Quote:
Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8
I don't know if this will be of any help or not, but I am almost certain that ISBN numbers never change, whereas, as you remarked, ASIN numbers can and do.
My issue goes far beyond just Open Road titles--I have many ebooks, scattered over a large number of publishers, from a bunch of different vendors--from eBooks.com to Amazon.com to Westminster Theological Bookstore (back before they quit (apparently) selling ebooks)--and in all kinds of formats (many of them DRM Protected). And I don't remember well what I already have purchased.
I'm thinking of creating a table in Microsoft Word (A table is easier to create than a spreadsheet. Many times people think that they have to use a spreadsheet; from what I know, I think, however, that a table would suffice unless you need the computer to do calculations within the document.). In one column, I'd put the ISBN numbers--one for ISBN-8 numbers (if available) numbers and another one for ISBN-13 numbers (if available), the title, the authors' names (last name first) in separate columns ("fields?"), and maybe another category or two. Oh, of course by publisher (Open Road or whoever).
With a click or two, I could sort the entries(?) in the categories by ISBN *'s, titles, the author's name, publisher, whatever, alphabetically or numerically, of whatever I desire. So, with a click and a glance, I would be able to know what I have and where it is. The only fly in the ointment, that I can see, is that it would take a lot of time to make entries for the books that I already have.
Maybe there are programs like Calibre that would make it easier than that to make entries for books that I already have, add new entries, etc. With either system, it would keep me from buying a book again, that I already have.
Thoughts by anyone? (Mods: If there are more than one or two posts, I'll start a new thread.)
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ISBN numbers can change if the publisher changes or if other details of the book change.
Although Calibre is really designed to manage ebooks, you could also use it to manage your physical books by adding dummy text files for your physical books and add tags like HC (hardcover), MMPB (mass market paperback), and TPB (trade paperback). It can even be the same text file, just create something with one line in your favorite text editor. I find it's slow to enter these entries from the Calibre GUI, especially if you're planning to enter a bunch. It seems faster to me to run
Code:
calibredb add -d -T HC -I isbn:978-1538744413 dummy.txt
where -d means allow duplicates
-T means tag
-I means identifier
with all the print books you want to add, and then start up Calibre and select all the "print books" you've added and do a bulk download of the metadata and covers.