Helpful suggestions

[pwalker8]

I got an email yesterday with a list of ebook suggestions for me. For a change, the suggestions were spot on, I ended up buying 4 of the 13 books suggested. I think they are ebooks that came out recently since I didn't spot those particular books when I would looking up that particular subject (the Eastern Front during WW II) a few months ago.

I've found that Amazon recommendations can be quite spotty. Sometimes, like this one, they are right on. Other times, they are books that I might be interested in, but paper only, no ebook (I haven't bought a paper book in several years). Still other times, I don't have the slightest interest in any of the books on the list of recommendations and frankly have no idea why Amazon thinks I would be interested in them.

[Sydney's Mom]

I have found exactly the same. But everyone gets lucky once in awhile. I have several sites that send me recommendations for books or videos. Every one in awhile one of the non-Amazon's hits as well. I know some people turn off cookies because they don't like this, but along with the recommendations usually comes a coupon of some kind.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I have found exactly the same. But everyone gets lucky once in awhile. I have several sites that send me recommendations for books or videos. Every one in awhile one of the non-Amazon's hits as well. I know some people turn off cookies because they don't like this, but along with the recommendations usually comes a coupon of some kind.

Turning off cookies will have no effect on recommendations. They're based on your Amazon searches and purchases.

[tubemonkey]

I ignore recommendations. I have no use for them.

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Turning off cookies will have no effect on recommendations. They're based on your Amazon searches and purchases.

I was referring to turning off cookies at other sites.

[4691mls]

I read a lot of Overdrive library books but occasionally the library is missing a book or two from a series, so I'll buy those. This leads to the store (formerly Sony, now Kobo) sending me recommendations for the books in the series that I already read through the library.

I looked at the Overdrive library's recommendations for me only once. About 95% of the recommendations were audiobooks. Since I have never once borrowed nor bought an audiobook and have no plans to do so, I didn't bother looking at their recommendations again.

[Katsunami]

At Kobo I only get useful suggestions very rarely. Mostly they suggest books I already bought (sometimes even the day before), or books I don't want because the genre classification is messed up. (For example, Vampire Romance is NOT Fantasy. Understand that and put that stuff under a Romance subgenre, or give it its own genre.)

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

At Kobo I only get useful suggestions very rarely. Mostly they suggest books I already bought (sometimes even the day before), or books I don't want because the genre classification is messed up. (For example, Vampire Romance is NOT Fantasy. Understand that and put that stuff under a Romance subgenre, or give it its own genre.)

I've had the same problem with Kobo. I already have 3 of the 5 recommended books in their last email. Can't say that I'm impressed with Kobo's search engine. I searched for Roger Zelazny and pulled back 12 books, only 1 by Roger Zelazny.

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I've had the same problem with Kobo. I already have 3 of the 5 recommended books in their last email. Can't say that I'm impressed with Kobo's search engine. I searched for Roger Zelazny and pulled back 12 books, only 1 by Roger Zelazny.

Kobo is always recommending things I've already got, but they never ask to know what I've got outside of their system. So most of their time and energy trying to get me to buy things is wasted. When it actually works, I probably already have the book.

With the recommendations at Amazon, I can go into them and click "I own it". And if I run across something that I've read before, from somewhere else, I can add it to my WL, then go in and delete it, then Amazon lets me say "I own this".

Not that Amazon is perfect. Too many times I've bought books in a series from them, read them, and then find out by accident that there's a new book in the series yet I didn't find out by their recommendations. So I try to sign up for notifications from the author's web page, but not all authors have that option. So I know to keep my eyes open. But they do come up with some good matches once in a while.

If an ebook store really wants my business, they have to recognize that I do buy books elsewhere, and keeping a way to know what I tend to buy extends beyond their business.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

Kobo is always recommending things I've already got, but they never ask to know what I've got outside of their system. So most of their time and energy trying to get me to buy things is wasted. When it actually works, I probably already have the book.

With the recommendations at Amazon, I can go into them and click "I own it". And if I run across something that I've read before, from somewhere else, I can add it to my WL, then go in and delete it, then Amazon lets me say "I own this".

Not that Amazon is perfect. Too many times I've bought books in a series from them, read them, and then find out by accident that there's a new book in the series yet I didn't find out by their recommendations. So I try to sign up for notifications from the author's web page, but not all authors have that option. So I know to keep my eyes open. But they do come up with some good matches once in a while.

If an ebook store really wants my business, they have to recognize that I do buy books elsewhere, and keeping a way to know what I tend to buy extends beyond their business.

I totally agree. I read last week that Apple had purchased some company referred to as the Pandora of books. I forget the name, but they have already shut down the web site before I could try it. It could be that Apple is trying to improve their recommendation engine. The ebook store that can point me to ebooks that I don't have and am interested in, will get my business. Hopefully competition will force all of them to improve.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Vampire Romance is NOT Fantasy

Huh? Of course it's fantasy. Vampires are not real.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Huh? Of course it's fantasy. Vampires are not real.

But it can be just Romance that happens to have (Vampires, zombies, spaceships, magic) in.

If all the conventions are Romance rather than Fantasy classifying it as fantasy just annoys.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

But it can be just Romance that happens to have (Vampires, zombies, spaceships, magic) in.

If all the conventions are Romance rather than Fantasy classifying it as fantasy just annoys.

It should be listed under both "fantasy" and "romance", because it is both.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Vampire Romance is NOT Fantasy.

Originally Posted by HarryT

Huh? Of course it's fantasy. Vampires are not real.

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

But it can be just Romance that happens to have (Vampires, zombies, spaceships, magic) in.

If all the conventions are Romance rather than Fantasy classifying it as fantasy just annoys.

Originally Posted by HarryT

It should be listed under both "fantasy" and "romance", because it is both.

Doing so would be a disservice to readers and a waste of recommendations. Katsunami receiving that rec is the equivalent of a clerk saying, "If you liked The Hobbit, you should check out the Dresden Files!" Though it's certainly possible to like both, recommendations should be more specific than "fantasy = fantasy".

The book in question is Paranormal Romance, assuming the romance is key to the plot and the requisite HEA / HFN is present. For a retailer to label it otherwise, whether for recommendations or storefront organization, is going to annoy both those who don't like paranormal romance, and those who are seeking paranormal romance.

If the romance isn't primary, it should still be classified under the proper Fantasy subgenre for the purposes of recommendations. That may be Urban, simply Paranormal, or even Vampire, but to consider all Fantasy subgenres to be suitable recs for a fan of any other kind of Fantasy isn't a good way to market books. Of Fantasy, I generally only read Dark, Urban, or Paranormal, so recs of High / Epic Fantasy are wasted on me.

Though genres can be subjective, at the very least, they should help people find what they are looking for. Web sites don't have the shelving limitations of B&M stores - they can classify items very specifically. Simply listing a vampire romance under both "fantasy" and "romance" is a waste of the advantages Kobo (or any other online bookseller) has. They have so much data available to them - both about the books and about the customers - that they could do so much better.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

Doing so would be a disservice to readers and a waste of recommendations. Katsunami receiving that rec is the equivalent of a clerk saying, "If you liked The Hobbit, you should check out the Dresden Files!" Though it's certainly possible to like both, recommendations should be more specific than "fantasy = fantasy".

Of course recommendations should be more nuanced. I was specifically disagreeing with the statement "Vampire Romance is NOT Fantasy". It assuredly is fantasy, even if it's not the particular sub-genre of fantasy that happens to float your boat. You are of course absolutely right in saying that recommendations should sub-divide fantasy into different sub-genres. Eg, I enjoy the "epic quest" and "sword and sorcery" styles of fantasy, but "urban" fantasy (and, I dare say, "vampire romance", too) does nothing for me.