Book

/book

Create a Book note with reading tracking and knowledge compounding through spawned Concept/Pattern/Theme nodes. Works for both quick capture and comprehensive PDF processing.

Usage

/book <title>
/book <title> by <author>
/book <title> --status reading
/book <title> --spawn                    # Identify concepts/patterns/themes to spawn
/book <title> --spawn "Data Contracts"   # Spawn single specific node
/book <title> --spawn --concepts-only    # Only spawn Concepts
/book <title> --spawn --patterns-only    # Only spawn Patterns
/book <title> --spawn --themes-only      # Only spawn Themes
/book <title> --spawn --preview          # Preview content before creating
/book <title> --spawn --force            # Re-analyse, ignore existing spawned nodes
/book <title> --spawn --enrich           # Use web search to enrich definitions
/book <title> --pdf <path>               # Process PDF with knowledge extraction

Modes

Instructions

Mode 1: Quick Capture (Haiku)

For simple reading tracking without knowledge extraction.

1. Parse the input:

   • Extract book title (required)
   • Extract author if provided with "by"
   • Extract optional flags: --status, --rating, --format

2. Create the note at root: Book - <Title>.md

3. Populate basic frontmatter (see template below)

4. Report creation:

   Created: Book - <Title>.md
   Status: <status>
   Tip: Use `/book <title> --spawn` to identify concepts and patterns to extract
   

Mode 2: Knowledge Spawn (Sonnet)

For identifying and creating standalone knowledge nodes from a book.

Step 1: Read Existing Content

If the book note already exists, read it to understand the content.

Read: Book - <Title>.md

If the book note doesn't exist, use web search to gather information about the book's content and key contributions.

Step 2: Check for Existing Spawned Nodes (Idempotent Handling)

IMPORTANT: Before analysing for candidates, check if this book already has spawned nodes.

Read the book note frontmatter for `spawnedNodes` field

When running incrementally:

• Report: "Found X existing spawned nodes, checking for new candidates..."
• Only present NEW candidates that aren't already spawned
• Append new nodes to spawnedNodes (don't replace)

Step 3: Check Vault for Existing Coverage

CRITICAL: Before proposing spawn candidates, search the vault to avoid duplicates.

For each potential candidate:

1. Exact match search:

   Glob "Concept - {{candidate name}}*"
   Glob "Pattern - {{candidate name}}*"
   Glob "Theme - {{candidate name}}*"
   

2. Partial/related match search:

   Grep "{{candidate term}}" --glob "*.md" --output_mode files_with_matches
   

3. SQLite FTS search (if available):

   /q {{candidate term}}
   

Decision Matrix:

Report search results:

Vault Coverage Check:
- "Data Mesh" → No existing node ✓ (will spawn)
- "Data Product" → Found Concept - Data Product Anatomy.md (will link, not spawn)
- "Self-Serve Platform" → Mentioned in 3 notes but no dedicated node ✓ (will spawn)

Step 4: Analyse Content for Candidates

Identify knowledge candidates with metadata:

1. Core Concepts (What is X?)

   • Technical terms needing explanation
   • Domain concepts referenced elsewhere
   • Frameworks or models introduced
   • Capture: Name, definition, source chapters, confidence level

2. Patterns (How to do X)

   • Architectural patterns described in detail
   • Design patterns with problem/solution structure
   • Process patterns for development or architecture
   • Capture: Name, intent, source chapters, confidence level

3. Themes (Cross-cutting concerns)

   • Paradigm shifts (e.g., "Decentralisation", "Platform Thinking")
   • Strategic directions spanning multiple concepts
   • Philosophical underpinnings
   • Capture: Name, scope, source chapters, confidence level

For each candidate, determine:

Step 5: Determine Confidence Levels

Confidence Inheritance Rules:

Examples:

• "Data Mesh" in Dehghani's book → high (she coined it)
• "Data Mesh" in a survey book → medium (secondary source)
• "Microservices" in a Data Mesh book → medium (referenced, not primary topic)

Step 6: Map Inter-Node Relationships

Before presenting candidates, map how they relate to EACH OTHER:

This ensures spawned nodes link to siblings, not just back to the source book.

Step 7: Present Candidates with Options

Use AskUserQuestion with full context:

Question: "Which knowledge nodes should I create from '{{Book Title}}'?"
Header: "Spawn Nodes"
Options:
  1. "All recommended ({{N}} nodes)" (Recommended)
     Description: "{{X}} Concepts, {{Y}} Patterns, {{Z}} Themes"
  2. "Concepts only ({{X}} nodes)"
     Description: "{{list concept names}}"
  3. "Patterns only ({{Y}} nodes)"
     Description: "{{list pattern names}}"
  4. "Themes only ({{Z}} nodes)"
     Description: "{{list theme names}}"
  5. "Let me choose"
     Description: "I'll select specific nodes"

If user selects "Let me choose", use multiSelect question listing each candidate with its type and confidence.

Step 7b: Preview Mode (if --preview flag)

If --preview is requested, before creating each node show:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📝 Preview: Concept - Data Product

> **Definition:** The smallest unit of analytical data that can be
> independently deployed, consumed, and governed as a product.

**Source:** Chapters 3, 11-14 | **Confidence:** high

**Key Characteristics:**
- Discoverable, addressable, understandable
- Owned by a domain team with product thinking
- Has defined interfaces (input/output ports)

**Related Nodes:**
- [[Concept - Data Mesh]] (component of)
- [[Concept - Data Quantum]] (implemented by)
- [[Pattern - Data Contracts]] (interfaces defined by)

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Options: [Create] [Skip] [Edit Definition]

Use AskUserQuestion for each preview with Create/Skip/Edit options.

Step 8: Web Enrichment (if --enrich flag)

If --enrich is requested, for each approved candidate:

WebSearch: "{{concept name}} definition {{author name if relevant}}"

Use results to:

• Confirm/refine the definition
• Add related concepts not covered in the book
• Identify authoritative external sources
• Note any contradicting viewpoints

Add enrichment to the spawned node:

# In spawned node frontmatter
enrichedFrom:
  - url: "{{source URL}}"
    retrieved: { { DATE } }

Step 9: Create Spawned Nodes

For each approved candidate, create the appropriate node type using templates below.

Creation Order:

1. Themes first (broadest scope)
2. Concepts second (foundational)
3. Patterns last (apply concepts)

This ensures nodes can reference each other correctly.

For each node:

1. Create file with appropriate template
2. Populate all fields including:
   • sourceBook, sourceChapters, sourcePages, sourcePrimary
   • confidence based on inheritance rules
   • nodeRelationships including sibling nodes AND source book
3. Verify bidirectional links

Step 10: Update Book Note

Add/update the book's frontmatter and body:

Frontmatter:

spawnedNodes:
  - "[[Concept - {{Name}}]]"
  - "[[Pattern - {{Name}}]]"
  - "[[Theme - {{Name}}]]"

Body - Add "Spawned Knowledge" section:

## Spawned Knowledge

This book is a primary source for the following knowledge nodes:

### Themes

| Node          | Description     |
| ------------- | --------------- |
| [[Theme - X]] | {{description}} |

### Core Concepts

| Node            | Description     | Chapters |
| --------------- | --------------- | -------- |
| [[Concept - X]] | {{description}} | Ch. 2-3  |

### Implementation Patterns

| Node            | Description     | Chapters |
| --------------- | --------------- | -------- |
| [[Pattern - X]] | {{description}} | Ch. 10   |

Step 11: Completion Report

Report:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 Book Spawn Complete: {{Book Title}}
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

**Book Note:** Book - {{Title}}.md

**Spawned Knowledge Nodes:**

Themes ({{N}}):
- Theme - X — {{description}}

Concepts ({{N}}):
- Concept - X — {{description}} (Ch. 2-3, high confidence)
- Concept - Y — {{description}} (Ch. 5, medium confidence)

Patterns ({{N}}):
- Pattern - X — {{description}} (Ch. 10)

**Linked to Existing:**
- [[Concept - Existing]] — Added as related concept

**Skipped (Already Exist):**
- "Data Product Anatomy" → Linked to existing Concept - Data Product Anatomy.md

**Key Takeaways:**
- {{takeaway 1}}
- {{takeaway 2}}
- {{takeaway 3}}

**Suggested Next Books:**
- [[Book - Related Book 1]] — {{why relevant}}
- [[Book - Related Book 2]] — {{why relevant}}

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Mode 3: Incremental Spawn

When user specifies a single node: /book "Data Mesh" --spawn "Data Contracts"

1. Read existing book note
2. Search vault for existing "Data Contracts" coverage
3. If not found, create single Concept or Pattern (determine type from context)
4. Update book's spawnedNodes field (append)
5. Report single node creation

Mode 4: PDF Processing (Sonnet)

For full book PDF extraction with knowledge compounding.

1. Process PDF using docling (see /pdf-to-page skill)
2. Extract metadata: author, publisher, ISBN, page count, TOC
3. Create Book note with full structure
4. Run spawn workflow (Steps 2-11 above)
5. Link bidirectionally

Templates

Book Note Template

Filename: Book - {{Title}}.md Location: Vault root

---
type: Book
pillar: node
title: "{{title}}"
aliases:
  - "{{short title}}"
created: {{DATE}}
modified: {{DATE}}
tags:
  - {{relevant hierarchical tags}}

# Book Metadata
author: {{author}}
coAuthors: []
editor: null
isbn: null
publisher: null
publishedYear: null
pages: null
genre: [{{non-fiction, technology, etc.}}]
series: null
seriesNumber: null

# Reading Tracking
readingStatus: {{to-read|reading|completed|abandoned|reference}}
startDate: null
finishDate: null
rating: null
rereadCount: 0
format: {{physical|kindle|pdf|audiobook}}

# Content
coreThesis: "{{1-2 sentence main contribution}}"
keyTakeaways:
  - "{{takeaway 1}}"
  - "{{takeaway 2}}"
  - "{{takeaway 3}}"
favouriteQuotes: []

# Source & Links
source: owned
goodreadsUrl: null
amazonUrl: null
attachedPdf: null

# Knowledge Compounding
spawnedNodes:
  - "[[Concept - {{Concept 1}}]]"
  - "[[Pattern - {{Pattern 1}}]]"
  - "[[Theme - {{Theme 1}}]]"

# Relationships
nodeRelationships:
  - "[[Concept - {{Related existing concept}}]]"
entityRelationships:
  - "[[Person - {{Author if notable}}]]"
  - "[[Organisation - {{Publisher or company}}]]"
relatedBooks:
  - "[[Book - {{Related book}}]]"
recommendedBy: null

# Quality
summary: "{{one-line summary}}"
confidence: high
freshness: current
source: primary
verified: true
reviewed: {{DATE}}
keywords:
  - {{keyword1}}
  - {{keyword2}}
---

# {{title}}

> **Author**: {{author}}
> **Status**: {{status}}
> **Rating**: {{star rating if provided}}
> **Source**: [[Attachments/{{pdf if attached}}|PDF]]

## Core Thesis

{{1-2 paragraphs explaining the main argument or contribution}}

## Why Read This Book?

{{2-3 sentences on relevance and value}}

## Key Takeaways

{{For each major insight, provide context}}

### 1. {{Takeaway Title}}

{{Explanation with context from the book}}

### 2. {{Takeaway Title}}

{{Explanation with context}}

## Book Structure

{{Part/Chapter outline with brief descriptions}}

### Part I: {{Title}}

- **Chapter 1**: {{Title}} - {{brief description}}
- **Chapter 2**: {{Title}} - {{brief description}}

## Key Concepts

| Concept       | Description          |
| ------------- | -------------------- |
| {{concept 1}} | {{brief definition}} |
| {{concept 2}} | {{brief definition}} |

## Favourite Quotes

> "{{quote 1}}"
> — p. {{page}}

> "{{quote 2}}"
> — p. {{page}}

## Spawned Knowledge

This book is a primary source for the following knowledge nodes:

### Themes

| Node                 | Description     |
| -------------------- | --------------- |
| [[Theme - {{Name}}]] | {{description}} |

### Core Concepts

| Node                   | Description     | Chapters  |
| ---------------------- | --------------- | --------- |
| [[Concept - {{Name}}]] | {{description}} | Ch. {{N}} |

### Implementation Patterns

| Node                   | Description     | Chapters  |
| ---------------------- | --------------- | --------- |
| [[Pattern - {{Name}}]] | {{description}} | Ch. {{N}} |

## Relevance to Your Work

{{How this relates to Solutions Architecture, your projects, or current work. Include links to related vault content.}}

## Related

- [[Book - {{Related book}}]] — {{relationship}}
- {{wiki-links to related vault notes}}

## Chapter Notes

### Chapter 1: {{Title}}

{{User's notes - leave blank for user}}

Spawned Concept Template

Filename: Concept - {{Name}}.md Location: Vault root

Create for "What is X?" knowledge - definitions, frameworks, models.

---
type: Concept
pillar: node
title: "{{Name}}"
aliases:
  - "{{alternative names}}"
created: { { DATE } }
modified: { { DATE } }
tags:
  - { { relevant hierarchical tags } }

# Source Provenance
sourceBook: "[[Book - {{Source Book}}]]"
sourceChapters: [{ { chapter numbers } }]
sourcePages: "{{page range}}"
sourcePrimary: { { true if this book is THE authoritative source } }

# Relationships
nodeRelationships:
  - "[[Book - {{Source Book}}]]"
  - "[[Concept - {{Sibling concept from same book}}]]"
  - "[[Pattern - {{Related pattern}}]]"
entityRelationships: []

# Quality
description: "{{1-2 sentence definition}}"
summary: "{{one-line summary}}"
confidence: { { high|medium|low based on inheritance rules } }
freshness: current
source: { { primary if sourcePrimary else secondary } }
verified: false
reviewed: { { DATE } }
keywords:
  - { { keyword1 } }
  - { { keyword2 } }
---

# {{Name}}

> **Definition:** {{Clear, concise definition}}

## Overview

{{2-3 paragraphs explaining the concept, derived from the book but written to be standalone}}

## Key Characteristics

- {{characteristic 1}}
- {{characteristic 2}}
- {{characteristic 3}}

## Examples

{{Real-world examples from the book or added for clarity}}

## Why It Matters

{{Business/technical impact, relevance to architecture work}}

## Related Concepts

- [[Concept - {{Sibling 1}}]] — {{relationship}}
- [[Concept - {{Sibling 2}}]] — {{relationship}}
- [[Pattern - {{Related pattern}}]] — {{relationship}}

## Sources

- [[Book - {{Source Book}}]] — Ch. {{chapters}} ({{primary source | secondary source}})
- {{Additional references if known}}

Spawned Pattern Template

Filename: Pattern - {{Name}}.md Location: Vault root

Create for "How to do X" knowledge - approaches, architectures, solutions.

---
type: Pattern
pillar: node
title: "{{Name}}"
aliases: []
created: { { DATE } }
modified: { { DATE } }
tags:
  - { { relevant hierarchical tags } }
patternType: architecture | integration | data | security | process

# Source Provenance
sourceBook: "[[Book - {{Source Book}}]]"
sourceChapters: [{ { chapter numbers } }]
sourcePages: "{{page range}}"
sourcePrimary: { { true|false } }

# Relationships
nodeRelationships:
  - "[[Book - {{Source Book}}]]"
  - "[[Concept - {{Related concept}}]]"
  - "[[Pattern - {{Sibling pattern}}]]"
entityRelationships: []

# Quality
description: "{{1-2 sentence description}}"
summary: "{{one-line summary}}"
confidence: { { high|medium|low } }
freshness: current
verified: false
reviewed: { { DATE } }
---

# {{Name}}

> **Intent:** {{What problem does this pattern solve?}}

## Context

{{When to use this pattern}}

## Problem

{{The specific challenge this addresses}}

## Solution

{{How the pattern works}}

## Implementation

{{Key steps or components}}

## Consequences

**Benefits:**

- {{benefit 1}}
- {{benefit 2}}

**Trade-offs:**

- {{trade-off 1}}
- {{trade-off 2}}

## Examples

{{Real-world examples from the book}}

## Related Patterns

- [[Pattern - {{Sibling}}]] — {{relationship}}
- [[Concept - {{Related concept}}]] — {{relationship}}

## Sources

- [[Book - {{Source Book}}]] — Ch. {{chapters}}

Spawned Theme Template

Filename: Theme - {{Name}}.md Location: Vault root

Create for cross-cutting concerns, paradigm shifts, strategic directions.

---
type: Theme
pillar: node
title: "{{Name}}"
aliases: []
created: { { DATE } }
modified: { { DATE } }
tags:
  - { { relevant hierarchical tags } }
scope: { { enterprise|department|project|domain } }

# Source Provenance
sourceBook: "[[Book - {{Source Book}}]]"
sourceChapters: [{ { chapter numbers } }]
sourcePrimary: { { true|false } }

# Relationships
nodeRelationships:
  - "[[Book - {{Source Book}}]]"
  - "[[Concept - {{Manifestation of this theme}}]]"
  - "[[Pattern - {{Implements this theme}}]]"
entityRelationships: []

# Quality
description: "{{1-2 sentence description}}"
summary: "{{one-line summary}}"
confidence: { { high|medium|low } }
freshness: current
verified: false
reviewed: { { DATE } }
keywords:
  - { { keyword1 } }
  - { { keyword2 } }
---

# {{Name}}

> **Essence:** {{One sentence capturing the core of this theme}}

## Overview

{{2-3 paragraphs explaining the theme and its significance}}

## Why This Theme Matters

{{Business/strategic impact, why this is a cross-cutting concern}}

## Manifestations

This theme appears in several forms:

### As Concepts

- [[Concept - {{X}}]] — {{how this concept embodies the theme}}
- [[Concept - {{Y}}]] — {{how this concept embodies the theme}}

### As Patterns

- [[Pattern - {{X}}]] — {{how this pattern implements the theme}}
- [[Pattern - {{Y}}]] — {{how this pattern implements the theme}}

## Tensions & Trade-offs

{{What this theme trades off against, competing concerns}}

## Evolution

{{How this theme has evolved or is evolving in the industry}}

## Related Themes

- [[Theme - {{Related}}]] — {{relationship}}

## Sources

- [[Book - {{Source Book}}]] — Primary exposition
- {{Additional sources}}

Knowledge Compounding Guidelines

When to Spawn a Concept Node

✅ DO spawn when:

• Technical terms that need standalone explanation (e.g., "Data Mesh", "Microservices")
• Frameworks or models introduced by the book (e.g., "SOLID Principles", "CAP Theorem")
• Domain concepts that will be referenced from multiple notes
• Definitions that should persist as reusable knowledge
• The book is THE primary source for this term

❌ DON'T spawn when:

• Already covered by existing vault Concept (link instead)
• Too narrow or book-specific without broader applicability
• Simple terms that don't need standalone treatment
• Only briefly mentioned without sufficient detail

When to Spawn a Pattern Node

✅ DO spawn when:

• Architectural patterns described in detail (e.g., "Strangler Fig", "Event Sourcing")
• Design patterns with clear problem/solution structure
• Reusable approaches applicable beyond this book's context
• Process patterns for software development or architecture

❌ DON'T spawn when:

• Already covered by existing vault Pattern (link instead)
• Book-specific examples without generalised applicability
• Patterns only briefly mentioned without sufficient detail

When to Spawn a Theme Node

✅ DO spawn when:

• Paradigm shifts (e.g., "Decentralisation", "Product Thinking")
• Cross-cutting concerns spanning multiple concepts
• Strategic directions that inform multiple patterns
• Philosophical underpinnings of an approach

❌ DON'T spawn when:

• Too abstract to be actionable
• Just a label for a collection (use MOC instead)
• Already captured as a broader existing Theme

Typical Spawn Counts

Confidence Inheritance Quick Reference

Status Values

Rating Scale

Quality Standards

• Always check vault for existing coverage before spawning (Step 3)
• Always determine confidence based on source quality (Step 5)
• Always map inter-node relationships (Step 6)
• Create spawned nodes for knowledge that warrants standalone treatment
• Link bidirectionally - Book references spawned nodes, spawned nodes reference Book AND siblings
• Provide meaningful analysis - not just metadata extraction
• Extract minimum 3 key takeaways for substantive books
• Use UK English throughout
• Use hierarchical tags (e.g., technology/aws not just aws)
• Include source provenance (chapters, pages, primary flag)

Example: Data Mesh Book

For "Data Mesh" by Zhamak Dehghani (author coined the paradigm):

Themes:

• Theme - Decentralisation.md - Shift from centralised to federated ownership
• Theme - Product Thinking for Data.md - Treating data as a product

Concepts:

• Concept - Data Mesh.md - The paradigm itself (high confidence, Ch. 1-5)
• Concept - Data Product.md - Core building block (high confidence, Ch. 3, 11-14)
• Concept - Data Quantum.md - Smallest deployable unit (high confidence, Ch. 9)
• Concept - Federated Computational Governance.md - Governance approach (high confidence, Ch. 5)
• Concept - Domain Data Archetypes.md - Source-aligned, aggregate, consumer-aligned (high confidence, Ch. 2)

Patterns:

• Pattern - Self-Serve Data Platform.md - Platform design pattern (high confidence, Ch. 4, 10)
• Pattern - Data Contracts.md - Producer-consumer agreements (high confidence, Ch. 14)
• Pattern - Multiplane Data Platform.md - Platform architecture (high confidence, Ch. 10)

All nodes:

• Link back to Book - Data Mesh.md
• Link to sibling nodes (e.g., Data Product → Data Mesh, Data Quantum)
• Have sourcePrimary: true (Dehghani is the authority)
• Have confidence: high (definitive source)

Integration with /pdf-to-page

When using /pdf-to-page with --book flag, this skill's knowledge compounding is automatically applied:

1. PDF processed with docling
2. Book note created with extracted content
3. Knowledge candidates identified
4. User prompted to approve spawned nodes
5. Concept/Pattern/Theme nodes created
6. Bidirectional links established

Troubleshooting