lepisma / org-books

Reading list management with org mode

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[Feature Request] Manage Goodreads ratings and booklist from interface

wakatara opened this issue · comments

It'd be nice if when you manage your books in the booklist, it also updated status, reviews, stars, etc on Goodreads and similar services (well, I'd start with goodreads first though I imagine there are several) as one of the goals for me using this (versus a simple listing) would be managing my reading list all in one place.

(Also, I tend to take lots of notes on books that are non-fiction, having a nice way to fold those or link those in here from org-roam/deft or similar would be awesome.)

For the second part, I am assuming you are talking about having a single file per book (as in org-roam). Then you can possibly just add links to the corresponding file under heading here? Or maybe transclude by using #+INCLUDE if you are using this org-books file more for export. Can you explain more about your workflow here?

For the goodreads concern, I am not sure if I would be able to give time since I stopped using goodreads with an account. It will be nice to have a sort of sync support with cloud services though. Keeping it open for further discussions.

Right now, I sort of use a numbered list that I resort accordinlgy in org-mode (I used to use taskpaper so put an @start(isodate) and @fin(isodate) in there as tags but realizing at ~40-50 books a year I probably need to organize things better. I do not use categories as you do, but do separate out headings by year (2020, 2019 etc). You can think of it like a running "Next Action" list for books...

Eg right now:

** Read                                                              :books:
*** Read 2020
**** 2020 List @2020-01-07
1. Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker @add(2019-06-19) @start(2020-01-01) @fin(2019-01-11) **** 
2. Tiny Habits @add(2020-01-01) @start(2019-01-12) @fin(2020-01-14) **  
3. The Grid @add(2019-12-02) @start(2020-01-15) @fin(2020-02-01) ***** 
4. The Art of Learning @start(2020-02-02) @fin(2020-02-08) *  
5. Against the Gods @start(2029-02-09) @fin(2020-03-01) *****
6. The Moon by Morton @add(2019-12-27) @start(2020-03-02) @fin(2020-03-17) *****
7. How to Be Heard @start(2020-03-18) @fin(2020-04-02) **
8. Hidden Messages in DNA @start(2020-01-23) @fin(2020-04-09) ***
9. The Unthinkable @start(2020-04-06) @fin(2020-04-12) ***** 
10. Rich Dad, Poor Dad @start(2020-04-27) @fin(2020-05-01) ****
11. Start Your Own Corporation @start(2020-05-06) @fin(2020-05-11) *** (too US based)
12. The Ghost Map @start(2020-05-09) @fin(2020-05-13) *****
13. The Way of Kings @start(2020-04-13) @fin(2020-05-16) **** (but 1 of 10 books. Yeesh)
14. Just 6 Numbers @start(2020-05-17) @fin(2020-05-21) ****
15. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry @start(2020-05-22) @fin(2020-05-23) ****
16. Ancillary Justice @start(2020-05-24) @fin(2020-05-29) ****
17. Ancillary Sword @start(2020-05-31) @fin(2020-06-13) ***
18. A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster @start(2020-06-19) @fin(2020-06-19) *****
19. The Invisible Hook @start(2020-06-20)
19. Think Bayes @start(2020-06-20)
20. Enemy of All Mankind 
21. Energy and Civilizaton
22. The Art of Game Design
23. What Every Body is Saying
24. The Second Mountain by Brooks
...

And yes, for org-roam I'd be looking at linking a single file per book.

The goodreads thing was really about bineg able to reflect/manage the booklist on GR within emacs as I imagine their API is not too bad it being amazin and all now. But I understand if you don't use it if it's not a thing for you anymore. I just like the idea of having my data on my machine and then having it "expressed" through various interfaces like GR. Seemed like a nifty idea, especially for ratings (or say reviews, though I rarely do those.).

I particularly liked how your added function works as I have a tendency to add books to another list under 2020 for processing before deciding whether I should add it into the list (my list had a tendency to expand faster than my reading capacity for a year - about 40ish books - so I try to be a bit ruthless about culling it every quarter or so... ).