Avoiding Romance offerings at ebook sites? - Page 3

GraceKrispy · 04-13-2011, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

Having firmly reestablished my "chauvinistic pig" statis,

Yes, you certainly did do that

Just for the record, I'll echo what a few other women have said. I'm not a fan of romance, in general, at least not the kind that usually pops up in situations like this. I'd love to avoid being accosted by certain books, too. But I don't go to ebook sites much, to be honest.

Just to add a little clarification, I'm only a frustrated woman when it comes to my children not doing what they're supposed to do.

Frida Fantastic · 04-13-2011, 04:57 AM

Yeah, I agree with the lack of easy browsing for ebook sites. Smashwords is kind of a click-a-thon and other sites bomb you with the same genres that you're not interested in.

I get pretty terrible Amazon recommendations too, it keeps on trying to sell me Simplicity/Self-Help/GTD stuff when I bought one Zen Habits book and 99% of the stuff I purchase is SF. At least they're trying to sell me the ebook versions, but I'm not sure why the algorithm is so determined to be irrelevant.

Eh. Sometime somewhere someone will design a better UI and browsing system if they can make money off of it. But in the foreseeable future, all the free sites will have romance book bombs

Anke Wehner · 04-13-2011, 09:13 AM

If amazon's recommending something to you that you don't like, click the "Fix this recommendation" link. That should show you a list of books you bought (or added to your wishlist or whatever) that cause this recommendation, and you can tick a "Don't use for recommendations" checkbox on those.

Critteranne · 04-13-2011, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Cooley

...I agree with the OP--and most of you--that it would be nice to have
some sort of checkbox thingy where I can check the things I'm NOT interested in and it would give me a better list.

But that would count on the books actually being listed in the correct categories (which isn't always true).

I wish they would improve the searches, period. I wouldn't trust a checkbox thingy because I just know it would leave out some of the books I actually want to see. For example, there's a bookstore near here that shelves fantasy and SF separately.

But of course, like old Reeses Cups commercials, you always get SF books in the fantasy section and fantasy books in the SF section. On-line bookstores can be an extreme version of this.

I like to read romance, SF, fantasy, thrillers, suspense, young adult and childrend's, some erotic romance and erotic fiction, graphic novels and manga, the occasional Western... And yes, I've left some genres out.

CWatkinsNash · 04-13-2011, 01:21 PM

This thread is great. Combining Ken's post with the fact that people repeatedly assume I'm a he on the forum, I've changed my user title to make things easier for everyone, especially me, because for some reason I get irrationally put out when someone thinks I'm a man.

On topic, I read a pretty wide variety of genres, including many romance subgenres, but I agree that they are so plentiful as to seem invasive at times. Not a problem for me, but I can see why those who aren't interested in them would like to avoid them.

MrsJoseph · 04-13-2011, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

This thread is great. Combining Ken's post with the fact that people repeatedly assume I'm a he on the forum, I've changed my user title to make things easier for everyone, especially me, because for some reason I get irrationally put out when someone thinks I'm a man.

On topic, I read a pretty wide variety of genres, including many romance subgenres, but I agree that they are so plentiful as to seem invasive at times. Not a problem for me, but I can see why those who aren't interested in them would like to avoid them.

Catlady · 04-13-2011, 01:26 PM

I too wish searches could be better limited. I like historical fiction (e.g., fictionalized biographies of actual people--think Philippa Gregory and Jean Plaidy--or fictionalized accounts of real-life events), but trying to search for "historical fiction" turns up hundreds of romance novels with a historical setting, which interest me not at all.

Catlady · 04-13-2011, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

This thread is great. Combining Ken's post with the fact that people repeatedly assume I'm a he on the forum, I've changed my user title to make things easier for everyone, especially me, because for some reason I get irrationally put out when someone thinks I'm a man.

Well ... it's the skull. It doesn't quite scream "female." Maybe if it was wearing a wig or a wedding veil, that would help.

CWatkinsNash · 04-13-2011, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

Well ... it's the skull. It doesn't quite scream "female." Maybe if it was wearing a wig or a wedding veil, that would help.

Van Gogh would not be amused. I, however, think that's a smashing idea and may be cracking open Photoshop when I'm no longer stuck in bed with the flu, and my favorite work of art will then be titled "Skull with Cigarette in Drag".

Or maybe I should just switch to a Monet. Or one of those Fabio romance covers. It ain't art, but it would be more feminine. Actually, Fabio is kind of feminine...

Joykins · 04-13-2011, 01:49 PM

This discussion has prompted me to load in my usual avatar. I look exactly like my avatar, right down to the chainmail bra. Any rumors you hear that I am a short, fortyish mother of two must be foul, foul lies.

I am also a yellow belt^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hninja.

Fbone · 04-13-2011, 02:07 PM

Doesn't your chain mail lingerie hurt?

Worldwalker · 04-13-2011, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbone

Doesn't your chain mail lingerie hurt?

I asked someone that at an outdoor event once. She said no, it didn't, but it was really, really cold to put on on cold mornings.

I am very glad I never had the urge to wear any form of metallic underthings.

Joykins · 04-13-2011, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbone

Doesn't your chain mail lingerie hurt?

Only in a good way.

vulcan_girl · 04-13-2011, 04:59 PM

One thing I've noticed when searching books and using "romance" as the genre, I get a lot of results that aren't straight romance. They might have some romantic elements, but aren't romances, and romance readers get irritated at the fakery. Books get tagged with the romance label because it's the top-selling genre and that makes them more visible.

Critteranne · 04-13-2011, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vulcan_girl

One thing I've noticed when searching books and using "romance" as the genre, I get a lot of results that aren't straight romance. They might have some romantic elements, but aren't romances, and romance readers get irritated at the fakery. Books get tagged with the romance label because it's the top-selling genre and that makes them more visible.

I've noticed that, too. The big publishers use the "romance" label to sell everything from family sagas to chick lit to non-romance urban fantasy to horror novels that have sex scenes.

Also, on B&N, there are lots of public domain classics categorized as "romance" because 1) the businesses putting them up wouldn't know a romance if one fell on them or 2) they don't know what the books are about or 3) they are hoping to get more sales by abusing categories or 4) all of the above. For example, under "Romance" tonight, I found The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, some PD Westerns, and some Sinclair Lewis. What?!

By the way, I don't look like my avatar. Just thought I'd mention.

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04-13-2011, 04:57 AM	#32
Frida Fantastic SF/F book blogger Posts: 270 Karma: 502030 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Vancouver, Canada Device: Kindle 3	Yeah, I agree with the lack of easy browsing for ebook sites. Smashwords is kind of a click-a-thon and other sites bomb you with the same genres that you're not interested in. I get pretty terrible Amazon recommendations too, it keeps on trying to sell me Simplicity/Self-Help/GTD stuff when I bought one Zen Habits book and 99% of the stuff I purchase is SF. At least they're trying to sell me the ebook versions, but I'm not sure why the algorithm is so determined to be irrelevant. Eh. Sometime somewhere someone will design a better UI and browsing system if they can make money off of it. But in the foreseeable future, all the free sites will have romance book bombs

04-13-2011, 09:13 AM	#33
Anke Wehner Addict Posts: 249 Karma: 177956 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Germany Device: PRS-650	If amazon's recommending something to you that you don't like, click the "Fix this recommendation" link. That should show you a list of books you bought (or added to your wishlist or whatever) that cause this recommendation, and you can tick a "Don't use for recommendations" checkbox on those.

04-13-2011, 01:21 PM	#35
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	This thread is great. Combining Ken's post with the fact that people repeatedly assume I'm a he on the forum, I've changed my user title to make things easier for everyone, especially me, because for some reason I get irrationally put out when someone thinks I'm a man. On topic, I read a pretty wide variety of genres, including many romance subgenres, but I agree that they are so plentiful as to seem invasive at times. Not a problem for me, but I can see why those who aren't interested in them would like to avoid them.

04-13-2011, 01:26 PM	#37
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,407 Karma: 52613881 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	I too wish searches could be better limited. I like historical fiction (e.g., fictionalized biographies of actual people--think Philippa Gregory and Jean Plaidy--or fictionalized accounts of real-life events), but trying to search for "historical fiction" turns up hundreds of romance novels with a historical setting, which interest me not at all.

04-13-2011, 01:49 PM	#40
Joykins Wizard Posts: 1,609 Karma: 9211856 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: kindle Oasis 2018, kindle 4 NT, kindle PW2, iPhone, iPad mini	This discussion has prompted me to load in my usual avatar. I look exactly like my avatar, right down to the chainmail bra. Any rumors you hear that I am a short, fortyish mother of two must be foul, foul lies. I am also a yellow belt^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hninja.

04-13-2011, 02:07 PM	#41
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,282 Karma: 101696762 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	Doesn't your chain mail lingerie hurt?

04-13-2011, 04:59 PM	#44
vulcan_girl Groupie Posts: 156 Karma: 1010345 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: PRS 350	One thing I've noticed when searching books and using "romance" as the genre, I get a lot of results that aren't straight romance. They might have some romantic elements, but aren't romances, and romance readers get irritated at the fakery. Books get tagged with the romance label because it's the top-selling genre and that makes them more visible.

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