Question for readers
Ste
8 replies
I'm building https://hardcover.app, a network focused on book discovery.
I have a question for readers on here, I'm sure many of you on PH read a lot:
What is the one thing that you find most frustrating when searching for a book or about reading in general?
Replies
Molly Roberts@molly_d_roberts
Greenspark
Oh, such a good question! For me, an avid book reader, it's having somewhere to store the books I want to read in the future. Goodreads is okay, and you can save ideas here, but it just doesn't keep me interested. I don't want to keep going back to Goodreads - I'm not hooked on it as a website. So I write down the books I've heard of/been recommended in my notes on my phone.
I also hate going through Amazon, scrolling to find books. I don't trust the reviews on Amazon, and it's just a pain to scroll through constantly.
Just looked at your website - branding is terrific. Love the look. Love what you're trying to do!
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@molly_d_roberts haha thanks for checking it out!
Yeah, that's an excellent point re: reviews on Amazon. How to make them more relevant is one of the things we're working on now.
How that trust is cultivated is a complex thing, the assumption we're working on is that it surfacing reviews from readers who you're similar with and who have a track record in that genre they're reviewing is the way to go.
From my experience, I have noticed that many people feel lost in a huge number of books and do not know which one to choose. Also, many experience inconvenience when a book is not available in their region or when it takes a long time to get it. Before, I didn’t read at all and it was hard for me to study because of this. I found coursework writing service, used https://essaylab.com/coursework-... for that. Another common problem is the lack of clear information about what is inside the book, what level of difficulty and how relevant it is at the moment. I hope I helped you with your question.
I usually get book recommendations from LinkedIn or from the book I'm reading (they reference it). Something on top of my mind is probably knowing which part of the book (especially the definition or introduction) has similar concepts that I am already very familiar with and don't have to re-read those part in a new book.
@everest_ng Thanks. Useful stuff!
One way we thought about doing that, especially for startup books, is to enable book discussions - so you get an idea about what each, let's say, chapter is about by looking at what other readers said about it when they were at that point in the book.
When it comes to business-related books, it can be challenging to know how much to rely on reviews. I often find myself wondering about the background of the reviewer, whether they are a student, professor, employee, or founder, as this can significantly impact the reliability of their review.
One potential solution could be to connect book reviews with Twitter accounts and target startup founders specifically. This would allow for more targeted and relevant reviews, which could generate greater traction and credibility for the book.
@jack_jung that's very insightful. We're trialing something similar, a 'credibility' score, that shows you the reputation of the reviewer in that genre (so for startup books, you'd see the score for reviews in the 'business' genre). There's also gonna be the like count on that specific review, which hopefully will count towards the relevance of that review.
Connecting Twitter also sounds like a good idea, thanks for that suggestion.
ohh thanks