How Can Overdrive And Kobo Recommendations Be Customized?

Old-book-scent kind of person here, so I tend to nudge recommendations by hand: I create tiny habits that steer both 'Kobo' and 'OverDrive'. I keep a short, messy list of genres and micro-interests (like 'quiet fantasy', 'food memoirs', 'near-future noir') and whenever I see a promising title I either purchase/save it on 'Kobo' or place it on a shelf in 'Libby'. Over time the saved/wishlist items act like breadcrumbs the systems follow. I also use ratings and short reviews—nothing fancy, just a sentence or two—because those little signals add up faster than passive browsing. If something keeps coming up that I hate, I’ll either mark it unread/unfavorite or stop interacting with that genre entirely for a while; it’s surprisingly effective. Finally, I check curated lists and staff recommendations once a month to inject variety; sometimes the best surprises come from human picks rather than pure algorithms. Try nudging things for a couple of weeks and you’ll see different recs pop up.

I like to break this into practical steps so you can do it while making coffee. First, treat the platform like a profile you can sculpt. On 'Libby' or 'OverDrive', check account preferences: set language and audience filters, pick preferred formats (ebook vs audiobook) and use availability filters so you only see what you can borrow now. Then use shelves, tags, and the wishlist: add examples of books you love and tag them clearly—those tags act like tiny signals for the recommendation engine.

Next, interact deliberately. Sample books, borrow and return, place holds on similar titles, and rate or review what you read. Algorithms pay attention to interaction frequency and engagement duration, so finishing books you enjoy helps far more than just saving them. For 'Kobo', go to your account settings (or the app settings) and select favorite genres or interests if that option exists; follow authors and add books to named collections. If a recommendation repeatedly misses the mark, clear or prune your reading history or remove genre tags that no longer match your taste. Lastly, use curated editorial lists and staff picks as a shortcut to find new titles and influence what the system thinks you like. It’s a mix of nudging the software and curating your personal library.

Man, I geek out over this stuff—so here’s how I tweak recommendations on 'OverDrive' (and its app 'Libby') and 'Kobo' to actually get stuff I want instead of a random mishmash.

Start with signals: what you borrow, hold, sample, and rate matters. On 'Libby' I deliberately borrow a few short titles in the genres I like, sample a chapter or two, and give quick star ratings when I finish (or DNF). That reading history trains the algorithm. I also use tags and the tags/shelf features to group books by mood—like 'cozy', 'hard sci-fi', or 'historical'—so when I search later the filters lean toward those preferences. The wishlist/favorites are gold: save books you actually want and the app will nudge similar picks. If your library has a 'Recommend to Library' or staff picks area, contribute suggestions; libraries curate collections and that affects what shows up.

For 'Kobo' I focus on the account preferences and on-device behavior. I follow authors I love, add purchased or library books to specific collections, and rate/review to send stronger signals. On my Kobo app and reader I turn on sync so all devices share my activity, and I trim genres in account settings if something keeps sneaking in. Finally, don’t be shy about using curated lists—staff picks, genre collections, and editorials—because those human-curated lists sometimes override cold algorithmic choices. Little tweaks add up: consistent borrowing, tagging, rating, and following will seriously sharpen what pops up on your home screen. I find it takes a week or two of deliberate actions to notice the change, but when it kicks in, it feels like the library learned my taste.