book-digest

Files (2)

• README.md
• SKILL.md

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Book Digest

Create a sourced snapshot of qualifying books released during the 90 days
ending today. Include all verified titles found; do not rank or pad the list.

## Output

Write one Obsidian Markdown note:

```text
__.BookDigest/YYYY-MM-DD-book-digest.md
```

Create the directory if needed. If today's file exists, replace it only after
the complete digest is ready.

## Scope

Search these publishers and imprints:

1. O'Reilly Media
2. Manning Publications
3. The Pragmatic Bookshelf
4. Packt Publishing
5. Addison-Wesley Professional
6. No Starch Press
7. Apress
8. Wiley/Sybex
9. Microsoft Press
10. MIT Press

Include programming, software engineering, architecture, web/mobile, data,
AI/ML, cloud, DevOps/SRE, security, operating systems, networking, computer
science, and embedded/hardware books. Exclude general business, office
productivity, nontechnical management, videos, courses, audiobooks, bundles,
and journals.

A new edition qualifies. A reprint or a new format of an old edition does not.
Exclude preorders, forthcoming titles, Manning MEAP-only books, Pragmatic Beta
books, and any date described as estimated. The book must have reached its
final published release during the window.

## Tools

- Use `tavily_search` for discovery. Set `search_depth: 'advanced'`,
  `topic: 'general'`, and restrict each search to the publisher's official
  domain.
- Use `obscura_web_scrape` on catalog and detail pages. Fetch `html` when cover
  metadata is needed and `text` for descriptions and publication metadata.
- Use `bash` only for date calculation and the final local checks.
- Use `write` to save the finished note.

## Workflow

### 1. Calculate the window

Use the system date, never a hardcoded year:

```bash
python3 - <<'PY'
from datetime import date, timedelta
end = date.today()
print(f"START={end - timedelta(days=90)}")
print(f"END={end}")
PY
```

Treat both printed dates as inclusive boundaries.

### 2. Discover candidates in parallel

Scrape the official discovery pages below. Follow pagination until results are
older than the cutoff. In parallel, run one official-domain Tavily search per
publisher containing every month and year touched by the window. If a search
returns the maximum number of results, repeat it once per month so titles are
not hidden by the result limit.

| Publisher | Official discovery page | Search domain and identifying text |
|---|---|---|
| O'Reilly Media | `https://www.oreilly.com/search/?q=*&type=book&publishers=O%27Reilly%20Media%20Inc.&order_by=published_on` | `oreilly.com` + `"O'Reilly Media, Inc."` |
| Manning | `https://www.manning.com/catalog` | `manning.com` + `site:manning.com/books` |
| Pragmatic Bookshelf | `https://pragprog.com/titles/` | `pragprog.com` + `"Published:"` |
| Packt | `https://www.packtpub.com/en-us/all-products` | `packtpub.com` + `"Publication date"` |
| Addison-Wesley Professional | `https://www.informit.com/imprint/index.aspx?st=61085` | `informit.com` + `"by Addison-Wesley Professional"` |
| No Starch Press | `https://nostarch.com/category/special/new` | `nostarch.com` + `site:nostarch.com` |
| Apress | `https://link.springer.com/search?facet-content-type=%22Book%22&facet-publisher=%22Apress%22&sortOrder=newestFirst` | `link.springer.com` + `"Publisher: Apress"` |
| Wiley/Sybex | `https://www.wiley.com/en-us/General+%26+Introductory+Computer+Science/Programming+%26+Software+Development-c-CS50` and `https://www.wiley.com/en-us/grow/teach-learn/student-resources/exam-guides/sybex` | `wiley.com` + `Wiley OR Sybex` |
| Microsoft Press | `https://www.microsoftpressstore.com/store/browse/all-titles` | `microsoftpressstore.com` + `"Published" -Video` |
| MIT Press | `https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/` | `mitpress.mit.edu` + `"Pub date:"` and a scoped technical topic |

Search example; substitute the publisher, domain, and actual month names:

```text
{publisher identifying text} ("June 2026" OR "July 2026" OR "August 2026")
software programming architecture data AI cloud security computer science book
```

Catalog pages are the primary discovery source. Search fills gaps caused by
JavaScript, blocked pages, or weak catalog filtering. Do not use Amazon lists,
blogs, or generated "best books" pages to discover candidates.

### 3. Verify every candidate

Open the official detail page and retain a title only when all checks pass:

- The displayed publisher or imprint matches the section. O'Reilly's learning
  platform carries other publishers, so its `Publisher` field must be exactly
  O'Reilly Media.
- The item is a book or ebook, not another media type.
- Its actual publication date falls inside the calculated window and is not in
  the future.
- Its subject falls inside this skill's technical scope.
- Its release is final, not early access or estimated.

Use the page's `Published`, `Publication date`, `Release date`, or `Pub date`.
Do not substitute copyright, page-update, MEAP-start, last-updated, preorder,
or estimated dates. If only a month is supplied, include it only when the
whole month falls inside the window. For a boundary month, find an exact date
from a second authoritative source or omit the title.

From gbencke/dotfiles, MIT.

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