Using AI as an aid for selecting and reading books in digital format.

[Johny111]

I am aware of how idiotic this title sounds, but before you start mocking me, keep in mind that I have a serious methodological problem regarding this issue. I have around 3,500 PDF books in the field of esotericism and occultism. Since I am already somewhat older, I realized that I won’t live long enough to read them all. A truly frustrating situation. And then AI suddenly appeared. That’s when I noticed the possibility that, if the PDF is of good quality, I can simply upload it and prompt the AI to make a summary of that book for me. If the summary is interesting, I then ask the AI to summarize each chapter or a specific chapter. Based on that, I decide whether to read that book, in full or in parts, or not to read it at all. Sometimes it’s enough to get an insight into a book or digest its essence in a twenty-page summary. However, only exceptional books deserve full attention and dedicated time.

Does anyone else use a similar tactic for reading or selecting books and certain chapters? What are your experiences in connecting reading and AI assistance? Can I even rely on the summaries AI gives me? So far I have found this method useful, but I am curious about what experienced readers think about it.

Also, there is one more thing. I noticed that Gemini gives me very accurate answers when I insist on exact quotes from certain books. Then I remembered that Google has digitized a huge number of books and that their AI model has access to that library. In that sense, sometimes it isn't even necessary for me to read some books, it's enough just to know the titles and authors... Does anyone have similar experiences with Gemini, or does that AI model simply hallucinate, but in a fascinating way?

 

[Aldebaran]

I have a prompt I use that contains my reading preferences, such as, but not limited to, no new age talk, no channeling as truth, no Wicca, and no devotional ceremonies. I also include what I tolerate and consider acceptable. The prompt reflects what I look for in an occult book and its author. It generates a brief summary of the book's key ideas and indicates whether it matches what I would like to read, skim, or pass on.

When I find myself stuck and need something to do, I often randomly browse through my occult library and upload books to this prompt. It's like getting SparkNotes for any book and deciding if I want to explore it further. It’s enjoyable and helps keep a large library manageable, in my opinion.

If you want to take it further, create a prompt that provides executive summaries of the books you're interested in!

I do the same thing you do it sounds like.