Why I’m Scrapping "Genres" (For Now) and Betting on AI Instead

Why I’m Scrapping "Genres" (For Now) and Betting on AI Instead

I recently sat down to build a standard feature for my library app: Categories and Genres.

It seemed like a no-brainer. Every library app has genres, right? I wanted to be able to categorize my books so that if I searched for "textbook," "computer science," or "programming," everything relevant would pop up. The goal was classification—grouping books with similar attributes to make them easier to find.

But as I started mapping out the logic, I hit a wall. I realized I was solving a problem I didn't actually have.

The Problem with Specificity

I started running through real-world scenarios. Let’s say I have 300 books in my library. Since I’m a software engineer, almost all of them are related to programming.

If I implement a "Programming" genre and then search for it, 500 books are going to pop up. How useful is that? It’s just noise.

There is a principle in organization that says eventually, more organization leads to less productivity. You can push categorization to a limit where it becomes chaotic or just plain busy work. If I have to manually tag every book with "Java" or "Software," am I actually making my life easier? Or am I just doing something for the sake of doing it?

Defining the Real Use Case

I had to stop and ask myself: How do I actually use my library?

I realized that I don't "browse" my physical library for information. If I need to know about Rust data types, I don't walk over to my shelf and scan for a spine that looks promising. I go to Google. I ask an AI. I find the best resource externally.

Once I know what book I need, my question becomes very specific: "Do I have this book?" and "Where is it?"

My primary use case is inventory management, not discovery.

• The Scenario: I’m on Amazon or at a bookstore. I see a book.
• The Question: "Do I already own this?"
• The Action: I search the ISBN or title.
• The Result: Yes/No and Shelf Location.

For that workflow, genres are irrelevant. I don't need a "Non-Fiction" tag to tell me if I own Clean Code.

The Pivot: Organization vs. Search

However, there is one area where categorization matters: The Physical Shelf.

Right now, my library is chaos. I have a biology textbook next to a self-help book, which is leaning against a Java manual. I eventually want a "Barnes & Noble" experience in my own home—biographies here, history there, math over there.

This is where the feature set shifts. I don't need categories for searching the app; I need categories for organizing the room.

But even then, manual categorization feels archaic. Why should I manually tag a book as "Algorithms" or "Puzzles"?

The Future: AI-Driven Shelf Organization

This led me to the feature I actually need to build. Instead of manual genres, I want to use AI for semantic clustering.

I want to be able to scan a book and have the AI tell me where it belongs based on the topology of my current library.

• If I buy a book on Puzzles, I don't want to create a whole new "Games" section for one book.
• I want the AI to analyze the content and say: "Hey, puzzles are conceptually similar to Algorithms. You should put this on the Algorithm shelf."

This is the dynamic, intelligent organization I’m looking for.

The Roadmap Change

So, do I need categories or genres right now? No.

But, I also realized I can't just start dumping books into the database yet. If I load 300 books now without an organizational system, I’ll just have to pull them all off the shelves and reorganize them later when I build the AI feature.

I don't want to do double work.

The new plan:

1. Pause on mass data entry.
2. Build the AI Shelf Organization feature.
3. Use the AI to organize the physical books as I enter them into the system.

It’s a different problem than I started with, but it’s a much more useful solution.