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It isn't perfect, but it is a good start...

Every 3 weeks, I share my notes on building Shepherd.com.

I believe that books build better people. I am on a mission to help readers explore & discover books in new and unique ways. I want to create the magical feeling you get wandering around your favorite bookstore but for the online world. And I want to do this while helping authors reach readers in fun and authentic ways.

Three hurrahs for our 737 Founding Members who keep us independent and fund new features. My 2024 goal is to reach 1,000 members to fully fund our part-time developer and designer so we can keep building great new features for our community. 

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Mood check for Friday, July 5th 🤪

I am in the middle of moving. This week has been intense as the movers arrived with boxes and furniture. I’ve set up my desk and am slowly working through all the boxes while settling into a new country.

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This is pretty clunky to start, and as we learn more, we will iterate and improve.

What do I know we need to improve?

The accuracy of genre/book/author matches.

We are working on some short-term fixes, and in 3 to 4 months, we will rebuild this system entirely. If you want to know why this is such a hard problem to fix, read this post explaining why publishers often break the BISAC system.

A big focus for 2024: Improving genre & topic accuracy (and expanding that system).

Plus, I want to streamline the UX as I learn more from readers.

What is going on outside of Shepherd?

I am utterly exhausted from all the moving and unpacking this week. I am looking forward to a week off next week to visit my brother and his family (and meet my new nephew for the first time!!!).

What am I reading?

I just finished...

• Darkwire - A crazy nonfiction book about the FBI starting an encrypted phone service for criminals. Fascinating and depressing all at the same time. I read this as part of my book club with my dad and brother.

• Laidlaw - A solid police series out of Scotland. If you love crime fiction, be sure to check it out!

• Book 7 of Grimm’s War - This is a fun military sci-fi series. I am looking forward to book 8!

I am reading...

• Nomads: The Wanderers Who Shaped Our World is a fascinating account of a group that is part of our DNA. Yet we know little about them because they left little physical evidence. 

• Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway. This is a fantastic cyberpunk book with a great premise so far.

Thanks, Ben

P.S. A picture from my bike ride in May/June.