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I have a bit of a love/hate for Calibre, too. I happily used it non-stop back in the 0.7 days, and then somewhere in the 0.8.20s (I think), it started freezing EVERY time I import a new book, and occasionally it freezes my computer for a minute or two. I have a MBP 2.53 running the latest Lion updates, and other program like Photoshop don't freeze, so I don't think it's my compter.
After updates and a few support threads didn't help, I deleted all my 3,000+ freebies, thinking maybe the database had gotten too large, but that hasn't fixed it. I exported my purchased books, wiped the database, and imported in small groups successfully, and then freezing started again as soon as I was done. The assumption is that I have a corrupt book or database, but I don't have time to troubleshoot it more thoroughly, so I've minimized my usage to only when I purchase an eBook.
Here are the functions that I still use Calibre for:
a. import purchased eBooks after download and external DRM removal
b. tag and export children's books (drag export to iTunes) and delete
c. add covers, series, genre, marketing desciption
d. custom fields for Source, Cost, Read
e. convert the rare Amazon purchase to ePub
f. load ePubs to Sony T1
Things I no longer use Calibre for:
- tracking read books (switched to GoodReads)
- tracking stars/ratings/reviews (switched to GoodReads)
- sideloading library books (T1 connects wirelessly)
- DRM removal plugins (I now have a workflow for doing it externally).
- hosting eBooks for WiFi download via the Server feature (I just download DRM purchases directly to my T1, and keep the DRM free copy in Calibre as backup)
- iTunes loading - this runs REALLY slow for me - it's faster to export and drag and drop than to use the Connect to iTunes feature.
I've contemplated switching to Adobe Digital Editions, but I do like the ability to add covers and series info in Calibre.
For freebies, I still grab the ones that might interest me, but I let B&N/Kobo/Amazon host them and (attempt to) read them on my iPad or iPhone app. My tolerance for crap has faded to almost nothing, so 90% of them get deleted entirely after about 30 pages.
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