Whichbook

I recently came across Whichbook, - an offshoot service of Opening the Book, a library design and supply company - that generates book recommendations when readers indicate the appeal of certain factors on a spectrum.

What I like about Whichbook is that, unlike something like Goodreads' suggestions and "What Should I Read Next?" it doesn't rely solely on your previous reads. Sometimes, you just want something new, and more of the same just won't cut it! I also like the spectrum approach to appeal factors, and the unconventional categories they use: "expected/unexpected," "larger than life/down to earth," "easy/demanding," etc. Best of all, this approach doesn't exclude any genres, so it may help to diversify a user's reading experience! As the site puts it: "If you know you want a particular genre - crime, say, or fantasy - there are lots of websites to give you information. But what are the things readers long to know and are unable to find out?"

Despite these advantages, their database is extremely limited: in order to be included, a book must be either fiction or poetry, published in the last 10 years, and must have been read and reviewed by one of their staff. They also like to concentrate on "books people won't find by themselves," and so don't include many of the most popular and widely-read titles. This means that a great number of the suggestions the site makes aren't available in our catalog!

Even with its major drawbacks, however, I'd recommend checking out Whichbook, if only because it's a lot of fun to play with!