Many people take advantage of the summer months to pick up a good book or two (or three, or four...). But it's not always easy to choose which books to stash in your suitcase as the vacation season approaches. But certain applications and websites are on hand to help, offering book recommendations suited to your individual tastes. Here are four such services to try.
- Tertulia
This summer, as every summer, there'll be something for everyone in the book department. Fans of Jhumpa Lahiri will no doubt be tempted by her new novel, "Translating Myself and Others," while readers with a taste for true stories might want to pick up "We Refuse to Forget" by Caleb Gayle. Meanwhile, more indecisive bookworms can turn to the Tertulia app to find their go-to read(s) for the summer.
Tertulia relies on a mix of artificial intelligence and human curation to gather discussions and literary recommendations found on the internet, as well as on social networks, in press articles, podcasts and book reviews. The aim is to recommend to the application's users books that are likely to please them.
To get these personalized recommendations, book lovers have to answer a questionnaire about their reading habits and the people whose opinions on literature they're interested in hearing. This can include literary critics, but also writers, celebrities, chefs and other personalities. It's a great way to broaden your literary horizons.
Tertulia is available for free on iOS.
- Inkitt
A summer vacation is the ideal time to devour the latest bestsellers, but also to seek out lesser-known literary gems. Inkitt is perfect for readers who want to discover upcoming writers.
The site works like a digital publishing house: aspiring writers can publish their manuscript for free with the aim of receiving reviews from seasoned readers. The most popular works are then published by Inkitt on different platforms. And there's something for everyone: from Harry Potter fan fiction to poetry to thrillers to erotica.
Inkitt users are offered several books based on what they have previously read (and enjoyed). The platform also recommends genres and authors that take users off the beaten track to help them diversify their reading.
Inkitt is available in the form of a website as well as an application for iOS and Android.
- The StoryGraph
For the founders of The StoryGraph, life's too short to spend time reading books you're not really interested in. That's why they designed a platform that directs literature lovers to books that match their current moods and desires. Readers simply have to answer questions about their book preferences. Do they want books with lots of twists and turns or stories with engaging characters? And what are their biggest turn-offs in a novel?
Once the questionnaire is complete, the platform automatically generates a list of books that match each reader's criteria. They can sort them by their mood of the moment or the number of pages they are willing to read. Plus, curious book-lovers can also learn more about their relationship with reading thanks to a series of graphs detailing their literary habits. All of which could help users not to overload their suitcases with books that don't really suit them (and which probably won't get read on the beach).
The StoryGraph is available in the form of a website as well as an application for iOS and Android.
- Read This Twice
Many readers choose the next novel they will read based on the advice of a family member or a book industry professional. But others prefer to follow the recommendations of celebrities such as Barack Obama, J.K. Rowling or Oprah Winfrey. These personalities are all known for their love of the written word and have spoken out several times about the books they love.
Read This Twice provides readers looking for inspiration with reading lists endorsed by the likes of Bill Gates, Jennifer Lawrence, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Shonda Rhimes. They all contain quotes revealing what each celebrity likes about the selected books. For example, Hillary Clinton particularly likes Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" because the novel "opened [her] eyes, not only to the distinct and special traditions of the Chinese-American culture but also to the ways in which immigrant women of different generations adapted and adjusted to life in this country."
Numerous themed reading lists are also available on the Read This Twice platform to help vacationers choose which books to slip into their suitcases this summer.
Read This Twice is available in the form of a website.
