eLit: Gender-Based Book Browsing

A few weeks back, a fellow Gatherer recommended I read "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout, but I hesitated: I customarily read fiction by men, about men. But does that necessarily mean that Strout's Pulitzer winner couldn't also be for men?

Enter Bookhu.com, a clever new site that leverages Amazon Web Services API to create a "Gender Compatibility Engine for Books." Though their methods are not listed on the site, Bookhu presumably uses publicly available information from user profiles, mashed up with the books those users review on Amazon.com. With this information, Bookhu can tell you that, for example, Strout's novel skews 73% female -- but that it's also rated a solid four stars by men AND women reviewers alike.

Dig through Bookhu's Top 30 for a gender-based recommendation (apparently, I need to read more Malcolm Gladwell), or search for a book of your choice. Though it lacks depth in functionality (why can't I sort by fiction or non-fiction, or by publishing date?), Bookhu is still a very cool site with a clean interface and tons of reliable data from Amazon.

Now only if they could help me judge books by their covers, I'd never have to keep my receipts from Barnes & Noble.

Browse with the confidence of a literary sexist at Bookhu.com