My TBR stacks are so high, I’d be mortified if anyone saw them. Anyone other than my husband of course, who seems to accept the growing towers of books by my bedside *expecting a call from Hoarders any day now….*.
With that in mind, why the hell am I playing around on Whichbook? Because I need more book suggestions of course…
Whichbook is a website devoted to finding the perfect titles to match your reading preferences. There are nifty little ‘slider’ bars that you can arrange in endless combinations to find the kind of book you’re after.So, if it’s a short book with lots of sex and a funny ending you want (I don’t but I combined odd things as a test), Whichbook suggests Ada’s Rules by Alice Randall will be spot on.
You can also choose books by character, plot (success against the odds; conflict; lots of twists and turns) and setting (imaginary or by country) – I was very pleased to see Carrie Tiffany’s Mateship With Birds as one of the first results for Australia. Whichbook also searches by e-book, print, audiobook and large print titles.
I tested Whichbook by plugging in my favourite elements of a story – those that are really sad (I want to cry or even sob) and funny at the same time (usually sad combines with very black humour). So what titles did Whichbook suggest?
The results were a deliciously eclectic mix including some that I’d read, one that is in my TBR Everest (Life! Death! Prizes! by Stephen May), a graphic novel, short stories and a bunch of novels I’ve not heard of. Naturally I now want to read them. All sixty plus of them.
I downloaded a bunch of samples to my Kindle, bought Honeymoon by Amy Jenkins immediately (Jenkins wrote the nineties BBC series This Life which was beyond brilliant) and also Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill by Dimitri Verhulst (because Translation Reading Challenge).
The Whichbook reviews aren’t terribly polished but the fact is the whole website is SUCH FUN. Addictive fun. You’ve been warned.
Hey there,
I just read The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year by Sue Townsend. It was supposed to be laugh out loud hilarious but I didn’t even crack a smile. If you haven’t already read it or it is in your TBR list, maybe put it to the bottom.
Blicks
Thanks Blicks – I do actually have it in my stack because I’d heard such good things! Her other books are good, what a shame.
I spend hours on sites like the one you mentioned. Of course, I’ll be clicking into it! Thanks for the tip. And, thank you for visiting my blog.
🙂
Oh, wow. I had never even heard of this! Not like I need more book suggestions but it would be good for when I’m wanting something different and new. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing this … I think. Not sure I need another major timesuck but it does look like lots of fun!
I found a couple of books I’ve loved through Whichbook. It did force me to admit that I prefer books that are perhaps more “gentle” and “conventional” than I’d like to think of myself as liking, though 😉
It is revealing in that way! I like books with controversial endings and was certainly pushing the ‘twists and turns’ scale.
I bet my TBR piles could give yours a run for their money! I need to stay away from this site..
Given the name of your blog, you’re probably right… Perhaps we should all publish confession photos??! Lets!
I’m in!
Stay tuned!
I totally forgot about this thread until I saw you confession post just now… I’m going to have to get one together myself — and I’ll be honest, I’m kind of frightened of what my photo is going to look like!
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