[adv_dp_fan]

Originally Posted by GRiker

If you feel that strongly about it, you could use calibre's content server to transfer books without iTunes acting as the intermediary.

That would be great except iBooks doesn't support the content server.

Anyway, for now I'm experimenting with the newest version to see how I feel about any changes in my old workflow. Who knows, maybe I'll like it better, and I can always revert back to an earlier version.

Thanks to everyone for answering all my questions and helping me understand the changes.