Amazon: Shopping by recommendations & ratings

Posted by Roy Tomeij | Filed under Miscellaneous

Over the years I have ordered dozens of books from Amazon, so Amazon knows what I like to read about (always non-fiction; business, history, society or photography). When I go there to buy books I usually don’t have a title in mind; I just want some nice books to read during my daily commute (2 hours on the train daily). So I go to my recommendations and almost always find some interesting stuff there. On the product pages for that books there’s the “what others who bought this item also bought” section, which has me opening more tabs with product pages. Then there’s the ratings: if a recommended item has a poor rating (star wise) I don’t buy it. When the people rating the book said something like “hard to read, but great presentation of scientific research”, it usually isn’t the book for me. I’m not looking for research material, I want something that’s readable. For me it’s entertainment, although I like learning lots of things I didn’t know on the way. Sometimes I enter a search term of something that might interest me (like “mental hospitals”, triggered by some books with pictures of abandoned mental institutions, ending up with two books on the matter). I sort the list by average rating, not relevance or best selling. I have high regard for the people taking the time to write helpful reviews and rate their purchases. And of course for Amazon building their clever recommendation engine and the ability to have people share their honest opinion, also when they believe a book to be crap. It provides for a shopping experience not a single real life bookstore can match.

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Read more | Comments (2) | August 24th, 2008

When the Mob Ran Vegas

Posted by Roy Tomeij | Filed under Book

Yet another book review. Recently I finished “When the Mob Ran Vegas” by Steve Fischer. Fun stories, but written by a very poor writer. Great to read about how the mob ran Vegas using their less-than-legal methods, Frank Sinatra owning a resort with secret tunnels (so the Kennedy’s could do their thing) and extensive information about some mobsters involved. Some names I recognized from “Cosa Nostra” (great book about the Sicilian mafia, should write a review about it some time), which gives that little bit extra insight in the origins of the organization that “When the Mob Ran Vegas” lacks. The old photographs are great (but I’m a sucker for old photo’s), although some were downloaded from the web (at 72 dpi), which doesn’t really enhance the quality once printed. Read the rest of this entry »

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Read more | Comments (0) | August 23rd, 2008

Confederates in the Attic

Posted by Roy Tomeij | Filed under Book

In “Confederates in the Attic“, Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Horwitz tells (by experience) how the Civil War isn’t quite finished yet in the US’ southern (confederate) states. Reenactors (the “hardcore” ones who reenact starvation by actually not eating for days), Sons & Daughters of the Confederacy (those who had some grandparent serving in the confederate army), southerners who actually feel the war isn’t over yet (cursing at federal government and waving their rebel flags) and the occasional “village idiot”. Read the rest of this entry »

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Read more | Comments (0) | August 18th, 2008