Here is a story that isn't news, or if it is news, it's old news, which sounds like an oxymoron to me. However, it was new to me, and probably will be to many of you, so here it goes, two years late. There is, or was around two years ago, a new website created to help you choose books to read. It's called BookLamp, and it uses a different algorithm than the standard list of more books by the same author or in the same genre. How well it works I can't tell, but it's fun to see and who knows, maybe you will find some books you otherwise would have missed.
Rather than relying on reader recommendations, BookLamp uses something it calls the book's genome. What is a book's genome? As their site explains, “It’s complicated and technical... To go into it in detail would take a great deal of time.” Okay. If it's confusing for even them to explain, what are the chances I can understand it, or explain it to you? What are the odds I can do both? Rather than waste each other's time, I'll just say it tries to take into account various features of the book. It can include basic category descriptions, but, as their website says, it may look into frequency of appearance of such things as dragons and horses. If you like one book about dragons, maybe you'll like another. If you read a book to master your skills at parimutual betting on horse racing, maybe you'll like Black Beauty. And why not? Maybe it would be good to take your mind off gambling for awhile and read a nice story like Black Beauty.
BookLamp does provide a little more explanation. Factors considered include the amount of motion in a book, the degree of descriptive language used, the book's pacing, density of text (not exactly sure what this means), and amount of dialog. In other words, it's not just the type or subject of a book that is considered, but the writing style of the author. You might enjoy a book on a subject you normally wouldn't consider if it is written in a way you like.
I went to the BookLamp site to give it a try. I don't read a lot of modern books. I don't much go for fluff. So, I tried a book of major importance. I entered “Uncle Tom's Cabin.” I got a bunch of matches. Were they good matches? I don't know. BookLamp describes itself as a Pandora for books. For those who don't know Pandora, it's a music matching site. You enter a song you like and it plays some songs it thinks are similar. It works very well. However, it takes two and a half minutes to listen to a song. You can test for accuracy quickly. It takes me two and a half weeks to read a book. I can't go out and test this for you. You will have to see for yourself.
I hadn't read the matches it provided for Uncle Tom's Cabin. Most I hadn't heard of. Then there was one I knew... Zorba the Greek. Is Zorba the Greek like Uncle Tom's Cabin? It never occurred to me there was a similarity, but I can't say for certain. In all honesty, I never read Zorba the Greek. But... I did see the movie. I remember someone who looked like Aristotle Onassis dancing around a lot. Zorba was one of those Mediterranean characters, “full of life” as they say. That differs from we Americans who hole up behind our fences and security gates and avoid each other at all costs. Stay out of my space. Zorba wouldn't understand this. That's about all I remember about the movie. It was 40 years ago. It was a good movie as I recall, but not so earth-shaking that I could remember much 40 years later. Maybe I need to read the book. Perhaps I will find some similarities with Uncle Tom's Cabin. Perhaps it is the style. Or maybe Zorba freed the Greeks from some sort of enslavement. He was a man of the people, as I recall.
Anyway, I love new ideas, even if they are a couple of years old. BookLamp is a neat idea which may or may not work for you, but there's nothing to lose in trying it. It's free. Anything that opens new doors, or the covers of new books, is worth a try. So go ahead. You can find BookLamp at booklamp.org/index.php.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: APRES DE MANNEVILLETTE Le Neptune Oriental
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: CASSAS Eaux fortes de la Sicile et quelques vues d’Espagne
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: CASSINI DE THURY Carte générale et particulière de la France.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: JOUY; GARNERAY Vues des côtes de France dans l'Océan et dans la Méditerranée
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LA PÉROUSE Voyage autour du monde
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISIERE Voyage dans les Mers de l’Inde
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LICENT Hoang Ho, Pai Ho, Loan Ho, Leao Ho. Itinéraires suivis dans le bassin du golfe du Pei Tcheuly
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: FRENCH SCHOOL FROM THE 19th CENTURY Panorama d’Athènes
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: PEETERS Description des principales villes, havres et isles du golfe de Venise
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: PÉRON; FREYCINET Voyage de découverte aux terres australes
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: STACKELBERG La Grèce : vues pittoresques et topographiques.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: VALENTINER Atlas des Sonnensystems.
Forum Auctions Online Sale: The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper Ending 7th November, 2024
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). The Thirteen Problems, first edition, The Crime Club, 1932. £15,000 to £20,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Dumb Witness, first edition, 1937. £3,000 to £4,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Cards on the Table, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £2,000 to £3,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: [Carr (John Dickson)], "Carter Dickson" and John Rhode. Drop to his Death, first edition, Heinemann, [1939]. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: Berkeley (Anthony). Jumping Jenny, first edition, Hodder and Stoughton, 1933. £800 to £1,200.
Forum Auctions Online Sale: The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper Ending 7th November, 2024
Forum, Nov. 7: Marsh (Ngaio). Overture to Death, first edition, The Crime Club, 1939. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: [Day-Lewis (Cecil)] "Nicholas Blake". The Beast Must Die, first edition, 1938. £750 to £1,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Brand (Christianna). Green for Danger, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, John Lane the Bodley Head, 1945. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Murder is Easy, first edition, signed by the author, 1939. £3,000 to £4,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Sayers (Dorothy L.) Lord Peter Views the Body, first edition, Gollancz, 1928. £6,000 to £8,000.
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RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
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Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD
Freeman’s | Hindman Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana November 14
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: LEROUX, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. FIRST AM. ED, FIRST ISSUE IN THE VERY RARE DUST JACKET. 1911. $6,000 – 8,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD, John. A Monograph of the Trochilidae...Humming-Birds. L., [1849-] 1861. $60,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010. $50,000 – 60,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lon., 1949. FIRST EDITION IN A VERY FINE DUST JACKET. $6,000 – 8,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD. A Monograph of the Ramphastidae...Toucans. L., [1852-] 54. SECOND ED. $35,000 – 45,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14:The Federalist. NY, 1788. FIRST EDITION, THICK PAPER COPY. $60,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: SELBY. Plates to Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology. Edin., [1833-] 34. $20,000 – 30,000.