That is, in fact, pretty much how the file is arranged...here's an example:
Code:
<entry id="21" >
<title>The Shadow of the Lion</title>
<authors>
<author>Lackey, Mercedes</author>
<author>Flint, Eric</author>
<author>Freer, Dave</author>
</authors>
<binding>Paperback</binding>
<publisher>Baen</publisher>
<pub_year>2003</pub_year>
<isbn>0-7434-7147-4</isbn>
<pages>936</pages>
<languages>
<language>English</language>
</languages>
<keywords>
<keyword>Historical fiction</keyword>
<keyword>Fantasy fiction</keyword>
<keyword>16th century</keyword>
<keyword>Science fiction</keyword>
</keywords>
<cover>2721667105d9edee31ffa87663fa0863.jpeg</cover>
<comments>Description of the book</comments>
<file>file:///share/fiction/Lackey,%20Mercedes/The%20Shadow%20of%20the%20Lion.txt</file>
Things like the multiple authors in this record could make things a little more complicated, but I can always just use the first author. Looks like it's time to learn python...thanks for the advice! I was mostly concerned about spending a few weeks learning how to do something, only to find out I'm completely on the wrong track (like, say, trying to do it in Bash, which I
now know doesn't have great support for xml parsing).