Playing with Bookmory and StoryGraph

Playing with Bookmory and StoryGraph

Byrichard

Goodreads was independent, once upon a time, and then Amazon bought it and it became part of the Amazon universe. At that point Goodreads stopped being an interesting option because we were helping a billion dollar company rather than an indipendent project.

Bookmory and storygraph are two alternative projects. Bookmory imports the goodreads csv faster but Storygraph provides more analytical data after the fact. Storygraph simplifies importing the book CSV from Goodreads to Storygraph but once I got the Goodreads CSV I could migrate my data to both services with ease.

The difference in price is 31 CHF per year for Bookmory and 39 Euros per year for Storygraph.

I started using both yesterday so I haven’t made up my mind about which I prefer. I do like that I can track my reading streak via StoryGraph rather than via the Kindle app, Apple Books or other apps.

Setting Up AudioBookShelf

Setting Up AudioBookShelf

Byrichard

I have been an audible member for years at this point and in that time I have “bought” hundreds of books. I write “bought” because I payed for a Platinum account for years and got credits and got the books with those credits. Over the years I have collected more books than I can read in a year.

That library lived in the cloud, rather than my devices, for years. I would download the books I was listening to but not those that I had finished, or would read later. That’s because laptops and mobile phones have smaller hard drives than I require for my books.

OpenAudible

The first step when backing up audible books is to download them. The second is to strip them of DRM, and before you tell me off for being like a pirate I will correct you. I bought an MP3 player but because it doesn’t support AAX files I had to find a way to make the content that I own, legally, playable on a cheap mp3 player. In the process I stripped the DRM because I had no way of playing the audio files otherwise.

It’s because Apple, Audible and Sandisk do not play nicely that I had to strip the DRM. If they played nicely I would not have stripped files of DRM.

AudioBookShelf

AudioBookShelf serves as a site/service that makes it easy to catalogue your books and listen to them from your phone, laptop, desktop tablet or other. An Android App exists, but the iOS app is only available via Testflight.

The app can be installed as a docker container within minutes, and then you can point it to the folder where you store all your audiobooks. I write audio books, rather than Audible, because you can download audio books or podcasts and add them to your instance of audiobookshelf, to listen to files, streamed, or downloaded.

Listen Tracking

As you listen to books with this app you get to see how many minutes you listened per session, as well as which book, and for how long. If you use the app for more than a year you get the summary of previous years of listening.

Cover Art

The app gives you the option of looking for book cover art from a number of different audible libraries, depending on language and country, but also from open library and other sources.

Multiple Accounts

You can add as many accounts as you like with this app. The admin account can also create libraries either for individuals or to make it easier to differentiate between open audio books, audible, or other providers.

If you have a spouse, or children, or both, or live with others you can share access to this library. You can choose whether people can read, download, upload and more. This enables people to add the books that they want to have available via this website.

Podcasts

The app supports podcasts. If you add the OPML file of your podcasts it will automatically retrieve the latest ones, for you to listen to. I have yet to test this feature.

And Finally

So far I have listened to an hour of audiobooks via this website/instance and it works well. I tested it via firefox on iOS and via the web browser on the laptop and it works very well. As you listen on the phone you can see the progress bar update on the laptop and vice versa. You can seamlessly switch between devices.

The advantage of such an app is that you can share books, without giving people the files. They can then listen to audio books and their progress is kept between devices.

One of the key nuissances with audio players is that they do not usually keep track of progress. With this app you do, so you can switch between books and it will remember where you are.

The other advantage is that each listener is independent so you get listening stats for yourself, but not others.

So far I am happy with my experience.

Reading Alaska and Iberia by Michener

Reading Alaska and Iberia by Michener

Byrichard

Introduction to Iberia

Between last night and this morning I began to read Iberia by Michener and the introduction is pleasant. It takes us back to a time when people trailed by coal ship to Italy, before bouncing around and dropping into Spain to pick up oranges. The scene described within the first few pages is a nice one. It reminds us of an age that is long gone. The notion of ships picking up oranges, the spain of poor seaside towns that rely on fishing, or orange sales and more.

It contrasts to the news stories we read about Spain and tourism today. Today with AirBnB tourism is destructive, rather than constructive and cultural. It’s important to be reminded that travel was not always a one hour hop on a plane from A to B to go partying and clubbing. In the past travel was a journey.

The Alaska Introduction

The book Alaska has a different introduction. It starts by telling us what is real, what is based on reality, what is invented based on fact, and what is entirely fictional. It then speaks about plate Tectonics and moves on to mastodons and more.

Sixty Hours of Reading

According to the Kindle App both books combined will take about sixty hours to read. One of the advantages of lowering the number of books I want to read this year is that it has freed up my time, to read longer form books. At a time when people speak of not being able to read more than a page or two at a time I am planning to read two voluminous books. If I succeed then that will be interesting. I will have learned a lot.

Kindle Read

I could get the books on Kindle, and listen to them as I walk, drive or cook but I prefer to read them on the Kindle app. In my experience long books, in audio form require a good reader, not to become tiring. Part of the reason I was tempted to read these books is that they were cheap. 3 Euros 81, as I check now on Amazon.fr.

And Finally

Until I reached my reading goal for the year I was choosing shorter books. Now that I have reached my book reading goal I can enjoy longer form content. Of course, if I want to get through these books I will have to read for more than a few minutes a day before falling asleep. I think I will be transported back in time, with these books.

Cycling From Haute-Morges To Nyon Along the Top

Cycling From Haute-Morges To Nyon Along the Top

Byrichard

Yesterday I cycled from Haute-Morges to Nyon along the top. I did this because I was curious to see what route the GPS would recommend. The natural thing to do would be to cycle downhill towards Rolle and the lake. 


Trees and a meadow in a road bend
Trees and a meadow in a road bend


The Route


Instead I cycled upwards towards Montricher. From there I cycled west vila Mollens to Bière, and from there, down and across towards  Saurraz, Marchissy, Le Vaud before Bassins, Le Muid and then finally down from Genolier towards Trelex and from Trelex down through Grens before heading down towards Nyon. 



My expectation was to cycle uphill for a little bit, and then to cycle downhill for the rest of the journey home. In reality that wasn’t the case. In reality I did a lot of climbing. I had to climb over 450 metres. 


Although it felt flat when I was cycling from Nyon, towards these places, when you’re cycling the other way you get to encounter all the climbs. Despite wanting to go down the hill, if you follow the Jura, you end up on a roller coaster. If I had been knackered I could have just followed the road signs that would take me to the lake road, but I didn’t. 


Avoiding Rush Hour


I was cycling from 1500 onwards so I was cycling when parents, and people who work short days were commuting. If I had gone down to the valley of the Lac Léman I would have been pestered with cars and annoyed drivers. By staying at the top I burned a lot of energy, and it depleted my “battery” as Garmin calls it, but I had a pleasant ride. 


Armour and Books



During this ride I was amused to see the armours in the windows of one shop. I always stop to look at them. I find it interesting to look at them. I also passed by several book lending libraries. One was sheltered with a fountain, the second was in an old phone box. The third was the library of Le Vaud but I didn’t enter. It’s nice that on such a ride we can look for books, should we desire to do so, 


Some of the books I saw
Some of the books I saw


Books in an old phone booth
Books in an old phone booth


And Finally


The route is nice but I am not sure that I would ride it again. If I had gone up and around the Vallée de Joux I would have had a harder climb initially but then it would have been quite flat until St Cergue and then it would have been an easy downhill. If I had headed down, from Haute Morges, rather than up I would have had an easy ride to the lake, and then it would have undulated a little, but nothing like the Alpine route. I made it, within two hours, as expected, but it was more energetic than planned. 

Andrew Keen And The Scarcity of Choice
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Andrew Keen And The Scarcity of Choice

Byrichard

I recently noticed that I had Andrew Keen’s The Cult of the Amateur book as an audiobook on Apple Books. I have had the book for at least a decade but have only got around to reading it recently. Over the last week I have listened to him speak about the closing of Tower Records and it encouraged me to write more about the scarcity of choice, that comes with online browsing and shopping.
When I lived in Weymouth I would go to WHSmith and look for new books, and then when I lived in London a few years later I would look for books at Waterstones. I spent hours in that book shop and often wanted to buy plenty of books but resisted temptation. The beauty of book shops is that you can look within a section and quickly see hundreds, or even thousands of books.


Scarcity of Choice With Books


Compare this to book browsing today. Book shops are rare, and supermarkets have a very limited choice. It does get worse. When you shop for books online you get plenty of the top selling books recommended, but it’s hard to find the least popular titles. It’s hard to find the long tail of books. it’s hard to browse through niche interests and topics because algorithms force us to see the top selling books, rather than browse.


Lending Libraries


That’s why the lending box in Eysins, Borex, Crassier, Founex, several in Nyon and other places are so good. They do have niche books, and they do have niche books. In the age of unlimited choice our actual options are limited to what algorithms think we want to read, rathre than what we would stumble upon in a physical book shop. Today we need to know what we’re looking for, rather than exploring, and finding it.


YouTube and Content Creators


He discussed YouTube and content creators that are creating content for free on YouTube, rather than being paid to generate it. What he didn’t explore so much, related to YouTube and amateurs trying to be professional about content production, a decade and a half later, is that broadcasters and independent companies are cutting costs and reducing their output thus reducing the number of jobs available for media professionals in mainstream media and more.


Coming of Age At the Right Time


I often wish that I had come to YouTube half a decade later than I did, maybe even later than that. When I wanted to break into the media the model was still focused on mainstream media. Now it has flipped around and the opportunity, and challenge, is to think of content that would attract people to view content. If YouTube had been what it is today, when I was 18 then I would have studied the same thing, but I would have pivoted towards independent content production much sooner. I have books on the topic, but independent at the time meant finding investors to pay for ideas. Today the barriers are inspiration and motivation.
Paradoxically, despite the barrier to entry being very low, to post content on YouTube or other video sharing platforms. there is a wall. The wall of tabloid sensationalism. I watched one content creator until I noticed the clickbait nature of the headlines. In another case I stopped watching several content creators for going on and on about their million plus subscribers. The barrier to entry is the same as the barrier to watching the content.


Getting Beyond The Noise


The patience to sort through the tabloid and sensationalist crap, before getting to content worth watching. On YouTube there is a scarcity of choice, because to please the algorithms you need to be a tabloid sensationalist to appear in search results and to be recommended. Failing this you are invisible. Failing this you need to drive traffic via blog posts or other means.


On Books And Video


I speak about the challenge of finding books despite having a backlog of hundreds of books. As I have often said, finding a book you want to read takes seconds, but actually reading it takes hours. Some books require thirty hours of reading. Usually they require seven hours or so. Books require an investment of time.
My real challenge is with video content. That’s where I struggle to find what I want to watch. In the past we would watch TV and see “What’s coming next” or we would read about new shows. Now we don’t, so we just have to browse until we find something. This isn’t a new problem. I had it when looking for films in video rental shops. In another lifetime finding something to watch was easy. Go to Discovery Channel and find documentaries to watch. Problem solved.


And Finally


As I read The Cult of the Amateur by Andrew Keen I thought that it should be updated for the 21st century. Instead of doing this he just wrote a few new books, one in 2018 and the second in 2020. I would purchase them but I might as well finish the book I am reading now, before getting yet another book. The Cult of the Amateur is an interesting look into what was perceived around 2007. The new books would reflect more modern visions.

Audible For Dummies

Audible For Dummies

Byrichard

Recently I noticed that Audible is great for dummies. To be more specific I noticed that if you are an Audible paying subscriber you have access to dozens of Audible For Dummies books available within the subscription. 


They have books on goat keeping, bee keeping, ham radio and more available for us to listen to for “free” within the subscriptions that we have. This is great, not because we ever finish For Dummies books, but because we can read them for cheaper than usual. 


Usually, at least in Switzerland, For Dummies books cost 20-30 CHF each, unless you find them in lending libraries in villages, for free, but that’s a matter of luck, rather than reliably. 


In the past when we bought books we would go to a library and we would thumb through the book, and see whether the content engaged us. With digital books, whether audio or e-book we can’t do that so easily. We can read a sample but the sample doesn’t give the same “try before you buy experience” as leafing through a book. 


With Audible having so many For Dummies books to choose from we can listen to bit and pieces of books, and see whether we want to buy the book, after all, or not. 


I was curious to read “Blogging for Dummies” but because the book is old, and because I’ve been blogging longer than the writer of that book I thought “The book is a waste of money”. By getting the book included with my Audible plan I can read it for “free” and see whether it is as much as a waste of time as I thought it was. I have listened to some of the book but haven’t formed an opinion yet. 


If I was producing a For Dummies book I would remove the introduction about the symbols and what they mean, as well as remove the part about “you can read it in any order you like”. With an audiobook we usually read them from beginning to end, without skipping around like in a printed book. 


And Finally


Not all for Dummies books are included within the Audible subscription so you might be lucky and find the book you’re curious about, or not. I share this as a curiousity. This is an opportunity to learn about new topics whilst walking, cooking driving, etc. 

Apple Reading Goals
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Apple Reading Goals

Byrichard

I am confused by Apple reading goals because they measure how many days you have reached your goal, as well as how much you read for the current day, but once today is yesterday it loses all of that information. It tells you that you have a. streak but you have no way of knowing anything else.


It would be nice to know how many hours you read per week, as well as how this has varied from one week to the next, from one month to the next, and from one season to the next. With this information you could see whether seasons and other factors affect how much you read. None of this matters, except that because it is tracked it is a shame not to keep that information available for users.


Apple Books has the same flaw as plenty of other Apple Apps. If you live in Switzerland it is assumed that you speak German, and because of this assumption it is hard to browse for English, and even French content. You are obliged to know what you want to find, instead of having the freedom to browse. Apple must lose a lot of business by forcing German language version of content, rather than looking at system settings and using the system default. We’re decades into regionalisation, and yet tech giants don’t cater to people who do not speak the majority language.


And Finally


I thought I was going to go for a walk today but didn’t. I walked to breakfast and back and then spent time standing, so when I saw that it was 1400 I thought that I should go for a walk but didn’t. This is unusual for me. Today has been a crap day. I didn’t get to focus on my goals as I wish I could have. Days like today frustrate me.

Bird Watching
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Bird Watching

Byrichard

Sometimes when you go for a walk you spend time watching birds. In the video below you see a flock of gulls flocking around a tractor as it prepares the field for a crop. You see hundred of gulls wait for the tractor to open up the ground and then they rush in to find some snacks. I think they’re happy with worms, insects and small rodents. Anyone that thinks that vegetarianism doesn’t result in hundreds of animal deaths is wrong. These birds love to explore behind tractors.


https://youtu.be/ILcwVNE0UCc
A tractor and Gulls


Rewriting Books For Political Correctness


As a child I read Roald Dahl and I enjoyed the books. These were some of the first books I read. Recently the English decided to re-write books. According to sources they replaced “boys and girls” with children, “mothers and fathers” with parents and more. They replaced words like “fat” and more. Someone thinks that fat is worse than enormous.


In the age of Brexit and more we should not be rewriting old books. We should have fought against ideas like Brexit, against ideas that are xenophobic in nature. We should also work to de-stigmatise topics and identities, rather than make them neutral, or neuter the conversation. Every one of us goes through life being teased or attacked for what we are.


A few years ago I read plenty of James Bond books and I found some passages and ideas questionable, but rather than request for changes to be made I thought, “plenty of people would hate to read these books today. I am certain that people would like to re-write James Bond books, but I see the language as historic artefact. I see it as a step back in time, a time capsule.


The aim shouldn’t be to change what was written decades or generations ago. We should ensure that modern values are instilled in human beings, rather than books. Remember, Brexit and related spreading of hate are the real issue. I don’t want to go further down this thread.


I think that society, rather than editing old books, should remember to teach people about history and context. I was disgusted to find that people I went to university with did not study 20th Century history. People who have not studied 20th century are vulnerable to make the same mistakes in the 21st Century. Look at Brexit, Trump, and the rise of the Far Right. Historical context would do a lot more to advance society, than rewriting old books, in the current social context. Brexit England does not represent 21st Century values. Brexit normalised xenophobia.


And Finally


A book is a book. If the ideas within are old fashioned or redundant we do not need to finish it. We can dump it and read something else. We can get through school without reading books in full. When I liked books I read them in their entirety, but when I tried to read Jane Austen I gave up. I struggled with Willian Faulkner. I enjoyed all Roald Dahl books as a child.

My Kindle Reading Streak

My Kindle Reading Streak

Byrichard

According to the Kindle app on my phone my longest Kindle Reading Streak was 126 days. I say “was”, because I lost it two days ago and now I am back to a one day reading streak. I hate that apps like Kindle count reading streaks as “days of reading in a row” because sometimes simply opening the app, and reading one page was enough to count it as a streak.


The information is meaningless. I would like a different way of counting streaks. Imagine if we could have streaks such as “Read at least one book a week” streaks. It would be nice to have more flexibility, and to have goals that have more meaning.


The paradox of losing that reading streak, on one app, is that I read from Audible almost every single day, and from the kindle almost every day. In effect I do read every day. I have been reading every day for years by now, so whether n app counts my reading or not doesn’t matter.


As i said a few days ago, by losing my streak it gives me the opportunity to read through the books I pick up on my daily walks, rather than electronic books. I need to read through the physical books because they take physical space, and either I need new shelves, or I need to read and put those books back into circulation.


Although called a “reading challenge” by GoodReads I prefer to think of it as a reading goal. The goal of reading 52 books in a single year, the goal of reading one book per week. Reading every day is easy, it is finishing books that is a challenge. I have a lot of unfinished books. My reading goal will help me work my way through the unfinished books. Once they’re finished I can drop them at one of the six or seven reading libraries I visit on my daily walks.


And Finally


Twitter wants to start revenue sharing with its users, but only those that buy in. I see this as a mistake. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and many other networks lost value because they focused on encouraging spamming and clickbait rather than valuable content and conversations. If I didn’t think I would regret it, I would delete my account.

A Cupboard Filled With Books

A Cupboard Filled With Books

Byrichard

Yesterday I went for one of my usual one and three quarter hour walks and when I came into one village I noticed a green cupboard so I opened it and looked inside.


A green cupboard "When I think of all the books I have yet to read, I feel happiness."
A green cupboard – “When I think of all the books I have yet to read, I feel happiness.”


From the quote on the front you would guess that it has something to do with books but I came from the side, and didn’t notice the writing until I had opened it. It is filled with books. Five shelves of books. The shelves are not just filled with one row of books. The books are two to three books deep. This cupboard is filled with books. If you want to own a lot of books then this is the system to use.


I felt real joy at finding this cupboard. Not only is it close to home but it is really filled with books. You could easily spend half an hour going through all the books, to find something to read. I didn’t expect that such a site would fill me with happiness but it does.


A cupboard filled with books
A cupboard filled with books


Every time I come across a village where there is a library like this I am happy. I don’t think I have any desire to read most of these books. It’s just that I love that we don’t need to keep hundreds of books at home, to have hundreds of books to read. With lending libraries like these in every village we have a vast choice of books to read, then then share. We have enough to read, for years.


When I was a child we had book libraries that opened for a short period of time on some days. We also had book shops where we could buy books. Now that book shops and libraries are rare due to people buying books online, it’s nice to find book lending libraries like this.


I am not writing where it is, on social media, because I don’t want thieves to go and empty the books.


Some people look for geocaches. I look for these communal book lending libraries. Every village should have at least one.