# LocalBooks

> LocalBooks is a directory of books by local and independent authors. Every book is tagged with genres and with the real (or fictional) places it is set in, and every author with where they live — so you can answer questions like "cozy mysteries set in Ohio", "local authors in Sandusky", or "a novel set on Lake Erie".

Prefer the JSON API over scraping HTML. All public endpoints are unauthenticated, CORS-enabled, and return absolute URLs. Every HTML page also has a Markdown version (send `Accept: text/markdown` or add `?format=md`) and schema.org JSON-LD (Book, Person, Place, ItemList, BreadcrumbList).

## API

- [OpenAPI spec](https://localbooks.app/openapi.json): full machine-readable description
- [Search books](https://localbooks.app/api/v1/books?q=lighthouse): `/api/v1/books?q=&genre=&setting=&author_from=&sort=new|title&page=`
- [Genre tree with counts](https://localbooks.app/api/v1/genres)
- [Places with counts](https://localbooks.app/api/v1/places): drill down with `/api/v1/places/{path}`, e.g. `/api/v1/places/us/ohio`
- Book detail: `/api/v1/books/{slug}` — description, genres, settings, ISBN, where to buy
- Author detail: `/api/v1/authors/{slug}` — bio, home location, all books
- Random pick: `/api/v1/random?genre=mystery&setting=us/ohio`
- Read a book: when `ebook` is present on a book, `/api/v1/books/{slug}/ebook` lists chapters and `/api/v1/books/{slug}/ebook/chapters/{n}` returns chapter HTML. The opening (the first 3 chapters or 10% of the book, whichever is shorter) is a free public sample; later chapters return 401 (sign-in required) or 403 (sample only). Readers can also open `/books/{slug}/read`.

## Languages

The site is available in English (`en`), Español (`es`), Français (`fr`), Deutsch (`de`), Português (`pt`), Italiano (`it`), Русский (`ru`), Română (`ro`), 中文 (`zh`), 日本語 (`ja`), 한국어 (`ko`), हिन्दी (`hi`), العربية (`ar`), עברית (`he`). English lives at the root; other languages are prefixed (`/es/genres/mystery`). Add `?lang=es` to any API call for translated genre and place names. Book descriptions are shown in the language the author wrote them.

## Paths

- Genre paths look like `mystery/cozy-mystery`; parent paths include all sub-genres.
- Place paths look like `us/ohio/sandusky` (ISO country code / region / city / specific place); parent paths include everything inside them.
- `setting` filters by where a book takes place; `author_from` filters by where its author lives.

## Genres

- [Literary & General Fiction](https://localbooks.app/genres/literary-fiction) (133 books)
- [Mystery](https://localbooks.app/genres/mystery) (15 books)
- [Thriller & Suspense](https://localbooks.app/genres/thriller) (24 books)
- [Romance](https://localbooks.app/genres/romance) (16 books)
- [Science Fiction](https://localbooks.app/genres/science-fiction) (14 books)
- [Fantasy](https://localbooks.app/genres/fantasy) (19 books)
- [Horror](https://localbooks.app/genres/horror) (27 books)
- [Historical Fiction](https://localbooks.app/genres/historical-fiction) (31 books)
- [Westerns](https://localbooks.app/genres/westerns) (5 books)
- [Christian & Inspirational](https://localbooks.app/genres/christian-fiction) (1 books)
- [LGBTQ+ Fiction](https://localbooks.app/genres/lgbtq-fiction) (2 books)
- [Comics & Graphic Novels](https://localbooks.app/genres/comics) (0 books)
- [Poetry & Drama](https://localbooks.app/genres/poetry) (24 books)
- [Young Adult](https://localbooks.app/genres/young-adult) (0 books)
- [Middle Grade](https://localbooks.app/genres/middle-grade) (12 books)
- [Children's Books](https://localbooks.app/genres/childrens) (5 books)
- [Biography & Memoir](https://localbooks.app/genres/biography-memoir) (14 books)
- [History](https://localbooks.app/genres/history) (11 books)
- [True Crime](https://localbooks.app/genres/true-crime) (0 books)
- [Business & Money](https://localbooks.app/genres/business) (1 books)
- [Self-Help & Personal Growth](https://localbooks.app/genres/self-help) (0 books)
- [Health & Wellness](https://localbooks.app/genres/health) (0 books)
- [Religion & Spirituality](https://localbooks.app/genres/religion) (10 books)
- [Food & Drink](https://localbooks.app/genres/food) (0 books)
- [Travel & Local Guides](https://localbooks.app/genres/travel) (0 books)
- [Home, Garden & Hobbies](https://localbooks.app/genres/hobbies) (0 books)
- [Sports & Outdoors](https://localbooks.app/genres/sports) (0 books)
- [Science, Nature & Tech](https://localbooks.app/genres/science) (2 books)
- [Society & Politics](https://localbooks.app/genres/society) (17 books)
- [Arts & Entertainment](https://localbooks.app/genres/arts) (0 books)

## Optional

- [Sitemap](https://localbooks.app/sitemap.xml)
- [About](https://localbooks.app/about)