A Magic Spark: Ben Fox on Serendipity, Joy, and Books
I usually feature writers and occasionally illustrators on this blog, so this is a little different. Some time ago, I was invited by a new website to recommend a themed list of books related in some way to my middle grade novel, The Problem With Being Slightly Heroic. It was so much fun to choose and think about the books on that list that I created another list, this one related to my picture book, Out of the Way! Out of the Way!
The website is shepherd.com. It provides a vast array of book recommendations across various genres, catering to diverse reading preferences by offering curated lists that help readers discover new and exciting titles.
I asked Ben Fox, the founder, if he’d write a post for Writing With a Broken Tusk on this very interesting project. Remember the browsing experience? Bookstores? Libraries? Bookshelves? Book spines? Shepherd.com aims to mimic the browsing experience virtually by creating webs of recommendations from authors.
Here’s Ben:
I love the magic of wandering around a bookstore until something catches my eye. It evokes a feeling of exploration and fills me with wonder. I wanted to bring this to the online world, so I created Shepherd.com.
I started the website by asking authors to share five of their favorite books around a topic, theme, or mood. The results were fantastic, and Shepherd was born.
Here are a few lists to try...
Author Brandon Crilly on the best fantasy books where the gods (maybe) can't be trusted
Author Kyoko Mori on the best travel memoirs for those who love to wander
Author Steven Pinker on the best books on rationality and why it matters.
This idea was born from a similar idea in a physical bookshop where bookstore staff added little notes to highlight their favorite books. And I know how hard it is for authors to get their books into the hands of readers. I want to help authors connect with readers through a shared love of books.
As we’ve grown, we've built a platform to make it easy for readers to follow their curiosity through the website until they find a book with that magic spark (plus they get to meet amazing authors along the way). How?
We have bookshelves on topics, genres, and ages like science fiction, travel, children's books, books for five-year-olds, China, death, vampires, rock music, and thousands more. And once you are on a bookshelf, you can pick topics, genres, and ages within that group to explore. We make connections based on strong and loose affiliations to add a healthy dose of serendipity to the experience.
If I am on the bookshelf about China, I can pick the topic of Hong Kong and zoom in on books at that intersection. And from there, I can zoom in on travel or history books. And besides, every book is why that author picked it, an introduction to them, and what list they created. And at any point, you can click "explore this book" to read what the book is about and explore what topics and genres it is tagged with.
Image courtesy of Ben Fox
This project was also born out of a deep frustration with the direction of the world. I don't want to watch the world slip into the allure of fascism as it did in the early 20th century. Humans are at their best when they appreciate the complexity of civilization, nature, society, and their fellow humans. I believe books are one of the best ways to feed this attribute, and I want this website to play a role in restoring our respect for complexity, democracy, and science.
These are some more of Shepherd’s book-filled rabbit holes:
The best books I wish existed when I was a kid by Jess Hong
The best children’s books to spark conversations between generations by Nhung N. Tran-Davies
and, yes, The best middle grade novels featuring elephants by me, Uma Krishnaswami
The Shepherd site really does have me thinking in a different way. Now every time I read a book and find myself loving it, I wonder: what five books would this writer recommend?
