My first thought was IMHO, since I guess it could be called “polling”. But then I figured if I’m asking about novels, cookbooks, biographies of entertainers, etc., it would probably go in Cafe Society. But what if I want someone to recommend a textbook for a scientific or technical field? Might that not fare better in General Questions, where a lot of scientific questions are discussed? (Although I guess “What’s a good book on ___” would always be a matter of opinion, not a factual question.) What if I want someone to recommend a book on a philosophical or theological topic? Should that go in Great Debates (since I’m looking for further resources related to a GD question)?
This is why we don’t have forums like “sociology” or “history” – that would make your question much easier to answer. This is also why all the Mods buy stock in the headache remedy companies, because we know that we’re using their products by the shovelful.
OK, seriously, judge the book by its cover. If you’re looking for a technical or scientific book, I’d try GQ. Straight politics, go to GD – “Anyone know a book that describes the differences between Republicans and Democrats?” for instance. OTOH, “anyone able to recommend ab book that tracks the historic development of the political parties” would probably be technical/historic and so GQ. Almost anything else, Cafe Society – even philosophy or theology fit the “art” category.
BTW, no one would consider it a major (or even a minor) goof if a Moderator wants to move it to a different forum. We the Mods all recognize that there’s a lot of grey area around what thread goes where. Sometimes, it’s just that the way the question is posed and the way the responses are coming in, a Moderator decides it’s not really the flavor of her/his forum, and so moves it. Hard to tell in advance with some of these questions; kinda depends on the exact question and on the responses.
That makes sense. Thanks.
It does? … damn, I’ve failed.