More Resources and Distractions for Writers
by Nancy Sackheim
The Library Map is a map with more than 100,000 books located based on their relevance and similarity. Color is also applied based on the genre and topics of each book. Its mission is to allow users to view, search and discover books of all types and to ease the navigation at the deep sea of what current literature is. With more than one million books written, the question is not only to read but what to read. The circle size is related to the number of user reviews, the position is set to leave similar books close to each other, and the color is set to group books into different topics.
The StoryGraph app was created by Nadia Odunayo and Rob Frelow because life's too short for a book you're not in the mood to read. The Story Graph, using AI, will track your reading and, by understanding your reading preferences, it will choose your next book based on your mood and your favorite topics and themes. Their machine learning AI is like your trusted go-to friend for book recommendations. It will understand your reading preferences and find the best books for you.
Random Street View does exactly what it says. It sends you to random locations in Google Street View all over the world. Each location can be viewed from various angles. Having trouble writing a credible description of a locale in your novel or short story? Start clicking the Next button until you find a location that resonates with you and the story you are telling. You can also click as a relaxation technique or an exercise in procrastination. In mere seconds you can be on random roads in such diverse locations as Iceland, Colombia, Finland. and Swaziland.
Radio Garden allows you to listen to the world. Look around the site's global map and select an area that interests you. Click on that region and select a green dot signifying a radio station. Broadcasting begins immediately, and the station and location will be identified. Launched in 2016, the Netherlands-based website/app allows you to listen live to more than 30,000 radio stations. One of its founders, Jonathan Puckey, says the "beauty of radio is that while radio signals themselves cross borders, radio studios have very fixed locations and are therefore always regional in nature." Check out the one station in Gomal, Belarus or listen to Birdsong Radio in London, Tin Tua Fada 105.9FM in Burkina Faso, or Syncopated Times Radio Network in New York.
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