How I Tested My AI Librarian
I’ve been building “Marian,” my personal AI librarian, to help me navigate my reading life. To test her abilities, I asked her many questions — about my habits, my favorite authors, and what to read next.
Below are three of the most revealing exchanges, condensed for length. You can find the unabridged dialog for all the questions in the GitHub repo.
As you read, you may find yourself wondering the same things I did:
What will a personal, AI librarian infer about you from my reading habits — and will she recommend books you like?
Three Questions I Asked Marian
Each dialog below begins with my prompt, followed by Marian’s response, followed finally by my take on her response.
1. Genres I Gravitate Toward — and Ones I Haven’t Explored
Tim:
What are the primary genres or categories of the books I like to read? What other specific genres — not in my history — do you think would appeal to me? Why?
Marian:
Let’s take a look at your bookshelf through a genre lens, Tim — then see where you might go next.
🎯 Your Core Genres and Categories
🧬 Popular Science & Complexity
You return again and again to systems, networks, emergence, and evolution — James Gleick, Kevin Kelly, and Steven Strogatz dominate this zone.
🌾 Nature, Food, and Sustainability
The Botany of Desire, Healthy at 100, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle reinforce your appreciation of practical wisdom grounded in ecological thinking.
⚙️ Design, Communication & Productivity
Made to Stick, Presentation Zen, and Visual Explanations suggest that you not only seek ideas, but want to share them as well.
🎭 Humor, Memoir, and Cultural Commentary
From Steve Martin to Stephen Colbert to Red Lobster, White Trash, you dip into smart, self-aware comedy.
—
🌱 Genres You Haven’t Explored Much — But Might Enjoy
🧙♂️ Myth & Meaning (Joseph Campbell, Neil Gaiman)
Given your love of systems, storytelling, and the metaphysical, you might appreciate the mythic lenses of Campbell (The Hero with a Thousand Faces) or Gaiman (The Ocean at the End of the Lane).
🌍 Global/Non-Western Thought
Your reading is mostly Anglo-American, scientific, and contemporary. You might find fresh perspectives in African speculative fiction or Latin American magical realism (e.g., Labyrinths by Borges).
📖 Fiction with Philosophical Play
You enjoy thought experiments, so try authors like Ted Chiang (Exhalation), J.L. Borges (again!), or Italo Calvino (Invisible Cities) — writers who blend fiction with metaphysical inquiry.
—
Would you like a personalized list of 5–10 specific titles in any of these “unexplored” genres — maybe one per genre as a sampler?
My Take:
Marian nailed my core genres - and why I read them. The pointer to Global/Non-Western thought surprised me (positively), and I want to explore that further.
2. How Marian Groups My Favorite Authors
Tim:
How would you cluster the authors I’ve read?
Marian:
I see a wonderfully varied set of minds at work, but they fall into some clear, interesting clusters:
🧬 The Systems Thinkers & Scientific Synthesizers
These authors help you see the world in terms of patterns, feedback loops, and emergent behavior: James Gleick (Chaos), Kevin Kelly (Out of Control), Steven Strogatz (Sync), and Stuart Kauffman (At Home in the Universe), among others.
This cluster feeds your deep interest in complexity, unpredictability, and the mathematical elegance of real-world systems.
🧠 The Behavioral Economists & Decision-Making Gurus
These authors probe how we think, why we err, and what shapes human behavior — often through cognitive science or behavioral economics: Malcolm Gladwell (Outliers), Daniel Ariely (Predictably Irrational), and Nassim Nicholas Taleb (The Black Swan).
You’re drawn to the tension between intuition and analysis — and to authors who help you sharpen your thinking.
📚 The Fictional Philosophers & Structural Experimenters
You’re selective with fiction, and you seem to favor stories that explore big ideas, time loops, and philosophical puzzles, such as those told by Ken Grimwood (Replay), Jorge Luis Borges (Collected Fictions), and Carl Sagan (Contact).
This group shows your taste for “what if?” fiction — where plot meets philosophy, and the form often mirrors the theme.
—
Would you like to explore which of these clusters is “ripe for deepening”?
My Take:
The clusters make sense, and Marian voiced solid reasons why I’ve read those authors. I’m excited to explore the “ripe” clusters to find other, similar authors.
3. What’s My Next Light Summer Read?
Tim:
I’m looking for some light summer reading — something like a modern “Jeeves and Wooster”. What would you recommend?
Marian:
You’re in the mood for something with wit, social mishaps, and characters who sparkle with charm or cluelessness. That Jeeves and Wooster spirit — light farce, verbal flair, and a knowing wink — is alive and well in some modern books.
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
An elderly escapee from a nursing home winds up in a rollicking caper involving criminals, elephants, and flashbacks through 20th-century history. It’s a light, zany, Swedish sleeper hit with Wodehousian absurdity.
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
A British family moves to Corfu, and young Gerald’s observations are pitch-perfect in their affectionate ridiculousness. Think: Wodehouse meets nature documentary.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
A romantic comedy told from the perspective of a brilliant but socially challenged professor who decides it’s time to find a wife — via data. It’s quirky, sincere, and gently hilarious, with echoes of Jeeves’ logic and Wooster’s unintended chaos.
—
Would you prefer something in this vein with a mystery twist (think: cozy caper)?
My Take:
I absolutely love this response! Marian describes the similarities in the context of my Jeeves and Wooster seed.
There were a couple misses here (not shown): suggestions of a book I’ve read and a non-modern book. That just tells me I need to tighten Marian’s’ Instructions.
What I Learned
Marian isn’t flawless, but every response made me curious and motivated me to read. What more could I ask? She’s a keeper!
As I keep refining her with more ratings and clearer Instructions, I expect her recommendations and insights to become even sharper.
And Marian passed the most important test: I’m reading books she suggested.
What about you? What would you ask your personal AI librarian about your reading life?