Book Summary/Rating Webservice

Demented · 08-20-2009, 08:55 PM

Hi, I'm putting together an Itunes like program to index/convert and search my ebook collection. I'm looking for a web service that I can use to pull a summary for a book. I'm currently using ISBNdb.com which is decent but restricts me to 500 calls a day and I want to index 22 thousand books. Anyone else have any recommendations?

lilac_jive · 08-20-2009, 09:35 PM

You could try goodreads.com

Demented · 08-20-2009, 10:31 PM

That's close and I'm certainly going to incorporate it into my program for the ratings but it doesn't have the ability to pull back the book description, only the user reviews. I basically have a crap load of books and without the typical blurb on the back cover I have no way to figure out what it's about.

lilac_jive · 08-20-2009, 10:32 PM

I'm not sure what you mean by pull back..

Demented · 08-21-2009, 08:21 AM

I'm using the web service to search by the book title and retrieve a summary for the book. Goodreads only provides you with the ISBN and a link to the book's page on their site. It doesn't actually give you the information. I'm loading the summary into a database and then using it as metadata so that I can search the collection for keywords.

pking36330 · 08-21-2009, 09:45 AM

22,000 books divided by 500 per day equals 44 days. If you haven't found a tool by 2 October, it would have been better to just do 500 per day. Maybe a note to the folks at info@ejelta.com who wrote and maintain ISBNdb to ask for a one-time 22k authorization.

Doesn't Calibre also try to use Google Search to find and attach book metadata. I know it uses ISBNdb. If you DO FIND another good ISBN search tool that grabs blurbs and summaries, please alert us here and the fine gent that develops Calibre so us mere mortals with a few hundred books can enjoy the benefits you find.

I'm willing to do some of the searches for you on my ISBNdb license of 500 per day, but I don't know a method without being very labor intensive. Tell me if I can help and that would cut you back to 11 September.

Demented · 08-21-2009, 09:02 PM

I started the 500 a day thing it just takes forever heh. I sent an email to the address listed on isbn.com and they never replied. I'll try the one you gave me.

08-20-2009, 08:55 PM	#1
Demented Connoisseur Posts: 66 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Baton Rouge Device: DR800SG, Nook, Cybook Original	Book Summary/Rating Webservice Hi, I'm putting together an Itunes like program to index/convert and search my ebook collection. I'm looking for a web service that I can use to pull a summary for a book. I'm currently using ISBNdb.com which is decent but restricts me to 500 calls a day and I want to index 22 thousand books. Anyone else have any recommendations?

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08-20-2009, 09:35 PM	#2
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	You could try goodreads.com

08-20-2009, 10:31 PM	#3
Demented Connoisseur Posts: 66 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Baton Rouge Device: DR800SG, Nook, Cybook Original	That's close and I'm certainly going to incorporate it into my program for the ratings but it doesn't have the ability to pull back the book description, only the user reviews. I basically have a crap load of books and without the typical blurb on the back cover I have no way to figure out what it's about.

08-20-2009, 10:32 PM	#4
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	I'm not sure what you mean by pull back..

08-21-2009, 08:21 AM	#5
Demented Connoisseur Posts: 66 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Baton Rouge Device: DR800SG, Nook, Cybook Original	I'm using the web service to search by the book title and retrieve a summary for the book. Goodreads only provides you with the ISBN and a link to the book's page on their site. It doesn't actually give you the information. I'm loading the summary into a database and then using it as metadata so that I can search the collection for keywords.

08-21-2009, 09:45 AM	#6
pking36330 FT Parent PT Reader Posts: 322 Karma: 187838 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: South Alabama Device: Shocked by how much I've read on an iPod Touch received as a gift!	22,000 books divided by 500 per day equals 44 days. If you haven't found a tool by 2 October, it would have been better to just do 500 per day. Maybe a note to the folks at info@ejelta.com who wrote and maintain ISBNdb to ask for a one-time 22k authorization. Doesn't Calibre also try to use Google Search to find and attach book metadata. I know it uses ISBNdb. If you DO FIND another good ISBN search tool that grabs blurbs and summaries, please alert us here and the fine gent that develops Calibre so us mere mortals with a few hundred books can enjoy the benefits you find. I'm willing to do some of the searches for you on my ISBNdb license of 500 per day, but I don't know a method without being very labor intensive. Tell me if I can help and that would cut you back to 11 September.

08-21-2009, 09:02 PM	#7
Demented Connoisseur Posts: 66 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Baton Rouge Device: DR800SG, Nook, Cybook Original	I started the 500 a day thing it just takes forever heh. I sent an email to the address listed on isbn.com and they never replied. I'll try the one you gave me.

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