fiction files redux discussion

So I saw the phrase "It's like Match.com but for books!" and couldn't resist clicking the link. So here it is, a website called Just the Right Book! It's a fiction finder where you take a little quiz and it gives you book recommendations based on your answers. Here are the three titles it gave me:
The Very Thought of You by Rosie Alison
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Not too bad really. I've always meant to read Ann Patchett and Rules of Civility sounds AWESOME.

http://justtherightbook.com/

hmmm. i tried it, and it gave me only one recommendation, and i don't think i would be all that keen on the book based on the description... maybe it works better for some people rather than others? i sometimes had a tough time choosing the "best" option for myself. :)

of course, it's really interesting to see how people find books like the ones they already liked reading. goodreads has that new recommendation feature, and then there's karen's group where you can say what you like to read and ask for recommendations: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/4....

I, too, had a hard time picking a best option. On several I was thinking "Uh, none of them...?"
Of the 3 suggestions, I bit on one. We'll see how it is. :)

So, my options were:

The Good Muslim By Tahmima Anam
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction


State of Wonder By Ann Patchett
Genre(s): Drama, Literary Fiction

The Very Thought Of You By Rosie Alison
Genre(s): Historical Fiction

While State of Wonder's description interested me vaugely, the rest felt a little too... book club-y for me(sorry guys - I love our book club, but most of what goes through most book clubs doesn't really interest me).

I love the concept behind this website, but I've found WAY better material from you, Kerry, and the other Fiction Filers. I guess I am just lucky/spoiled. ^_^

And now for something completely different:
Mo ~ the Universe seems to be sending me bits of Karen everywhere (that sounds SO much weirder outside of my own head...). I just found her through an abstract review on a book I found lying randomly in the library that I began to read on Monday. I liked her comments on the review[s], so I checked her profile and lo' & behold, she knew you & Ben! So, I wrote her and now you mention her here. What a great and strange world we live in~!

I will try her site and see what I think (not that I don't have a PILE of books on my floor waiting to be read....)

Micha wrote: "And now for something completely different:
Mo ~ the Universe seems to be sending me bits of Karen everywhere (that sounds SO much weirder outside of my own head...). I just found her through an abstract review on a book I found lying randomly in the library that I began to read on Monday. I liked her comments on the review[s], so I checked her profile and lo' & behold, she knew you & Ben! So, I wrote her and now you mention her here. What a great and strange world we live in~!

I will try her site and see what I think (not that I don't have a PILE of books on my floor waiting to be read....) ..."

hey micha:

i met karen on goodreads in a similar fashion -- one of my friends here liked a review of hers, which i really liked, and then he liked one of her writings which put it in my newsfeed. she does a weekly sunday adventure of food & frolic column (for lack of a better term), and i ended up reading all the chapters. i can't recommend them enough. they start here: http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/2...

we became friends and i grew to adore her -- she is my goodreads girl crush and i only wish i didn't have to share her 2000+ other people (i can manage about forty-five).

when i realized i was going to be in new york for ben's reading, i thought it would be lovely if we met in person, so we ended going to the barnes & noble wear she works (jean-paul, our delightful poet turned out to be free and joined us), ben signed copies of his book and we gave her one, and then we all had frozen fruit smush.

her recommendation group is playing into her MA thesis, so it not only benefits you, it benefits her! i have only submitted one request on behalf of a friend (and i didn't really follow the rules -- bad mo!) but i found people to be very responsive and helpful. i plan on making a few recommendations myself as well.

and that is my paean to karen, queen of goodreads. SHE IS THE BEST. please try not to make her love you more than me. :)

Kerry wrote: "So I saw the phrase "It's like Match.com but for books!" and couldn't resist clicking the link. So here it is, a website called Just the Right Book! It's a fiction finder where you take a little qu..."

Kerry--Patchett is great. I've only read Bel Canto and State of Wonder, but both are excellent novels. She has a command of language and of plot & character. Both novels get a bit unrealistic, but it's more like hyper-real than magic realism.

my results were

the family fang
and
You Deserve Nothing

mau-
frozen fruit smush sounds fantastic. karen sounds fantastic too.

Hmmm.

I got sci fi ---- which is weird because I don't really read sci fi or futuristic stuff.

Ready Player One
By Ernest Cline
"At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed. It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place."

and

Robopocalypse
By Daniel Wilson
With cinematic flair and a charging pace, Robopocalypse is what happens when World War Z meets classic Asimov robots: a surprisingly heart-wrenching tale of the ways our modern society can backfire on us when we least expect it. And we hear Steven Spielberg is set to direct the movie version! - Alena

For sure, I didn't expect the fiction finder to work for everyone, but thought it might be a nice little distraction. You could also go through and pick answers that are nothing like you and see what it spits out!

Oh and thanks for the info on Patchett, Swanny!

Well, they still went on the list, because you know, they actually look pretty interesting! :)

Shel wrote: "Hmmm.

I got sci fi ---- which is weird because I don't really read sci fi or futuristic stuff.

Ready Player One
By Ernest Cline
"At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, R..."

shel: a friend of mine called me all drunk last night after midnight to complain to me about how much he hated "ready player one". meanwhile, a bazillion others are saying it's a "nerdgasm", and my beloved karen gave it a very high review. so i'll be curious to see what you think. :)

kerry: it sure was a nice little distraction. and i still don't understand how i only got one recommendation when everybody got more. is it because i didn't give them my email address?

The Leftovers by Tom Perotta

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Methinks there is a Patchett trend...

i'm going to take a shot in the dark here, and suggest none of you said you wanted to see final destination 5? :P

Heavens, no. I haven't seen #1-4 yet.

Chris wrote: "Heavens, no. I haven't seen #1-4 yet."

did you like the x-files swanny? the first one in the series is by the guys who did some of the best early x-files: glen morgan and james wong. it's the best of the series, but if you like the conceit of the first, you might like the rest of them. i'm actually really bummed i didn't see this last one in the theatre...

I did like the X-Files, at least the first few seasons. And I had read that Morgan and Wong did the first one. I'm just not a horror flick fan, usually. That said, I saw the trailer for #5 and it actually looked pretty well done.

Chris wrote: "I did like the X-Files, at least the first few seasons. And I had read that Morgan and Wong did the first one. I'm just not a horror flick fan, usually. That said, I saw the trailer for #5 and i..."

hmmm. well, if it's ever on t.v. when you're flipping past, you should stop and give it five minutes. i'd loan you my DVD but you are too far away, and i just re-watched the thing last week. :)

i think i'd only loosely classify it as horror. i think it's pretty good suspense, myself. plus, they make john denver the harbinger of doom. :P

I have never watched any of the Final Destinations because it's just not really my thing, but JOHN DENVER IS THE HARBINGER OF DOOM??? What kind of craziness is this???

And I think Patchett must have invented or at least funded findtherightbook.com.

Maureen wrote: "Micha wrote: "And now for something completely different:
Mo ~ the Universe seems to be sending me bits of Karen everywhere (that sounds SO much weirder outside of my own head...). I just found he..."

*laughs* I shall try not to steal your limelight, Mo!

I love her group. I pretty much live there now, although I also can't seem to follow the rules for giving recommendations!

Thank you for recommending her food adventures - they are wonderful!


By the way, have you read her Literary Celebrity Deathmatch review for Jane Eyre vs. Hamlet? Kerry - I think you would love these!

Shel wrote: "Hmmm.

I got sci fi ---- which is weird because I don't really read sci fi or futuristic stuff.

Ready Player One
By Ernest Cline
"At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, R..."

Ready Player One is been on my "must read audiobooks" list. It looks really good!