sitting on my shelf, so I'm happy.

I switched it a bit. Still can't get behind the whole 'AI' of it all. So I went with a general recommendation on social media.

The Terror by Dan Simmons

What I put into ChatGPT:
If my favorite books are The Lost Apothecary, The House in the Cerulean Sea, A Discovery of Witches, and Harry Potter, what other books would you recommend?

The response: (links added by me)
Based on your favorite books, I recommend The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern for its enchanting atmosphere, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab for its magical realism, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern for its whimsical storytelling, and The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon for its rich world-building and fantasy elements. The Lost Apothecary

Despite the fact that I actually train AI chatboxes for a living, I've never used one for personal reasons, lol. I braved chatGPT and got back The Eye of the World. I've owned it for awhile, so that works.

I’m going to read Persuasion which goodreads says I’ll like based on Pride and Prejudice

I will be reading Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter based on my enjoyment of Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

HAPPY READING!!

I read Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton, based on me liking The Outsiders.

Wish I'd come here to see some of the alternatives to using AI. I tried ChatGPT for the first time, already forget what I told it I liked, but one of the recommendations was Jane Steele, which I own but hadn't read yet, so that was the one.

I'm required to use AI at work and often find it useful there, but I also see people using it in ways that make no sense or violate copyright etc. My take on it is essentially that we should be selective about how we use it, and that it increases the urgency of addressing the sustainability of our electricity use.

Anyway, I told ChatGPT that my favourite book is The Dharma Bums, and it gave me five decent recommendations, some of which I have indeed already read and liked. Of the ones I hadn't already read, I'm going to go with Howl and Other Poems.

I recommend https://www.readupnext.com/

I wrote in a book I loved, and the "Books Similar to" list; I had read half of the books recommended, and I like everyone of them. Now, I don't know if they are similar to the book I chose, but I would say there's at least 80% chance that I'm going to like the books on the list I haven't read. :-D

Ketutar wrote: "I recommend https://www.readupnext.com/

I wrote in a book I loved, and the "Books Similar to" list; I had read half of the books recommended, and I like everyone of them. Now, I don't know if they..."



I just tried that, I typed in "All Fours" and ... not found. Perhaps this is not updated with the latest best sellers?

Hmmm I tried some older books too. Bunny, All's Well, and Rouge ... all "not found."

As someone who is totally against unnecessary AI and doesn't really have an absolute favorite book, I've been playing around a few different "if you read this, then you might like this" kind of sites. In my searches, I ran across an old buzzfeed quiz: https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelstroll...

It's not perfect and it's a few years old, but it's in the spirit of this prompt and a few of the options along the way are definitely books I've enjoyed, so I thought I'd see what it offered. It gave me We Were Never Here

Using Poe I asked “If my favourite books are "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "The Count of Montecristo", which other books would you recommend me to read?” I was expecting it to recommend “Faust” by Goethe but nope, this is what the AI gave me and I chose the first one, which is also a classic I hadn’t ready before.

Based on your interest in **"The Picture of Dorian Gray"** by Oscar Wilde and **"The Count of Monte Cristo"** by Alexandre Dumas, you might enjoy the following books:

1. **"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald**
A tale of ambition, love, and betrayal set in the Jazz Age, exploring themes of wealth and the American Dream.

2. **"Les Misérables" by Victor Hugo**
A sweeping epic about justice, redemption, and the struggles of the human spirit in post-revolutionary France.

3. **"Dracula" by Bram Stoker**
A gothic horror novel that delves into themes of desire, fear, and the supernatural, with rich character development.

4. **"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett**
A story of transformation and healing, focusing on the power of nature and friendship.

5. **"The Picture of Dorian Gray" (graphic novel adaptation)**
If you enjoyed Wilde's original, consider exploring various graphic adaptations that bring a new visual perspective to the classic tale.

6. **"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens**
Set during the French Revolution, this novel explores themes of resurrection, sacrifice, and the impact of social injustice.

7. **"The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins**
A thrilling mystery involving mistaken identities, madness, and the complexities of truth.

These selections should resonate with your taste for rich narratives and complex characters!