I launched Shepherd.com (https://shepherd.com/) on HN in 2021 and have added a ton since then! Here is the original Show HN (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26871660).
What did we add?
We just shipped a monster update for bookshelves! Try the science fiction bookshelf as an example:
https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/science-fiction
You can visually explore science-fiction books in a ton of different ways.
The most recommended of all time (or by decade): https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/science-fiction
Trending science fiction books: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/science-fiction/trending
The most recommended new sci-fi (pub in last 3 years): https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/science-fiction/new
Filter sci-fi by subgenre, topics, and more (for example this filter shows books with AI): https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/science-fiction/book-dna?topi...
Our sci-fi book recommendation lists by authors: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/science-fiction/book-lists
And, we've got these for 3,000+ bookshelves...
Space opera: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/space-opera
Hard science fiction: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/hard-science-fiction
Military science fiction: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/military-science-fiction
History: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/history
Nonfiction: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/nonfiction
Biology: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/biology
World War 1: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/world-war-1
Math: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/math
Astrophysics: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/astrophysics
Philosophy: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/philosophy
Travel: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/travel
Fantasy: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/fantasy
Books for 8-year-olds: https://shepherd.com/bookshelf/8-year-olds
You can browse for any genre, topic, or age group in the search bar, too.
Where does the data that drives this come from?
We've done mini-interviews with 12,000+ authors to get their favorite books. We also conduct an annual survey of readers/authors to find their 3 favorite reads of the year (https://shepherd.com/bboy/2024). I'm working to bring in more reader data and expand our book database using Open Library.
What do we use to build this?
Python, Django, Heroku, Postgres, Cloudflare, NLP/ML for Wikipedia topic IDs via Wikifier (https://wikifier.org), Nielsen’s book API database (publisher data + Library of Congress data), and Cloudinary.
What's next?
I'm working to launch a full app for readers that will be like Goodreads but smarter, more personalized, and focused on private notes. I've got some early mockups here and more info:
https://building.shepherd.com/roadmap/launch-our-tbr-app-to-...
My email is [email protected] if you want to share ideas or suggestions :)
Thanks, Ben
by Andrey
Azimov