What Should I Read Next?

What Should I Read Next aims to do exactly what it says: you tell it a book you’ve enjoyed, it’ll suggest some more based on reader recommendations.

It’s a lovely idea, but I think perhaps that either their algorithm needs some work or else they need more subscribers to improve the pool of recommendations they’re working with. When I said that I liked Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War, the suggestions given were:

• Final Assault – Dean Wesley Smith, Kathryn Kristine Rusch, Steve Saffel
• The Tenth Planet: Oblivion: Book 2 – Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse – Keith Hartman
• The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge – Vernor Vinge
• Standard Candles: The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt – Jack McDevitt
• Paradise Screwed: Selected Columns of Carl Hiaasen – Carl Hiaasen, Diane Stevenson
• Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon – Spider Robinson
• Mr.X – Peter Straub
• Bug Jack Barron – Norman Spinrad
• The Ersatz Elevator #6 – Lemony Snicket

I can see where they’re coming from with the Vinge, the Hiaasen and the Spinrad. Perhaps even the Spider Robinson. But Lemony Snicket? Peter Straub? I suppose Straub has on occasion written realistically chaotic combat scenes from the grunt’s-eye point of view, something of a Haldeman speciality, but I don’t think of them as terribly similar authors.

Another try: on being told that I liked Frederik Pohl’s Gateway, What Should I Read Next suggested that I try:

• Homeland – R.A. Salvatore
• Rayuela – Julio Cortazar
• Diggers – Terry Pratchett, Lyn Pratchett
• And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
• Leave It to Psmith – P.G. Wodehouse
• The First Discworld Novels: “Colour of Magic”, “Light Fantastic” – Terry Pratchett
• Timequake – Kurt Vonnegut
• Trainspotting – Irvine Welsh
• Choke – Chuck Palahniuk
• 1984 – George Orwell

Just to be clear, I’m not rubbishing the idea of the site. It’s a terrific idea, and some of those recommendations would certainly point me in useful directions. I’m just thinking that they might do better to initially present fewer but better choices.

[Via meish dot org]