Create object from a block of search results Ruby on Rails - ruby-on-rails

Question

I'm building a Rails application that allows the user to create a Book object based on search results from the Google Books api. I have a controller that handles searching the api, using the GoogleBooks gem and displays the results in a list. I'm struggling to figure out a way to pass book information from a single search result into my Create action in the Books controller.
My search controller takes params from my search form and creates a variable, #results, that I'm calling in a 'search' view. Here is my search controller:
class SearchController < ApplicationController
def search
#results = GoogleBooks.search(params[:search])
end
end
My view looks like this:
<h1>Search Results</h1>
<% #results.each do |result| %>
<ul>
<li><%= result %></li>
<li><%= result.title %></li>
<li><%= result.authors %></li>
<li><%= result.isbn %></li>
<li><%= result.description %></li>
</ul>
<% end %>
The problem that I'm having is that I'm not sure how to pass individual result data on to my Book controller's 'create' action to generate a new book in the database. I don't think I can pass 'result.title' or 'result.author' to the Book controller for example because they aren't instance variables and there is also no way to distinguish between each result.
My page source for search results looks like this, if that is any help.
<h1>Search Results</h1>
<ul>
<li>#<GoogleBooks::Item:0x007ff75d2bd138></li>
<li>Kansha: Celebrating Japan's Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions</li>
<li>Elizabeth Andoh</li>
<li>9781607743965</li>
<li>The celebration of Japan’s... </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>#<GoogleBooks::Item:0x007ff75d2bc148></li>
<li>Advanced Energy Saving and Its Applications in Industry</li>
<li>Kazuo. Matsuda, Yasuki. Kansha, Chihiro. Fushimi</li>
<li>9781447142072</li>
<li>The conventional approach for... </li>
</ul>
I would like to use a button to allow a user to 'select' the book and then pass on the book's information to the create action. I'm thinking I need to do something like this with button_to:
<%= button_to 'Create Book', book_path, :method => :post %>
But how do I get the a single book's data to the create action?

Answer 1

Depending on your overall layout, I suggest start by building an in-line form for each Book result. You can do this with hidden fields. As mentioned by gregates, it's hard to provide the complete answer, but this might get you going in the right direction.
In your SearchController:
def search
#results = GoogleBooks.search(params[:search])
#books = []
#results.each do |result|
#books << Book.new
end
end
In your View:
<% #results.each_with_index do |result, index| %>
<%= form_for(#books[index]) do |f| %>
<ul>
<li><%= result.title %></li>
<li><%= result.authors %></li>
<li><%= result.isbn %></li>
<li><%= result.description %></li>
</ul>
<%= f.hidden_field :title, value: result.title %>
<%= f.hidden_field :authors, value: result.authors %>
<%= f.hidden_field :isbn, value: result.isbm %>
<%= f.hidden_field :description, value: result.description %>
<%= button_to 'Create Book', controller: 'books', action: 'create' %>
<% end %>
<% end %>
Again, depending on your overall design, there's probably a more elegant approach but hopefully this will provide some inspiration.
Good luck!