The Top 3 Books on Every Topic- Reading Efficiently

[Banduzo]

I've started a new site and I'd appreciate your feedback and contribution.

The Intellectual Library is a website dedicated to finding the best book on every topic: The Intellectual Library

To create the initial top 3 in each category, I have researched various top lists from a wide variety of sources and noted the ones that were suggested the most. However I eventually want readers to vote on the best books in each category.

How it works:
Each topic page will have the Top 3 books listed at the top and then the rest for that category listed randomly below.
Each book will have a page dedicated for people to vote or comment their opinions on that particular book.

Voting:
Each book can be voted up to 3 stars with clear guidelines on voting:

3 Stars: Best book on the topic.
2 Stars: Some good tidbits, worth the read.
1 Star: There are better books on this topic.

(If a book is in more than one category, it will have a separate page dedicated to that category.)


The Shelf of Fame is books that are ranked in the top 3 in more than one category and represent the most efficient book to read and learn from.

I know everyone on this forum has their preferred books they like suggesting, so if you see a book or even a topic you think should be added, please feel free to comment here or use the suggestions page.

Right now this site is in the beta stage, but I'm looking for feedback. Business, Health and Science have completed areas of what the website will look like. (More topics and books will be added to each area as I continue my research or receive suggestions.)

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MJ DeMarco]

Interesting idea, is it just Amazon arbitrage?

Ultimately this will just turn into a popularity contest with all the usual "best-sellers" on top of the list, simply because they've been read the most and have the larger followings.

So I'm not sure how this is different than looking at best seller lists in Amazon's category.

The design is really poor too -- it doesn't invite the user to participate nor look engaging.

 

[Banduzo]

Interesting idea, is it just Amazon arbitrage?

Ultimately this will just turn into a popularity contest with all the usual "best-sellers" on top of the list, simply because they've been read the most and have the larger followings.

So I'm not sure how this is different than looking at best seller lists in Amazon's category.

The design is really poor too -- it doesn't invite the user to participate nor look engaging.

I'm just using amazon affiliates for the links.

Putting the design aside for now as I won't put much effort into improving it if there seems to be no interest in the idea.

The goal of the site is efficiency. What is the best book or 3 books someone can read to get a good grasp on a topic? We don't have time to read everything, so my website would save you the searching and comparing books to just picking from the top 3. (I personally like to research a variety of sources before I read a book on a topic, even if it's Amazon rating is high).

I don't know if this will turn into a popularity contest because it ultimately depends on the visitors the website attracts.

A lot of amazon best seller lists are time sensitive and have a lot of brand power behind them as you mentioned. So when Tony Robbins releases his financing book Money Master the Game, is that really the best finance book or is he just capitalizing on his brand. My top 3 will remain until a better book is voted above them.

As far as I can tell, I don't think Amazon or even Goodreads have a good ranking of top rated books. For example on Amazon, i see Top rated (which some books don't even look relevant to the category) and best sellers, but no focus on the few best. Then you can try searching by most reviews, but when I do that in Amazon in the business category, The Hobbit comes up. So there are definitely flaws.

Now another thing I notice being a reddit user is the top and most common questions in every subreddit is: What is the best book on (insert topic). So there is definitely a need there. In this day and age, people don't have a lot of time to read. So finding the most efficient use of their time with the best book at least gives them some of the most important information on that topic.

And just to add further discussion. I looked at my top 3 books for marketing (which is based off of multiple recommendation lists from various websites). Then I look at the top rated, best sellers and featured lists from Amazon for marketing and none of the books I have listed are there. (22 Immutable laws of marketing, Made to Stick and Purple Cow).

I appreciate you checking it out MJ and giving me feedback to think through.

 

[EricFromCanada]

I'm just using amazon affiliates for the links.

Putting the design aside for now as I won't put much effort into improving it if there seems to be no interest in the idea.

The goal of the site is efficiency. What is the best book or 3 books someone can read to get a good grasp on a topic? We don't have time to read everything, so my website would save you the searching and comparing books to just picking from the top 3. (I personally like to research a variety of sources before I read a book on a topic, even if it's Amazon rating is high).

I don't know if this will turn into a popularity contest because it ultimately depends on the visitors the website attracts.

A lot of amazon best seller lists are time sensitive and have a lot of brand power behind them as you mentioned. So when Tony Robbins releases his financing book Money Master the Game, is that really the best finance book or is he just capitalizing on his brand. My top 3 will remain until a better book is voted above them.

As far as I can tell, I don't think Amazon or even Goodreads have a good ranking of top rated books. For example on Amazon, i see Top rated (which some books don't even look relevant to the category) and best sellers, but no focus on the few best. Then you can try searching by most reviews, but when I do that in Amazon in the business category, The Hobbit comes up. So there are definitely flaws.

Now another thing I notice being a reddit user is the top and most common questions in every subreddit is: What is the best book on (insert topic). So there is definitely a need there. In this day and age, people don't have a lot of time to read. So finding the most efficient use of their time with the best book at least gives them some of the most important information on that topic.

And just to add further discussion. I looked at my top 3 books for marketing (which is based off of multiple recommendation lists from various websites). Then I look at the top rated, best sellers and featured lists from Amazon for marketing and none of the books I have listed are there. (22 Immutable laws of marketing, Made to Stick and Purple Cow).

I appreciate you checking it out MJ and giving me feedback to think through.

Interesting idea. I would recommend you checkout the site Goodreads. They were acquired by Amazon a while back, and are what I currently use to see if a book is good before I read it. Also since books on Goodreads have thousands of reviews, it may be worth looking into using those scores as a starting point for how you rank the books on your site. Overall this idea may have potential, and I would also recommend maybe messaging some of the users on Goodreads or Amazon who have written reviews on business books in the past, if you think they are your demographic.
Best of luck!
Eric

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.